Women's Basketball Upsets No. 20 MidAmerica Nazarene at Home

Marshall, Mo., (Nov. 15, 2023)- The Missouri Valley College men's and women's basketball teams hosted MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) in the opening Heart of America Athletic Conference doubleheader of the season.  The women's team went into overtime and earned an 84-78 win over the No. 20 Pioneers.  The men's team fell to No. 12 MNU, 103-81.

Missouri Valley went on top at the start of the women's game, on a layup from Freshman Ricarda Schott (Krefeld, Germany) for the first points of the contest.  Schott added another layup three minutes later, followed by a three-pointer from Junior Rajone Callahan (Wichita, Kan.) to put the advantage at 9-4.  Another Callahan basket put the score at 11-7 midway through the quarter, but MidAmerica Nazarene followed with five-straight points to go in front at 12-11 near the three-minute mark.  The Vikings went scoreless through a more than three minute stretch, until a Junior Gia Moore (Independence, Mo.) basket allowed MVC to reclaim the lead, at 13-12 with just over one minute to play in the quarter.  The Pioneers ended the quarter on a run, and moved ahead, 16-13.

The Vikings went scoreless through the opening three minutes of play to begin the second quarter, as MNU extended its lead out to 20-13.  Moore ended the drought with a layup, followed by a field goal from Callahan to pull the team into a 20-17 score near the six-minute mark.  MidAmerica Nazarene was held to without a point through a stretch of play in the quarter, as Sophomore Sophie Sullivan (Lombard, Ill.) made a jumper, and Freshman Jozelynn Bostick (Centralia, Mo.) sank a three-point shot to give MVC the lead once again, 22-20, with just over four minutes remaining in the quarter.  Moore added another three-point shot as the lead sat at 25-22 moments later.  One more three-point basket from Bostick and a made shot from Freshman Sarah Arnett (Mandeville, Ga.) extended the advantage to 30-24 just past the three-minute mark.  Moore tacked on another layup in the final seconds, and Missouri Valley went into halftime with a 32-27 lead.

Play in the third quarter began with a field goal from Moore to make it a 34-27 score.  The Pioneers responded with an 8-0 run to go on top, 35-34 with nearly three minutes played.  Callahan brought MVC back in front moments later on a three-pointer, then sank another field goal to put the lead at 39-35 at the six-minute mark.  MidAmerica Nazarene worked back to tie the teams at 41-41 midway through the quarter, then took a 45-43 lead less than two minutes later.  Missouri Valley's deficit grew to 50-43 with under three minutes to play in the third quarter.  Callahan came back with four made free throws, but MNU held a 53-47 advantage in the closing moments of the quarter.  Schott sank a pair of free throws and Freshman Emily Dolberry (Arlington, Texas) put in a shot at the buzzer, but the Vikings trailed, 55-51, going into the fourth quarter.

Freshman Jocelyn Thompson (Austin, Texas) opened the fourth quarter with a field goal to cut the deficit to 55-53, but Missouri Valley went scoreless over the next three minutes.  Schott ended the drought adding a pair of layups to make it a 58-57 score with less than six minutes to play in regulation.  Schott put in another layup near the four-minute mark to move Missouri Valley ahead, 61-60.  After the Pioneers briefly went on top, Schott came through with a pair of free throws, followed by a three-pointer from Bostick to increase the MVC advantage to 66-62.  The Pioneers scored the next four points, and tied the teams at 66-66 with one minute left on the clock.  A Schott layup put the score at 68-66, but a three-pointer from MNU made it a 69-68 deficit in the final moments.  Moore sank one free throw and both teams missed last-second shots to send the game into overtime, 69-69.

The overtime period started with four points from MidAmerica Nazarene to make it a 73-69 score with one minute played.  The Vikings went on a 9-0 run over the next two minutes, which included six points from Schott and a three-pointer from Moore to move Missouri Valley in front late in overtime, 78-73.  The Pioneers made it a 78-75 score moments later, but Schott and Moore added one layup apiece to keep the Vikings ahead, and Sophomore Tyler Conkright (Ellington, Mo.) sank a pair of free throws to finish an 84-78 win.

Schott led with 26 points, on 10 of 15 shooting, with eight rebounds.  Moore totaled 19 points, 10 assists and seven steals.  Callahan came off the bench to score 16 points.  Missouri valley forced 20 turnovers in the game, and held a 47-43 advantage in rebounds.

Missouri Valley improves to 3-1 on the season and 1-0 in the Heart.  MidAmerica Nazarene drops to 1-1 overall and 0-1 in the conference.

Up next, the Viking basketball teams will continue Heart play with a doubleheader at home against Graceland (Iowa), Sunday.  Women's game at 2 p.m., followed by the men's game at 4 p.m., inside the Burns Athletic Complex.

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About Missouri Valley College

Known for its dynamic, richly diverse, and friendly educational environment, Missouri Valley College offers many opportunities to grow in mind, body, and spirit. Grounded in the liberal arts, undergraduate studies empower students to master interdisciplinary skills needed to succeed in a knowledge-based global society. MVC offers over 30 academic programs, study abroad program, extracurricular activities, and a wide variety of sports. The most popular majors include education and business, criminal justice and exercise science. Above all, Valley is committed to student success. For more information, call (660) 831-4000 or visit www.moval.edu.