Women's Basketball Overcomes Halftime Deficit to Defeat Peru State

Peru, Neb., (Dec. 9, 2023)- The Missouri Valley College men's and women's basketball teams played on the road to Peru, Neb., Saturday afternoon in a Heart of America Athletic Conference doubleheader against Peru State (Neb.).  The women's team overcame a halftime deficit to pull away for a 92-78 win.

The two teams traded points at the start of the women's game, as Missouri Valley used baskets from Sophomore Sophie Sullivan (Lombard, Ill.) and Sophomore Tyler Conkright (Ellington, Mo.), with a pair of free throws from Freshman Ricarda Schott (Krefeld, Germany) to keep the score tied at 6-6 with two minutes played.  Sullivan put MVC in front moments later on a field goal, while Conkright added a three-pointer to make it an 11-6 score near the six-minute mark.  Junior Gia Moore (Independence, Mo.) made two free throw attempts, and Peru State was kept scoreless through a four minute stretch of play, as the Vikings held a 13-7 lead.  The Bobcats responded with a seven-point run to move ahead, 14-13 with three minutes remaining in the quarter, but Moore and Schott each put in one layup, and Sullivan ended the quarter with one basket as Missouri Valley stayed in front, 19-17, at the end of the quarter.

Peru State scored the opening six points of the second quarter, and claimed a 23--19 lead with just over one minute played.  The first points came from Junior Rajone Callahan (Wichita, Kan.) on a pair of free throws, followed by two made free throws from Sullivan to tie the contest at 23-23 near the eight-minute mark.  Junior Noa Fernandez (Castraneda, Spain) then added two layups to cap an 8-0 MVC run, and give the team a 27-23 advantage with seven minutes to play in the half.  Peru State answered back, and went ahead, 31-27 less than one minute later.  The Bobcats pulled away late in the second quarter, eventually putting Missouri Valley in a double-digit deficit at halftime, 46-34.

The Vikings cut their gap down at the start of the third quarter, as Moore and Schott each up in a layup to make it a 46-38 score.  A Callahan basket and another Schott layup kept MVC in a single-digit deficit, 50-42, with nearly three minutes played after the break.  Peru State continued to stay in front, and reclaimed a double-digit lead, 55-44, midway through the quarter.  Fernandez answered with two-straight layups, and Schott sank a three-pointer to cap a quick seven-point run, as the team trailed, 55-51.  The deficit sat at 59-53 with less than four minutes to play in the quarter, but Schott scored four points, and Moore added a field goal to tie the contest at 59-59 as the quarter neared the two-minute mark.  The Vikings eventually went back in front, 62-61, on a late three-point play from Moore, and Schott sank a three-pointer just before time expired to give the team a 65-61 lead going into the final quarter of play.  

The advantage increased at the start of the fourth quarter as Moore added another three-point play, while Schott finished off a layup to make it 70-61.  The Bobcats trimmed down their deficit over the next two minutes, and trailed, 72-67 at the seven-minute mark.  Moore answered with a three-pointer, while Schott made another field goal and Sullivan sank two attempts from the free throw line to give MVC a double-digit lead, 79-68.  Peru State briefly got back to a single-digit deficit, at 81-73, with four minutes to play, but the Vikings pulled away from there.  Moore scored the next nine points and Fernandez capped things off with one final layup as Missouri Valley won by a final score of 92-78.

Moore led with 34 points to go with five rebounds and five assists.  She has scored at least 30 points in two of the past three games.  Schott added 24 points to go with five rebounds.  Fernandez came off the bench to add 13 points and nine rebounds, while Sullivan totaled 12 points.  Missouri Valley shot over 55-percent from the floor, and held a 39-28 advantage in rebounds.

Missouri Valley improves to 8-2 overall and 6-1 in the Heart.  Peru State drops to 4-7 on the season and 1-6 in the conference.

Up next, the Viking basketball teams will host Benedictine (Kan.) in a Heart doubleheader, Wednesday evening inside the Burns Athletic Complex.  Women's game at 5:30 p.m., followed by the men's game at 7:30 p.m.  The doubleheader will be free admission for all spectators.

Box Score-Click Here 

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.