Women's Basketball Falls at Home to No. 18 Grand View

Marshall, Mo., (Jan. 22, 2024)- The Missouri Valley College men's and women's basketball teams hosted Grand View (Iowa) in a Heart of America Athletic Conference doubleheader Monday evening inside the Burns Athletic Complex.  The women's team fell to No. 18 Grand View, 83-69.

Missouri Valley went in front early in the women's game, as baskets from both Junior Rajone Callahan (Wichita, Kan.) and Sophomore Sophie Sullivan (Lombard, Ill.) made it a 4-3 score with one minute played.  Grand View briefly went on top, but Callahan added another layup followed by two field goals from Junior Noa Fernandez (Castaneda, Spain) to give MVC a 10-5 advantage with just over three minutes off the clock.  Callahan sank a three-pointer, with Junior Gia Moore (Independence, Mo.) adding a three-point basket to stretch the lead out to 16-10 near the four-minute mark.  Grand View was held scoreless over a more than three minute span in the quarter.  The advantage reached 19-10 on a three-pointer from Junior Maddie Ferrara (Hendersonville, Tenn.) with less than four minutes remaining.  The Missouri Valley lead was knocked down to 19-17 in the closing moments, but Ferrara tacked on a layup at the buzzer to make it a 21-17 score going into the second quarter.

The second quarter started with a 10-0 run put together by GVU to move the team in front, 27-21 through three minutes of play.  Callahan ended the MVC drought with a basket moments later, but Grand View pushed its lead out to double-digits, 35-23, midway through the quarter.  Fernandez added a layup to make it a 35-25 score, but Missouri Valley was unable to work back to a single-digit deficit.  Ferrara, Moore and Freshman Jozelynn Bostick (Centralia, Mo.) each put in one basket each in the closing moments to make it a 45-33 score at halftime.

Grand View extended its lead at the start of the third quarter, out to 50-33, with just over one minute played after the break.  Sullivan cut into the deficit moments later with a three-pointer, while Fernandez added a layup to make it a 50-38 score with three minutes off the clock.  Missouri Valley worked back to a 53-43 deficit midway through the quarter after a field goal from Moore and a three-point basket from Callahan.  The gap continued to shrink down to single-digits over the next several minutes, as Callahan tacked on a layup, and Sophomore Tyler Conkright (Ellington, Mo.) came down with an offensive rebound and scored a layup to put the deficit at 54-47 with just over two minutes remaining.  Grand View increased its advantage from there, and carried a 60-50 lead into the fourth quarter.

The two teams traded points over the first few minutes of the final quarter, as a layup from Moore put the score at 67-57 with less than three minutes played.  A Sullivan jumper near the midway point of the half put MVC in a 70-61 deficit, with a pair of Moore free throws making it 73-63 moments later.  Grand View held off a late rally, and increased its lead at the end of the game.  Missouri Valley fell, 83-69.

Fernandez recorded the first double-double of her career with 13 points and 11 rebounds, and added six assists.  Callahan led in points with a career-high 19, adding seven rebounds.  Moore added 14 points and six rebounds, while Sullivan chipped in with 12 points and nine rebounds.  Missouri Valley held a 44-41 edge in rebounds and blocked three shots.

Missouri Valley drops to 9-10 overall and 7-8 in the Heart.  Grand View improves to 17-2 on the season and 13-2 in the conference.

Up next, the Viking men's and women's basketball teams will host Mount Mercy (Iowa) in a Heart doubleheader, Wednesday, beginning with the women's game at 5:30 p.m., followed by the men's game at 7:30 p.m.  Missouri Valley swept the doubleheader between the two teams earlier this season in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, back on Nov. 29.  The women's team won, 79-70, and the men's team earned a 71-68 victory.

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.