Women's Basketball Tops Park, Secures Heart Tournament Berth

Marshall, Mo., (Feb. 21, 2024)- The Missouri Valley College men's and women's basketball teams hosted Park (Mo.) in a Heart of America Athletic Conference doubleheader Wednesday evening inside the Burns Athletic Complex for the final home games of the regular season.  The women's team led through nearly the entire game and secured an 88-74 win.

Missouri Valley started the women's game with a quick basket from Junior Rajone Callahan (Wichita, Kan.) and a three-pointer from Junior Maddie Ferrera (Hendersonville, Tenn.) to go in front, 5-0, with just over one minute played.  Park answered with seven-straight points to move ahead less than two minutes later.  Junior Gia Moore (Independence, Mo.) ended the MVC drought with a three-pointer near the six-minute mark, followed by a layup from Sophomore Sophie Sullivan (Lombard, Ill.) to give the Vikings a 10-7 lead moments later.  Callahan added four points and Senior Blanca Alcalde (Salamanca, Spain) made a layup to make it a 16-9 advantage with just over three minutes to play in the first quarter.  Junior Noa Fernandez (Castraneda, Spain) added a pair of free throws to cap the 8-0 run and make it an 18-9 score.  The Pirates worked down their deficit over the next two minutes, trailing 20-15, but Fernandez ended the quarter with a last-second layup to give MVC a 22-15 lead.

Scoring in the second quarter started on a Sullivan three-pointer, with a steal from Moore leading to a fast-break three-point basket from Alcalde.  Fernandez made one free throw to give MVC a 29-15 lead with less than two minutes played.  The two teams traded points over the next stretch, featuring one layup from both Alcalde and Sullivan to make it a 33-21 score near the six-minute mark.  The advantage stretched out to 37-21 after a Moore basket midway through the quarter.  The Vikings went scoreless over a nearly three minute stretch of play, as Park shrunk the gap to 37-25.  Freshman Jocelynn Thompson (Austin, Texas) ended the drought with a layup, but the Pirates got to within a 41-34 deficit in the final minute of play.  Moore added a layup as the final basket before the break, and Missouri Valley led, 43-34, at halftime.

The third quarter opened with an early run for Missouri Valley as Moore and Ferrara each made early jump shots and Callahan sank a three-pointer to cap a 7-0 run that extended the advantage out to 50-34.  Park scored its first points of the quarter moments later, but Alcalde added a layup to make it a 52-36 score with just over two minutes off the clock.  The Pirates chipped away at their deficit over the next two minutes, and trailed, 55-42.  Moore responded with a three-pointer midway through the quarter, to put the lead at 58-42, and the two teams went scoreless over a nearly two minute stretch.  Ferrara broke the MVC drought with a three-pointer close to the two-minute mark, and Alcalde made a three-point shot with just over one minute to play in the quarter to make it a 64-46 advantage.  Moore added one more three-point shot before the end of the third, and the Vikings held a 67-49 lead.

The Pirates began the fourth quarter with a run, outscoring MVC by an 8-2 margin through two minutes played, making it a 69-57 score.  Junior Kirara Williams (Olathe, Kan.) and Moore each tacked on one layup to stretch the advantage to 73-59 near the seven-minute mark, and the two teams traded points over the next stretch of play.  The score sat at 80-65 midway through the quarter.  After Park cut the gap to 80-67, Alcalde made a layup and a Callahan steal led to a Moore field goal that put the lead at 84-67 with three minutes to play.  The Pirates got to within an 84-71 score one minute later, then trailed, 86-74 with one minute on the clock.  Moore made a pair of free throws to finish out scoring, as the Vikings earned an 88-74 win.

Moore led with 25 points, seven assists and five rebounds, and has scored in double-digits in 11-straight games.  Sullivan finished with 17 points, scoring in double-digits in 14-straight games, and five rebounds, while Alcalde came off the bench to score a career-high 16 points and grab six rebounds.  Callahan added 13 points and seven rebounds.  Missouri Valley shot 53-percent in the game, and earned a 36-34 edge in rebounding.

Missouri Valley improves to 13-14 overall and 11-12 in the Heart.  Park drops to 11-16 on the season and 8-15 in the conference.  The win also secures a berth into the Heart Postseason Tournament for the Vikings, which begins Feb. 28.

Up next, the Viking basketball teams travel to Des Moines, Iowa, to finish the regular season with a doubleheader at Grand View (Iowa).  Women's game at 2 p.m., followed by the men's game at 4 p.m.

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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.