Women's Basketball Falls to Grand View to End Regular Season

Des Moines, Iowa, (Feb. 24, 2024)- The Missouri Valley College men's and women's basketball teams finished their regular seasons with a Heart of America Athletic Conference road doubleheader in Des Moines, Iowa, against Grand View (Iowa).  The women's team fell to No. 20 Grand View, 94-60.

The two teams traded points at the start of the women's game, as Junior Rajone Callahan (Wichita, Kan.) made the opening field goal, and Sophomore Sophie Sullivan (Lombard, Ill.) scored the next five points.  Junior Gia Moore (Independence, Mo.) added back-to-back baskets, and Missouri Valley held an 11-7 lead with just over five minutes played in the game.  Moore sank a three-pointer less than one minute later to make it a 14-10 score, but Grand View answered with the next five points to move in front, 15-14, near the two-minute mark.  Senior Blanca Alcalde (Salamanca, Spain) put MVC ahead moments later with a layup, then sank a three-pointer to stretch the advantage to 19-17 with just over one minute remaining in the quarter.  Grand View tied the score before time expired, and the teams went into the second quarter at 19-19.

The second quarter started with the teams going scoreless through the first minute of play.  Moore and Senior Maria Rubio (Madrid, Spain) each sank three-point shots over the next minute to keep MVC on front, 25-23.  Grand View came back with six-straight points to pull ahead, 29-25, and eventually led by a 32-27 score near the four-minute mark.  Moore ended the Missouri Valley drought with a pair of free throws, and Sullivan came through with a layup, but the deficit sat at 36-31 with less than three minutes remaining.  Callahan added a field goal near the one-minute mark, then a steal from Alcalde led to a Sullivan layup that shrunk the gap to 39-35 late in the quarter.  Grand View added a last-second three-pointer to go into halftime in front, 42-35.

Quick baskets after the break from Alcalde and Sullivan pulled MVC into a 42-39 score with one minute off the clock.  Grand View responded with a run over the next five minutes of play, outscoring Missouri Valley by a 16-2 margin to make it a 58-41 score.  Junior Maddie Ferrera (Hendersonville, Tenn.) ended the stretch with a field goal, and two made free throws from Callahan made it a 60-45 deficit with just over three minutes to play in the quarter.  A basket from Alcalde made it 60-47, but GVU tacked on another nine points before the end of the quarter to sit on top, 69-47.  Missouri Valley was unable to work down its deficit in the final quarter of play, and fell, 94-60.

Moore led with 14 points to go with four rebounds.  Sullivan had 13 points and five rebounds, while Alcalde came off the bench to score nine points.  Missouri Valley forced 14 turnovers in the game.

The loss drops Missouri Valley to 13-15 overall and 11-13 in the Heart.  Grand View improves to 24-4 on the season and 20-4 in the conference.

Missouri Valley has earned a berth into the Heart Women's Basketball Postseason Tournament, and will be the No. 6 seed.  The Vikings will travel to Olathe, Kan., for a game with No. 3 seed MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.), Wednesday at 7 p.m.  The two teams split their games in the regular season.  The Vikings won at home, 84-78 in overtime, back on Nov. 15, then fell to the Pioneers on the road, 75-58, on Jan. 15.

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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.