Women's Basketball Tops Hannibal-LaGrange to Open Season

Canton, Mo., (Nov. 1, 2024)- The Missouri Valley College women's basketball team opened the 2024-25 season with a game against Hannibal-LaGrange (Mo.) in the Culver Classic in Canton, Mo., Friday evening.  The Vikings pulled away for a 69-40 victory.

The game opened with a basket from Senior Rajone Callahan (Wichita, Kan.), and four points from Senior Ylenia Exposito (Tenerife, Canary Islands) to give the Vikings a 6-1 lead with just over two minutes off the clock.  Junior Sophie Sullivan (Lombard, Ill.) added a three-pointer moments later, followed by another field goal from Callahan to put the advantage at 11-6 just past the six-minute mark.  After a Hannibal-LaGrange basket, the MVC defense held the Trojans without another made field goal through a three-minute stretch of play.  Senior Giavanna Moore (Independence, Mo.) sank a three-point shot, and the Vikings eventually held a 15-9 lead with less than two minutes to play in the quarter.  The Trojans shrunk their gap in the closing moments of the quarter, and made it a 15-14 score going into the second quarter of play.

Both teams struggled to put points on the scoreboard at the start of the second quarter, as the only made basket came from Moore through nearly three minutes of play.  Junior Sara Ortiz (La Roda, Spain) ended the drought with a layup near the seven-minute mark, followed by another layup from Sophomore Jozelynn Bostick (Centralia, Mo.) to put the MVC lead at 21-14.  Ortiz added the next four points for Missouri Valley, midway through the quarter, and Moore added a three-point basket with three minutes remaining to put the advantage at 28-14.  Freshman D'ajha Horton (Aurora, Colo.) added four points late in the quarter, and Moore made another three-pointer.  Freshman Lexi Fenstermacher (O'Fallon, Mo.) ended the half with a last-second jumper, and MVC outscored Hannibal-LaGrange by a 22-2 margin in the quarter to hold a 37-16 lead at the break.

Missouri Valley went on an early run in the third quarter to extend its advantage.  Callahan made a three-pointer, Senior Noa Fernandez (Castaneda, Spain) and Exposito finished off layups and Moore added a basket to cap an 8-0 and put the lead at 46-21 midway through the quarter.  Junior Maleigha Landers (Fort Worth, Texas) scored the next four points for MVC, while Sullivan added a three-point play to close scoring in the third, and widen the gap to 54-26.

The fourth quarter started with a quick three-pointer from Exposito, who added a layup near the eight-minute mark to make it a 63-29 score.  The Vikings held HLGU from putting together a late run, while Moore had one more jumper, and Sullivan scored the final four points of the game for Missouri Valley to seal a 69-40 victory.

Moore led with 15 points and eight rebounds, while Exposito scored 15 points.  Sullivan came off the bench to score 10 points and add four assist.  Ortiz led with 11 rebounds, and scored five points.  Missouri Valley held a 49-21 advantage in rebounds, and forced 26 turnovers.  Hannibal-LaGrange was limited to 29-percent shooting from the floor.

Missouri Valley improves to 1-0, while Hannibal-LaGrange falls to 0-1.

Up next, the Viking women's basketball team plays one more game at the Culver Classic, taking on Viterbo (Wisc.), Saturday at 12 p.m., in Canton, Mo.

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.