Women's Basketball Opens Heart Play With Win at Baker

Baldwin City, Kan., (Nov. 13, 2024)- The Missouri Valley College men's and women's basketball teams traveled to Baldwin City, Kan., to open play in the Heart of America Athletic Conference with a doubleheader against Baker (Kan.), Wednesday evening.  The women's team pulled away in the second half for a 73-56 win.

The women's game started with a quick jump shot made by Senior Ylenia Exposito (Tenerife, Canary Islands), followed by a made layup by Senior Noa Fernandez (Castaneda, Spain) to put Missouri Valley on top, 4-0, with just over one minute played.  Baker answered with five-straight points, and MVC was held scoreless for a nearly three minute stretch of play, to trail, 5-4.  Senior Rajone Callahan (Wichita, Kan.) ended the drought with a layup, followed by a made jumper from Senior Giavanna Moore (Independence, Mo.) to put the Vikings back on top, 8-5, with less than six minutes to play in the quarter.  Made baskets from Exposito and Junior Gabriela Modeva (Ohrid, Macedonia) extended the lead to 12-5 near the four-minute mark.  The two teams struggled to score points late in the quarter, with a pair of free throws from Freshman D'ajha Horton (Aurora, Colo.) to end play with MVC on top, 16-9.

Missouri Valley was held scoreless through more than two minutes of play to begin the second quarter, and the Wildcats worked down their gap to 16-13 during the stretch.  Callahan made a layup near the seven-minute mark for the first points of the quarter, but BU eventually sat in a 20-18 deficit with four minutes played.  Freshman Lexi Fenstermacher (O'Fallon, Mo.) and Callahan added the next pair of baskets, as the teams traded points through a 24-22 score with less than four minutes to play in the half.  The next eight points were scored by the Vikings as Callahan made a three-pointer and Fernandez added a pair of layups to give the team a double-digit advantage, 32-22, with just over one minute remaining.  Baker closed to within a 32-26 gap in the closing moments, but Fernandez made a layup as time expired to make it a 34-26 score going into halftime.

A made jumper from Exposito, followed by a layup from Junior Sara Ortiz (La Roda, Spain) and a three-pointer by Moore gave MVC a double-digit lead again, 41-30, with four minutes played in the quarter.  The Vikings went scoreless over the next three minutes of play, but a three-pointer from Exposito made it a 44-32 score just past the midway point of the fourth.  Exposito added a three-point play with three minutes remaining to put the lead at 49-36, then Sophomore Ricarda Schott (Krefeld, Germany) added a three-point play to send MVC into the fourth quarter in front, 52-43.

The first points of the fourth quarter for Missouri Valley came on a pair of free throws by Moore and a layup from Fernandez to give the team a double-digit lead once again, 56-44, with just over one minute off the clock.  Ortiz made a pair of layups over the next minute to make it a 60-45 score.  Three-pointers from both Exposito and Callahan near the three-minute mark helped extend the advantage to 69-53, and Missouri Valley closed out the game from there.  The Vikings held off BU late, and earned a 73-56 win.

Exposito recorded a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Callahan added 14 points and eight rebounds.  Moore totaled 13 points and five assists, and Fernandez had 10 points and six rebounds.  Ortiz led with 15 rebounds, and added eight points.  Missouri Valley held a 55-25 advantage in rebounds, and forced 16 turnovers, limiting Baker to 32-percent shooting.

The win moves Missouri Valley to 4-0 on the season and 1-0 in the Heart.  Baker drops to 1-2 overall and 0-1 in the conference.

Up next, the Viking basketball teams travel to Lamoni, Iowa, for a Heart doubleheader with Graceland (Iowa), Saturday.  Women's game at 2 p.m., followed by the men's game at 4 p.m.

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.