New Scoring Record Set in Women's Basketball Win Over Graceland

Marshall, Mo., (Jan. 11, 2025)- The Missouri Valley College men's and women's basketball teams hosted Graceland (Iowa) in a Heart of America Athletic Conference doubleheader Saturday afternoon inside the Burns Athletic Complex.  The women's team built up a large lead and finished with an 85-60 victory.  The men's team held off the No. 25 Yellowjackets to earn an 81-68 win.

Missouri Valley went out in front early in the women's contest, as Senior Giavanna Moore (Independence, Mo.) made a three-pointer, followed by a steal and layup from Senior Rajone Callahan (Wichita, Kan.).  Senior Ylenia Exposito (Tenerife, Canary Islands) added another three-point basket, and Moore sank a three-point shot to cap an early run and give MVC an 11-2 advantage with nearly four minutes played.  The Vikings built up their lead to double-digits less than two minutes later, as Sophomore Ricarda Schott (Krefeld, Germany) finished off a three-point play.  Callahan had another steal and fast-break layup to make it an 18-5 score near the four-minute mark.  The next field goal for Missouri Valley came nearly two minutes later, as Senior Noa Fernandez (Castaneda, Spain) came down with an offensive rebound and layup, while Junior Sophie Sullivan (Lombard, Ill.) sank her first basket.  Late field goals were added by Fernandez and Sophomore Jozelynn Bostick (Centralia, Mo.) to end the first quarter, and stretch the MVC lead out to 27-12.

The second quarter started with a 9-2 run for Missouri Valley through four minutes of play.  Exposito opened scoring a three-pointer, while Schott, Fernandez and Moore each had one layup to put the score at 36-14.  Junior Maleigha Landers (Fort Worth, Texas) and Schott each made three-point attempts midway through the quarter, as the advantage grew to 42-17.  Moore scored the next five points for MVC and Sullivan added four made free throws to make it a 51-24 lead in the final two minutes of the half.  Callahan grabbed an offensive rebound and added a layup in the closing moments, with a last-second three-pointer from Bostick to close the first half, and send the Vikings into the break in front, 56-24.

The two teams traded points at the start of the third quarter.  An early basket scored by Moore moved her into first place all-time in career scoring for the Missouri Valley women's basketball team, as her layup with nearly two minutes played made it a 60-29 score and gave Moore 1,498 career-points, passing Michele (Renschin) Reinke.  Callahan added six points through the five-minute mark of the quarter as the score sat at 64-38.  Moore sank a three-point shot in the final minute, then came up with a steal that led to a Freshman D'Ajha Hornton (Aurora, Colo.) layup to end the quarter and put the advantage at 73-42.  The Vikings kept Graceland from working back into the game in the final quarter of play and eventually finished out an 85-60 win.

Moore led with 18 points, and now has 1,501 points in her career at Missouri Valley to sit on top of the program's all-time standings.  Callahan added 13 points, while Exposito had 12 points and five rebounds.  Schott scored 10 points.  Missouri Valley held a 47-35 advantage in rebounds, forced 17 turnovers and held Graceland to 33-percent shooting from the floor.

The win moves Missouri Valley to 13-3 overall and 9-3 in the Heart.  Graceland drops to 4-12 on the season and 2-10 in the conference.  The Vikings sweep the regular season series, after defeating GU in Lamoni, Iowa, 66-46, back on Nov. 16.

Up next, the Viking basketball teams host Baker (Kan.) in a Heart doubleheader, Wednesday evening inside the Burns Athletic Complex.  Women's game starts at 5:30 p.m., and the men's game against the No. 12 Wildcats is set for 7:30 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.