Women's Basketball Pulls Away in Win Over Graceland

Marshall, Mo., (November 19, 2023)- The Missouri Valley College men's and women's basketball teams hosted Graceland (Iowa) in a Heart of America Athletic Conference doubleheader Sunday afternoon inside the Burns Athletic Complex.  The women's team pulled away in the second half for a 61-52 win.  The men's team suffered a loss by a final score of 77-61.

Missouri Valley struggled to score early in the women's game, as Graceland went on top, 8-0, with more than six minutes played in the contest.  The first points of the game came on a Junior Gia Moore (Independence, Mo.) field goal, while a Freshman Jozelynn Bostick (Centralia, Mo.) offensive rebound and layup cut the deficit to 8-4 with two minutes to play in the first quarter.  Moore then added a three-point play, and Junior Maddie Ferrara (Hendersonville, Tenn.) sank one free throw to tie the teams at 8-8 in the final minute.  The Yellowjackets responded with six-straight points, including a three-pointer at the buzzer to hold a 14-8 advantage going into the second quarter.

Scoring in the second quarter began more than one minute after play resumed when Moore came up with a steal, fast-break layup, with a free throw added on to trim the gap to 14-11.  Graceland increased its lead to 17-11, but Sophomore Sophie Sullivan (Lombard, Ill.) answered with a jump shot, followed by a three-pointer.  Sophomore Tyler Conkright (Ellington, Mo.) also sank a three-point shot moments later, and MVC had its first lead of the game, 19-17, with less than five minutes played in the quarter.  The Yellowjackets tied the teams at 19-19 at the midway point of the second quarter, then again at 21-21.  Sullivan put the Vikings back on top with a layup near the three-minute mark, and Moore sank three free throws to extend the advantage out to 26-21.  Graceland added a late three-pointer, but Missouri Valley went into the break with a 26-24 lead.

Graceland quickly tied the teams to open play in the third quarter, but the Vikings followed with a run.  Moore put MVC back on top with a jump shot, followed by a pair of layups from Freshman Ricarda Schott (Krefeld, Germany).  Moore capped an 8-0 run with another made basket, and the score sat at 34-26 with less than four minutes played after the restart.  Sullivan moved the advantage out to 37-28 with a three-pointer, with another Moore layup making it a double-digit lead, 39-28, midway through the quarter.  The Yellowjackets worked its deficit down to single-digits, while a Schott basket put the lead at 41-32 near the three-minute mark. Missouri Valley maintained its advantage and went into the fourth quarter on top, 45-36.

With more than one minute played in the final quarter, Schott scored the first points, on a layup, to extend the advantage back to double-digits, 47-36.  A basket from Sullivan put the score at 49-36, but MVC went scoreless over a three minute stretch as GU cut its deficit down to 49-42.  Schott ended the drought with a jump shot, but the Yellowjackets got to within a 51-48 score with two minutes to play.  Graceland trailed 53-50 moments later, but Sullivan added a layup followed by Schott steal and two made free throws from Moore to put the lead at 57-50 for the Vikings.  Schott then blocked a shot and Conkright added two more free throws.  Sullivan capped the game with two final made free throw attempts, and Missouri Valley finished out a 61-52 win.

Moore led with 19 points, and added four steals.  Sullivan totaled 16 points, six rebounds and four assists.  Schott added a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds.  MissourI Valley limited Graceland to 29-percent shooting from the floor and generated 16 turnovers.  The Vikings also had a 59-38 advantage in rebounds.

Missouri Valley improves to 4-1 on the season and 2-0 in the Heart.  Graceland drops to 3-3 overall and 1-1 in the conference.

Up next, the Viking basketball teams will travel to Baldwin City, Kan., for a Heart doubleheader with Baker (Kan.), Tuesday evening.  Women's game set for 5:30 p.m., followed by the men's game at 7:30 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.