![Women's Basketball Earns Road Win Over Clarke](/sports/wbkb/2024-25/photos/clarkewbbroad.jpg?max_width=600)
Women's Basketball Earns Road Win Over Clarke
Dubuque, Iowa, (Dec. 17, 2024)- The Missouri Valley College men's and women's basketball teams traveled to Dubuque, Iowa for a Heart of America Athletic Conference doubleheader against Clarke (Iowa), Tuesday afternoon. The women's team built up an early lead, and finished with a 71-60 victory.
The women's game started with Clarke going in front in the first two minutes of play, 5-2. Senior Ylenia Exposito (Tenerife, Canary Islands) tied the teams with a three-pointer, then put MVC on top with a layup moments later. Sophomore Ricarda Schott (Krefeld, Germany) followed with a steal and fast-break layup, then added another basket to end a 7-0 run for the team to hold a 9-5 advantage with nearly three minutes off the clock. The Vikings went nearly four minutes without a field goal, but kept the Pride scoreless through the stretch of play. Schott added another layup near the three-minute mark to make it a 14-7 score. After Clarke worked its deficit down to 15-10, Freshman Lexi Fenstermacher (O'Fallon, Mo.) capped scoring for MVC in the quarter with a three-point play. The Pride added one more basket just before the buzzer, but Missouri Valley went into the second quarter in front, 19-12.
The Vikings went nearly two minutes of play in the second quarter without scoring, until a Junior Gabriela Modeva (Ohrid, Macedonia) layup. Senior Rajone Callahan (Wichita, Kan.) came through with a three-pointer moments later, and MVC had a double-digit lead, 24-14, near the seven-minute mark. The Pride cut down its deficit with a 6-0 run, to trail 24-20 with just over four minutes to play in the quarter. Missouri Valley answered with its own run, outscoring CU by an 11-0 margin over a three-minute stretch of play. Schott scored nine points during the run, with Modeva adding a basket to help the team hold a 35-20 lead. Clarke added the final basket of the half, and the Vikings went into halftime ahead, 35-22.
Scoring in the third quarter opened with five points coming from Schott to extend the advantage out to 40-22 with two minutes played after the restart. The two teams traded points over the next several minutes, as free throws from Exposito and Callahan made it a 44-29 score with four minutes left to play in the third quarter. Missouri Valley continued to add to its lead over the next three minutes, as Callahan made a layup and Modeva sank a pair of free throws. Clarke ended the quarter outscoring MVC by a 5-0 margin and cut the gap to 49-36.
The fourth quarter began with three points coming from Schott, but Clarke eventually worked its deficit back to single-digits, 52-41, in the opening two minutes of play. A Modeva jumper just over one minute later stretched the lead back to double-digits, while a pair of Callahan free throws made it a 58-46 score at the six-minute mark. The Pride scored five-straight points, and trailed 58-51 midway through the final quarter of play. Callahan answered with a layup, and a Schott three-point play moved the advantage out to 63-51 with three minutes remaining. Missouri Valley closed out the game from there, making all six free throw attempts in the final minute. Callahan had four made free throws during the stretch, including the final points of the contest to secure a 71-60 victory.
Schott led with a career-high 30 points, on 12 of 17 shooting, and added seven rebounds. Callahan had a season-high 15 points, while Exposito recorded her third double-double of the season, totaling 10 points and 10 rebounds. The Vikings held the Pride to 30-percent shooting, and MVC finished with a 54-37 advantage in rebounds.
The win moves Missouri Valley to 9-3 overall and 6-3 in the Heart. Clarke drops to 6-3 on the season and 4-3 in the conference.
Up next, the women's basketball team hosts Central Christian of the Bible (Kan.) in a non-conference game, Thursday at 3 p.m., inside the Burns Athletic Complex. Bopth teams will be in action again, Jan. 2, with a home doubleheader against Grand View (Iowa). Free Admission for both Thursday's game and the doubleheader Jan. 2.
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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.