Women's Basketball Falls to Benedictine on the Road

Atchison, Kan., (Dec. 11, 2024)- The Missouri Valley College men's and women's basketball teams traveled to Atchison, Kan., for a Heart of America Athletic Conference doubleheader against Benedictine (Kan.), Wednesday evening.  The women's team fell by a final score of 77-54, while the men's team lost, 82-47.

The women's game began with Missouri Valley falling into a deficit, 8-2, with two minutes played.  Back-to-back three-pointers from Senior Ylenia Exposito (Tenerife, Canary Islands) brought the teams into a tie score, 8-8, less than two minutes later.  Junior Maleigha Landers (Fort Worth, Texas) added a basket midway through the quarter to keep the teams even, at 10-10, but Benedictine ended the quarter on a run.  The Ravens outscored MVC by an 11-2 margin to sit in front, 21-12 going into the second quarter.

A three-pointer from Sophomore Jozelynn Bostick (Centralia, Mo.) started scoring for the Vikings in the second quarter, while a field goal by Senior Rajone Callahan (Wichita, Kan.) cut the gap down to 23-17, after just over one minute had come off the clock.  The two teams traded points through the next stretch, with a pair of free throws by both Sophomore Richarda Schott (Krefeld, Germany) and Freshman D'Ajha Horton (Aurora, Colo.) put the deficit at 30-25 midway through the quarter.  Benedictine responded to push its lead out to double-digits, 36-25, just over one minute later.  Freshman Mackenzie Mills (Kansas City, Mo.) added a late basket for MVC, but the team trailed, 46-28, at halftime.

The third quarter featured an early pair of free throws from Junior Sophie Sullivan (Lombard, Ill.), and a field goal from Schott, but the team sat in a 51-32 deficit after two minutes of play.  Three-pointers from Schott and Bostick made it a 55-38 score past the midway mark of the quarter.  The Ravens added to their lead through the rest of the quarter, and a field goal from Callahan just before time expired put the contest at 65-43.  The Vikings were unable to work back into the game in the fourth quarter, and eventually fell by a final score of 77-54.

Callahan led with 10 points to go with five rebounds.  Schott had nine points and Bostick came off the bench to score eight points.  Missouri Valley forced 13 turnovers in the game.

Missouri Valley drops to 8-3 overall and 5-3 in the Heart.  Benedictine improves to 8-1 on the season and 6-1 in the conference.

Up next, the women's team will play NCAA Division II Rockhurst (Mo.) in an exhibition game, Saturday at 2 p.m., in Kansas City, Mo.  Both teams will be in action again, Tuesday, on the road in Dubuque, Iowa, against Clarke (Iowa) in a Heart doubleheader.  Women's game starts at 1:30 p.m., followed by the men's game at 3:30 p.m.

Men's Box Score-Click Here

Women's 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.