The Missouri Valley Viking women saw an eight-point lead evaporate in the fourth quarter, but were able to regroup in overtime and defeat Culver-Stockton 60-57 on Monday, Feb. 3 in Canton, while the men took an early lead and maintained it to secure the sweep.
Baskets were hard to come by early in the women’s contest, as the score was knotted at five apiece after a first quarter and 15-12 Wildcats at the half. The Vikings took the lead in the third quarter with a pair of Gia Moore baskets, and expanded their lead to eight early in the fourth quarter, before an 11-2 run by Culver-Stockton erased the lead. A three-point basket by Rajone Callahan and jump shot by Ylenia Exposito put the Vikings back in front late, only for jump shots from Misora Nambara to tie the game for Culver-Stockton and force overtime. The Wildcats claimed the lead early in the extra frame, but D’Ajha Horton’s layup with 38 seconds to go, along with a pair of free throws from Moore, proved to be the difference for the Vikings.
Moore led the Viking women with 18 points, while two teammates were in double figures. Ricarda Schott had 17 points and 16 rebounds, while Exposito claimed 14 points and 10 boards. A 29-12 advantage on offensive rebounds allowed MoValley to score 21 second-chance points, while Culver-Stockton claimed a 13-8 point advantage on points off turnovers. The Viking women are now 18-4 on the season, 14-4 in the Heart of America Conference.
The Viking men are now .500 in conference play after cruising to a 64-56 win over the Wildcats. MoValley went on a 15-point run midway through the first half to build a 21-5 lead, but gave most of that lead back when Culver-Stockton posted 10 straight points before Keenan Jones netted a three-point basket, keeping the Vikings ahead at the half 29-23. The Vikings padded their lead in the second half, leading by as much as 15, before settling for an eight-point margin at the buzzer.
Despite having just five baskets from distance, the Vikings posted a slightly better field goal percentage than Culver-Stockton while claiming a 42-34 advantage in rebounds and scoring 30 points from the paint to Culver-Stockton’s 14. Geovanni Floyd and David Ajanaku led the Vikings with 14 points apiece, while Cawhan Smith added 11 and Keenan Jones tallied ten. Connor Davis led the Wildcats with 19 points.
The Vikings now have a 9-9 record in conference play, with an overall mark of 10-12. Both Viking squads visit MidAmerica Nazarene tomorrow (Wednesday) night, with the women tipping off at 5:30 p.m. and men at 7:30 p.m.