Women’s basketball fell to a close game Wednesday night.
The Ravens lost their final home game of the season 65-57 to the Missouri Valley College Vikings.
After trailing in the first half, the Ravens came out determined in the second half. Aaliyah Raines drilled a 3-pointer to bring the Ravens back to single digits, and a 16-2 aggregate run put the hosts within 3 points, 44-41, at the end of the third. The teams headed into the fourth quarter with the Vikings leading 49-43.
The Vikings pushed their lead back to 8 points early in the fourth quarter only to see the Ravens get within 3 points once again when Jennifer Jacobs hit a pair of free throws with 6:49 to play. However, the Vikings held on to take the lead and won by 8 runs.
A long goal drought hurt the Ravens in the second quarter. After a jumper by Raines put the Ravens within 1 point at 19-18, the Vikings rattled off a 14-0 run in nearly 7 minutes of play to take a 33-18 lead.
The Ravens outscored the Vikings in the first half, 22-17, but the visitors had a 38% to 32% shooting lead in the first 20 minutes. MVC did a lot of damage behind the 3-point line, converting 6-of-13 from deep, including one to beat the buzzer in the first quarter and another deep 3-pointer to beat the shot clock in the second quarter. They led 36–21 at halftime.
The Ravens showed some struggle in the second half, pulling within 3 points on two separate occasions, but it was the Vikings who walked off the field with the win.
The Ravens finished shooting 43% from the field, surpassing MVC’s 38% mark, to outscore the Vikings 41-29. But 22 turnovers hurt the Ravens’ cause.
Raines had 13 points to lead the Ravens, Kennedy Nicholson had 10 points, and Makayla Baughman and Jacobs each had 8 points.
The Ravens (9-18 overall, 6-15 Heart) will close their season on Saturday, February 18 at Culver-Stockton.
