Women's Basketball won their second-straight home game Wednesday night, topping the Missouri Valley College Vikings 70-55.
The Ravens improved to 15-8 with the win, and 9-8 in Heart of America play.
The Ravens got a big boost from their bench as Natalie Smaron led the team with a career-high 20 points. Smaron also had seven rebounds, two steals and a block in the win.
The Ravens held a 49-41 lead heading into the fourth quarter. That's when they really turned things on, turning the 8-point advantage into as much as 23 points in the final frame. When the dust had settled, the Ravens ended the night with the 15-point advantage. They also moved to 14-0 on the season when scoring at least 65 points in a game.
The Ravens finished the night shooting 39.7 percent from the field as Ali Brzozowski added 12 points and LaRanda Thomas had 10 to go with Smaron's big game. The Ravens also finished with 47 rebounds, compared to 38 for the Vikings.
The Ravens struggled offensively to open the game, converting just two of 16 attempts from the floor. However, they were a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line. Additionally, the Ravens held MVC to 4-21 shooting in the opening 10 minutes and the teams were level, 10-10, after one quarter of action.
It took the Ravens less than 3 minutes in the second quarter to exceed their first-quarter scoring total. Rylee Neill hit a 3-pointer, then a runner and a free throw, and Thomas hit a 3 and a baseline jumper to put the Ravens up 21-15.
The Ravens shot 50 percent in the second quarter, hitting three 3-pointers, to take a 34-27 lead into the halftime break.
The Vikings also hit half their shots in the second quarter, but a big difference came at the free throw line. The Ravens were aggressive to the basket and made 9-11 from the stripe in the first half while the Vikings didn't attempt a first-half free throw.
The Ravens entered the game averaging 16.6 offensive rebounds per game, the fifth-best mark in the NAIA. They bettered that number Wednesday, pulling down 21 offensive boards.
The Ravens will remain home for their next couple of games. First, they'll take on Mount Mercy University at 12 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 8, then Evangel University on Wednesday, Feb. 12.
