Women's Basketball picked up a key win Wednesday night.
The Ravens defeated the Missouri Valley College Vikings 80-73 in the Ravens final home contest of the season.
With the win, the Ravens take possession of third place in the Heart South Division. The top three seeds in each division plus the next two best conference records earn a spot in the Heart Championship Tournament.
After taking a 17-point lead into the fourth quarter, the Ravens saw their lead melt away due to the Vikings hot shooting. The Ravens defense came up big when needed though, securing the 7-point win.
Aaliyah Raines had a game-high 19 points to go along with 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks, and 2 steals. She was joined in double-figures by Skylar Washington (16 points), Twilah Carrasquillo (14 points), Ali Brzozowski (11 points) and Natalie Smaron's 10 points.
The Ravens defense forced 17 Vikings turnovers in the game.
The first quarter was a defensive battle as neither team shot over 36% in the opening period. The Ravens held the Vikings scoreless for the first 5:30 of the game, but couldn't build a big lead in that span, scoring just 5 points of their own. The Ravens took a 13-12 lead into the second quarter.
The offense came alive for the Ravens in the second quarter as they scored 25 points to take a 38-25 lead into the halftime break.
The Ravens ended the half shooting 44.4% from the field with Raines leading the way with 10 points. She was followed close behind by Ali Brzozowski's 8 points in the opening half. In the middle of the second quarter, Skylar Washington knocked down a 3-pointer, vaulting her into the Ravens top-10 all-time scoring list.
The Ravens defense continued to play well in the second quarter as the Vikings shot 32.1% as well as recorded 14 turnovers in the opening 20 minutes. Giavanna Moore entered the contest averaging 17 points in Heart Conference action, but was limited to 2 points in the first half. Moore finished the game with 15 points but needed 18 shots to get there.
The 3-pointers started to fall for the Ravens in the third quarter. They knocked own 4-of-5 in the period to help them take a 60-43 into the fourth quarter.
The big cushion proved to be important as the Ravens protected their lead late.
The win snapped Missouri Valley's six-game winning streak, as well as giving the Ravens a 19-9 record, 11-7 in Heart play. The Ravens will close out the regular season Saturday, Feb. 19 at Park University.
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