Lady Vikings unable to hang on

The Missouri Valley College women's basketball team was looking for a season sweep of Heart of America Conference rival Culver-Stockton, but couldn't hang on to a double-digit second-half league Thursday and lost a 74-59 home decision.

The Lady Vikings were up by 11 points early in the period and had a 10-point cushion with 12:33 remaining, but three-pointers by junior Krista Walker and sophomore Breezy Guymon chipped into the margin.

Junior Jessica Francka stole a pass and fed sophomore Chelsea Quiring to give Valley a six-point edge, but the Lady Wildcats went on a 20-5 run over the next six-and-a-half minutes behind Guymon's 11 points for a 10-point lead with 1:21 left.

Turnovers remained a problem for the Lady Vikings, who are ranked 108th out of 110 NAIA Division I teams in turnover ratio (-6.58 per game). They coughed the ball up on five of six possessions, including four in a row, during the span in which Culver caught up.

The Lady Wildcats made seven of 11 free-throw attempts, and got a stick-back from sophomore Jamai Letcher on one of the misses, during the final 63 seconds to extend their lead.

Letcher had 20 points, seven steals and four blocked shots and Guymon added 17 points for Culver-Stockton (5-15, 2-11 HAAC).

Quiring's 16 points led Valley (4-20, 2-11), with senior Ashley Sequeira adding 15 points and 12 rebounds.

The Lady Vikings will try to end their four-game skid when Lindenwood visits next Thursday.