Pride pull away for 18-point Senior Day victory over Missouri Valley
DUBUQUE, Iowa - Closing out the 2022-23 regular season with their final home game, the Clarke University women's basketball team earned a Senior Day win over Missouri Valley College by a 78-60 final score.
The Pride trailed in the early going as MVC weathered a 10-3 start from Clarke to turn that around to a 16-11 lead of their own as they would hold a lead until the final moments of the first quarter before a Mya Merschman buzzer beating layup gave CU a one-point lead at 17-16 after one.
The Vikings would hit a three-pointer to open the second and regain a lead at 19-17 but that would be their final lead of the day as a Giana Michels jumper and two Skylar Culbertson free throws would put CU back in front and they would never look back.
Outscoring Missouri Valley by six in the second, five in the third, and six again in the fourth, the Pride were able to individually send off their active senior class one by one as Michels, Culbertson, Emma Kelchen, and Tina Ubl all played in their final regular season home game of their Clarke careers.
Kelchen and Ubl were the team's top-two leaders in points in the game as Kelchen scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for her second double-double of the season as Kelchen has recorded 15 or more points in four straight games. Ubl added 14 points on 6-of-9 (66.7%) shooting from the field while adding five rebounds as the last member of the Pride in double figures was Merschman who added 13 points off the bench.
Clarke was a single point away each from three more players scoring in double figures as Michels, Culbertson, and Nicole McDermott all finished with nine as McDermott and Culbertson both finished with a game-high tying totals of 11 rebounds.
The game's leading scorer was Missouri Valley's Giavanna Moore who finished with 23 points on 9-of-18 shooting from the field as she was support by Brecon Antrillo's 12 points and Marina Mellado's 10 with all three playing over 35 minutes and Moore never leaving the floor for a second of action.
It was the Pride's final home game of the regular season but won't be their final home game overall as they clinched the No. 2 seed in the Heart of America Conference Tournament starting next Wednesday, Feb. 22 as the opponent and time are still to be determined.