Valparaiso (0-2, 0-0 MVC)
at Illinois (1-0, 0-0 Big Ten)

Game No. 3 – Wednesday, Nov. 14 – 7 p.m. CT
State Farm Center (15,544) – Champaign, Ill.                                                 

Next Up in Valpo Basketball: The Valparaiso University women’s basketball team hits the road this week to play three games in four days, all away from the Athletics-Recreation Center. The journey starts in Champaign, as Valpo visits Big Ten foe Illinois on Wednesday evening.

Last Time Out: Valpo battled back late in the game, but couldn’t overcome a deficit created in the third quarter of a 62-56 loss to North Dakota. Meredith Hamlet led her team with 15 points, 12 of which came in the fourth. Shay Frederick reached double figures with 11 points and pulled down six boards in the first home game of her collegiate career, while Addison Stoller filled the stat sheet with nine points and a career-high eight boards.

Following Valpo: Wednesday’s game will be broadcast on BTN+, which is available online with the purchase of a subscription. In addition, the game can be heard on 95.1 FM Valparaiso and online via the TuneIn Radio app with Ben Ariano (play-by-play) and Brandon Vickrey (color commentary) providing the hometown call. For in-game updates, follow @ValpoWBB on Twitter. Links to live video, audio and stats will be available on ValpoAthletics.com.                                                                                                                

Head Coach Mary Evans: Mary Evans is in her first year as the head coach of the Valparaiso University women’s basketball program in 2018-2019. Evans, who spent the last five seasons as an assistant coach at Ohio University, became the eighth head coach in program history on April 13, 2018. She brought 15 years of Division I experience with her to Valpo. During her time on Ohio’s staff under head coach Bob Boldon, Evans helped the Bobcats to three seasons of 22 wins or more, three postseason appearances and three Top 75 RPI finishes. The 2014-15 team established a school record with 27 wins, a 21-win improvement from two years earlier and an 18-win improvement from the previous season. The Bobcats won the 2014-15 MAC regular season and tournament titles and reached the NCAA Tournament. Evans has also coached at Youngstown State, Georgia Southern, South Carolina Aiken and Seton Hall.

Series Notes: Valpo and Illinois have faced off three times, with the Illini prevailing in all three matchups. The most recent game was in 2014 at the ARC, while Valpo’s last visit to Champagne came in 2013.

Milestone Watch: Valpo senior Meredith Hamlet has moved to within striking distance of a noteworthy milestone as she enters Wednesday’s game with 983 career points, needing 17 to hit the 1,000-point threshold for her collegiate career. She would become just the 15^th player in program history to score over 1,000 points. It doesn’t take much of a journey into the Valpo women’s basketball history books to find the last 1,000-point scorer, as Dani Franklin reached the milestone on Jan. 17, 2017 at Green Bay. With her 15-point effort on Sunday against North Dakota, Hamlet climbed to 16^th in program history in career scoring, surpassing both Agnieszka Kulaga (2005-2009, 971) and Cheryl Wilbrandt (1989-1993, 978). Hamlet is 10 points away from overtaking Shari Toelke (1990-1994, 992) for a spot in the Top 15. In addition, Hamlet has 155 made 3s, a total that ranks seventh in program history. She is 17 away from entering the Top 5.

Battling The Big Ten: Valpo enters Wednesday night seeking its first win against a Big Ten team since topping Indiana 64-52 at the ARC on Nov. 9, 2012. Although Valpo has never beaten Illinois, the program does have wins over four Big Ten schools – Indiana, Purdue, Northwestern and Michigan. Valpo bested Northwestern 57-51 on Nov. 30, 2005, beat Michigan 62-49 in the first round of the WNIT on March 13, 2002 and most notably upset No. 21 Purdue on Dec. 10, 2008 by a score of 71-60. This will mark the fifth power conference venue that Valpo’s seniors have had the opportunity to play in during their time on campus. Valpo went to Louisville in 2015-16, Notre Dame and Indiana in 2016-17 and Purdue in 2017-18. Valpo’s last Big Ten game saw Meredith Hamlet go off for 19 first-half points and knock down five 3s prior to halftime last year at Purdue.

Making a Living at the Line: When Meredith Hamlet made 12 free throws last week at UIC, not only did it set a career high, but it came within one of entering the Top 10 in program history for single-game made free throws. It was the most made free throws by a Valpo player in a single game since Ashley Varner had 13 at Cleveland State way back on Feb. 4, 2012. Hamlet ranks ninth nationally with 20 free-throw attempts and sixth nationally with 16 made free-throws this season.

Starting Strong: When Shay Frederick turned heads with her play over the first two games of the season this past week, she wasn’t the first Valpo freshman to do so in recent years. Last season, Bryce Blood posted a double-double of 13 points and 13 rebounds in her first collegiate game. Two years ago, Grace Hales opened up her collegiate career by knocking down three triples at Stetson. Meredith Hamlet contributed nine points in her first career game in 2015, while Dani Franklin started her career with 14 points against Butler in 2014.

Swiping It Away: Valpo racked up 15 steals in the season opener last week at UIC, led by four from Addison Stoller. Stoller, Ella Ellenson (3), Allison Schofield (3) and Shay Frederick (3) all set career highs in steals in the game. It marked the most steals by Valpo in a single game since Jan. 23, 2014, when the team accumulated 18 in an 85-44 win over Detroit Mercy. Valpo leads the MVC in both total steals (20) and steals per game (10.0). Stoller and Schofield are tied for second in the league with 2.5 steals per game.

New-Look Lineup: All five players who started last week’s season opener at UIC were on the roster last season, but four of the five combined to start only three games a year ago. Senior Allison Schofield played in her 63^rd career game and made her first career start. It took her just one game to exceed her total number of made 3-pointers from last season by going 2-for-2 from beyond the arc while playing 29 minutes after averaging 6.4 minutes per game last year. The 29 minutes were a career high, eclipsing her previous high of 22 that came on Dec. 4, 2016 at Notre Dame. Addison Stoller made her second career start after a pair of injury-plagued seasons. Hannah Schaub returned after suffering a season-ending injury in the second game of 2017-18. Sophomore Ella Ellenson made her first collegiate start.

Lineup Constants: The one constant in the starting five from last year’s regular starters to the lineup in each of the first two games this season was Meredith Hamlet, who made her 90^th career start. Hamlet has started all but two of the games she’s played in her Valpo career. She and Schaub both started on opening night for the fourth consecutive season as both burst into the starting lineup as freshmen.

Champions in Classroom: The Valpo women’s basketball team has developed a tradition of having players thrive academically. The 2017-2018 season saw Valpo have 11 players finish the spring semester with a GPA of 3.0 or better. Two players were named MVC Scholar-Athletes of the Week during the season and two were recognized as part of either the MVC Scholar-Athlete team or MVC Scholar-Athlete honorable mention. The 2018-2019 team has players with the following majors: biology, biomedical engineering, communications, public relations, marketing, healthcare leadership, health sciences, exercise science, psychology, finance, elementary education, business management and secondary/physical education.

Champions in Community: The program also has a commitment to serving the community. During their time on campus, players have visited elementary school students and wrote letters back and forth to encourage and promote healthy lifestyles as pen pals. In addition, Valpo women’s basketball players assembled over 1,000 informational packages for runners and spectators at the Chicago Marathon as part of the team’s annual Pack-a-thon. Athletes on the team engaged the greater Valparaiso community by volunteering and organizing supervision of the Valparaiso Popcorn Fest’s Little Kernel Puff Run. Valpo players ran with children to the finish line of the event and helped set up the race. Valparaiso was the hometown of Orville Redenbacher’s popcorn company. Numerous Valpo players have also volunteered their time at the Valpo Boys & Girls Club.

What’s Back: Valpo returns nine of its top 10 scorers from a year ago, but the one departure was significant as leading scorer Dani Franklin graduated after finishing in the Top 10 in Valpo history in 13 statistical categories. Franklin, an all-conference first team selection as a senior, finished second in program history in career scoring with 1,721 points and fifth in rebounding with 713. In all, Valpo returns 12 letter winners and four starters from last season.

Inside the Fighting Illini

• Illinois started its season with an 88-60 victory over Alabama A&M last Wednesday. Ali Andrews turned in 17 points to lead a group of five Illini who reached double figures.
• Senior Alex Wittinger was named to the 2019 Lisa Leslie Award Watch List prior to the season. The award recognizes the top centers in women’s NCAA Division I college basketball. Wittinger is one of 20 candidates named to the watch list.
• Wittinger, a Preseason All-Big Ten honoree, led Illinois in scoring (15.0 ppg), rebounding (9.0 rpg), blocked shots (75) and field goal percentage (48.8) last season. She ranked among the top five in the Big Ten for her total rebounding, offensive rebounding and blocked shot numbers last season.
• The Fighting Illinois have 80 percent of their scoring back from last season and have welcomed five newcomers to the fold this year.
• Last year, Illinois went 9-22 overall and 0-16 in conference play. Two MVC teams were on the 2017-18 schedule as the Illini topped Bradley 74-62 and Indiana State 81-52. The Sycamores are back on the slate this year as Illinois hosts Indiana State on Dec. 5.
• Head coach Nancy Fahey ranks 12^th among active NCAA coaches with her 746 career wins. She is in her second season in Champaign after a 31-year stint at Washington University in St. Louis, where she led her team to an NCAA record five Division III national championships.

#RingTheBell

• Shortly after Valpo’s new coaching staff was assembled, the group sat down to discuss a program hashtag. Despite being new to Valpo, the staff members were well educated on the University’s history and tradition. That’s how #RingTheBell was born.
• Head Coach Mary Evans: “Ringing the bell here at Valpo is something you do when you graduate, so the concept speaks to our goal of being successful both on the court and in the classroom. We want to be one of the best programs in our conference and continue to have great success academically and in our personal lives. My message to our players is that whatever they do in life, it’s important to put in the time and effort to be very good at it. That’s what #RingTheBell has become to us.”
• Senior Allison Schofield: “I love the idea by our coaching staff and think it’s a tremendous concept. Ringing the bell is synonymous with Valparaiso University as a whole and has been for quite some time. This allows us to become closely associated with something that is University wide rather than separating ourselves as women’s basketball. To me, #RingTheBell means victory and finishing the close games that we’ve struggled to finish in the past.”
• Senior Meredith Hamlet: “To me, #RingTheBell is about winning games. That’s our goal. We have confidence that we can win the games on our schedule and we have a fair shot to beat every team we play. The team that works the hardest is going to win.”
• Redshirt Sophomore Addison Stoller: “#RingTheBell gives us a consistent message and establishes a trend that we want to continue. As a program, we want to be consistent in everything we do, from our messaging to our play on the court. We’ve seen our coaches get excited about ringing the bell and that’s allowed us to dedicate ourselves to it as well.”

A Look Back at 2017-18

• Valpo won a league tournament game for the sixth time in the last seven years by topping Loyola in the first round of Hoops in the Heartland before falling to eventual conference champion Drake in the second round.
• The program finished with 13 wins, the team’s highest win total since 2008-09, when it won 16 games. The team also equaled its highest conference win total since 2009-10 and had the most road wins in a single season since the 2011-2012 campaign.
• Valpo finished with the second-best free-throw percentage in program history at 76.0 and had its highest scoring average (65.1) since 2007-2008 (66.3).
• Senior Dani Franklin closed out her noteworthy career and was named to the 2017-18 All-MVC First Team and Scholar-Athlete First Team following the season. She finished second in program history in career points.

Meredith Hamlet

On the court…

• Enters Wednesday’s game in 16^th in program history in career points at 983. She needs 10 points to move into the Top 10 by passing Shari Toelke (1990-1994, 992) and 17 to hit the 1,000 point milestone for her collegiate career.
• Scored 12 of her game-high 15 points in the fourth quarter in the home opener on Nov. 11 against North Dakota.
• Started the season opener for the fourth consecutive year on Nov. 7 at UIC and swished in a career-high 12 free throws while scoring a team-high 19 points in that contest.
• Has 155 career made 3s, a total that ranks seventh in program history. She needs 17 to join a tie for fifth that includes Sarah Lenschow (1996-2000) and Aimee Litka (2005-2009), both of whom finished with 171.
• Set the school record for made 3-pointers by a freshman in a single season in 2015-16 with 69, a mark that ranked fifth overall in program history.
• Named to the 2015-16 Horizon League All-Freshman Team and received 2017-18 MVC Scholar-Athlete Honorable Mention.
• Has enjoyed numerous notable single-game performances, including reaching 29 points on three occasions – Dec. 15, 2017 vs. IU Northwest, Jan. 14, 2017 at Youngstown State and Dec. 30, 2015 at Northern Kentucky. Perhaps her most memorable game, however, was Feb. 11 of last season at Loyola, when she exploded for 19 points in the fourth quarter to help Valpo to a comeback victory after being held scoreless for the first three quarters.

Beyond basketball…

• Comes from a Valpo family as the third of three sisters to play women’s basketball at Valpo. Oldest sister Elizabeth graduate transferred to Valpo for the 2013-2014 season after starting her career at Oakland. Middle sister Annemarie also went from Oakland to Valpo for the 2013-14 season but sat out that year due to transfer rules. Annemarie played the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons, the second of which was Meredith’s freshman year.
• The Valpo legacy within the family goes beyond the sister trio as both of her sisters have married former Valpo athletes. Elizabeth is married to former Valpo men’s basketball player Bobby Capobianco, who closed out his collegiate career with the 2013-14 season. This past summer, Annemarie married Jake Hanson, who played baseball at Valpo as recently as 2017.
• Serves as the co-President of Valpo’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes and is a member of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSSA) on campus.
• Traveled to Ethiopia this past summer as part of Athletes in Action, a 10-day trip that sends a team of collegiate women’s basketball players from across the country to compete and train alongside Ethiopian university and professional teams. Athletes in Action is a faith-based group and the goal of the trip was to teach people about the glory of God. The players did missionary work, played against the Ethiopian national team, visited schools, attended church and shared their testimony during the 10-day stay in Africa.
• Majoring in public relations with minors in sports management and professional writing.

Allison Schofield

On the court…

• Made her first career start on Nov. 7 at UIC and played a career-high 29 minutes, going 2-for-2 both from the field and from 3-point range.
• Notched a career-high 15 points and led the team in scoring in the final game of the 2016-17 season, a Horizon League Tournament matchup with Green Bay. She went 4-for-4 from 3-point range in that contest.
• Appeared in 62 games over her first three seasons.

Beyond basketball…

• Majoring in biology with a minor in business.
• Expected to graduate in December 2018 and is applying to start her Master of Business Administration in January 2019.
• Has garnered experience in her field by doing job shadows for pharmaceutical and medical device sale companies during her time on campus. She shadowed with Eli Lilly two summers ago and Stryker this past summer.

Hannah Schaub

• On the court…
• Hauled in a team-high six rebounds in the season opener on Nov. 7 at UIC, leading the team in boards for the first time since March 11, 2016, when she had seven in a Horizon League Tournament game against Northern Kentucky. Started the season opener for the fourth straight season.
• Has returned to the court after suffering a season-ending injury in the second game of the 2017-2018 season.
• Enters Sunday ranked 16^th in program history in career assists with 240. Passed Jeanette Gray (1999-2003) for 16^th in the season opener at UIC and needs six more to match her former teammate Lexi Miller (2012-2016) for 15^th.
• Had 134 assists during the 2016-2017 season, the seventh-most in a single season in program history.
• Has twice knocked down five 3-pointers in a single game, doing so on Nov. 28, 2015 vs. Northern Colorado and March 10, 2016 vs. Detroit.

Beyond basketball…

• Member of Student-Athlete Advisory Committee
• Older sister Nicole played basketball at the University of Wisconsin-Stout and younger sister Danielle is a sophomore on the basketball team at Concordia University, St. Paul.
• Is majoring in marketing with minors in business analytics and communication.

Grace Hales

• On the court…
• Has been named the team’s Sixth Player of the Year each of the last two seasons.
• Appeared in all 31 games last season.
• Ranked second on the team in free-throw percentage last year at .863 and is first among returnees.
• Averaged 8.0 points per game last season, third on the team and second among returnees.

Beyond basketball…

• Father Ross played football and basketball at Indiana University. He played for the Hoosiers during the 1993-1994 season, a team that was under the direction of coach Bob Knight.
• In high school, was a four-time all-conference performer in three different sports – basketball, volleyball and track and field.
• Participated in a spring tournament with the Valpo volleyball team during her freshman year when the volleyball squad was plagued by injuries and did not have enough healthy bodies to compete.
• Is on track to finish her undergraduate degree in just three years and graduate in May. Plans to remain at Valpo to play her senior season and pursue a master’s degree.
• Majoring in communications with a journalism concentration and sport management minor. Is interning in Valpo’s sports information department and has aspirations of a career in sports media or athletic communications.

Addison Stoller

On the court…

• Filled the stat sheet with nine points and a career-high eight rebounds in the first home start of her career on Nov. 11 vs. North Dakota.
• Poured in a career-high 17 points on 7-of-14 shooting while making her second career start on Nov. 7 at UIC. Also pulled down five rebounds and achieved a personal best in steals with four.
• Is back this season after being limited to five games in 2016-17 and 17 games in 2017-18 due to injuries.
• Received the team’s Hardest Worker Award each of the last two seasons.

Beyond basketball…

• Is involved in several organizations on campus including Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Kinesiology Club and FMS research team.
• Had an internship this past summer at a gym called Elite Sport and Fitness in Gibson City, Ill.
• Has helped with her parents’ business, Illiana Insulation, a foam and coating insulation business in Cissna Park, Ill.
• Older sister Samantha played volleyball at Trinity International University and is currently an executive assistant in athletics at UMKC, where she oversees office management, student-athlete scholarships and the distribution of sponsorships and trade.
• Father Sam participated in rugby at Purdue and mother Sue played a year of basketball at Biola University in California.
• Younger sister Olivia is attending cosmetology school and younger brother Penn is a junior in high school and is into football and basketball.
• Enjoys water sports and the outdoors. Family goes camping and boating frequently over the summer. Will ski, slalom, surf and tube and also loves hiking, four wheeling and other outdoor activities.
• Made it to state in volleyball as a junior and senior in high school.
• Growing up, her favorite sport was soccer. She played travel soccer in junior high, but stopped because her high school didn’t offer soccer.
• Majoring in exercise science with plans of getting a master’s in athletic training. Minoring in human biology.

Shay Frederick

            On the court…

• Had the first double-figure output of her collegiate career in her first home appearance, turning in 11 points while racking up six rebounds on Nov. 11 vs. North Dakota.
• Had a strong showing in her collegiate debut on Nov. 7 at UIC, racking up seven points, three steals and a team-high four assists.
• Was a four-year letter winner and a captain as a junior and senior at Hortonville High School.
• Led Hortonville to its first state tournament final four appearances in 30 years as a junior and senior.
• Won regional titles all four years of high school.
• Fab Five (Preseason Top 5 Players for Northeast Wisconsin) as a sophomore, junior and senior. All-Area First-Team selection all four years, WBCA D2 All-State First Team as a junior and senior and honorable mention as a sophomore, Associated Press Third Team All-State as a senior and honorable mention as a junior, McDonald’s All-American nominee.
• Finished as her school’s all-time leader in points, assists, steals and 3-pointers (boys and girls).

Beyond basketball…

• Involved in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes on campus.
• Majoring in business marketing with a minor in sports management.
• Is close friends and former AAU teammates with two other Missouri Valley Conference freshmen – Drake’s Maggie Negaard and Illinois State’s Ally Gietzel.

Bryce Blood

On the court…

• Joined Konieczny as the team’s co-Newcomers of the Year last season.
• Appeared in 31 games and made 29 starts as a freshman.
• Tied for 11^th in the Missouri Valley Conference with 1.6 offensive rebounds per game and led the team in field goal percentage at .476.
• Became the first Valpo player since 2008 with a double-double in the season opener by scoring 13 points and grabbing 13 boards in her collegiate debut on Nov. 16, 2017.

Beyond basketball…

• Enjoys drawing and is currently taking a drawing class.
• Is in Valpo’s elementary education program.

Ella Ellenson

On the court…

• Made her first career start in the season opener on Nov. 7 at UIC, going 2-of-3 from the field for five points.
• Played in 30 games as a true freshman at Valpo.
• Scored a career-high 13 points on Jan. 26, 2018 vs. Evansville.

Beyond basketball…

• Brother Wally played basketball in the NBL of Canada in 2016-17 and made the all-rookie team.
• Brother Ellwood was a captain of the basketball team and a track athlete at Valley City State University, N.D.
• Brother Henry is a Detroit Pistons forward and former Marquette standout.
• One of the most competitive sports in Ella’s home area of Northern Wisconsin is curling. Her mother is a P.E. teacher and taught curling.

Ilysee Pitts

On the court…

• Made her collegiate debut on Nov. 11 vs. North Dakota.
• Four-year letter winner in high school.
• Averaged 12.5 points, 4.5 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 3.5 steals as a senior.
• Led her team to a state runner-up finish in 2018. Helped Montini Catholic to a 33-2 overall record as the Broncos finished in third place in the 2017 IHSA 4A state tournament.
• Team also finished third in the 3A state tournament in 2015.

Beyond basketball…

• Majoring in exercise science.

Taylor Richards

On the court…

• Played in 14 games as a freshman in 2017-18 while battling injuries.
• Had a season-high seven points and went 3-for-3 shooting on Dec. 15, 2017 vs. IU Northwest.

Beyond basketball…

• Mother Jennie ran track at Akron and father Tom ran track at Bowling Green. Brother Trent is currently a student at Akron.
• Majoring in health sciences with a minor in health care leadership.
• Was a straight “A” student from kindergarten through her senior year of high school.

Marlee Profitt

On the court…

• Expected to be out for the season due to an injury.
• Played in two games in 2016-17 before missing the remainder of the season with an injury, but returned to the court to play in 28 games in 2017-18.
• Shattered her previous career high in rebounding prior to halftime and had nine boards (eight in the first half) to lead the team on Jan. 21, 2018 at Southern Illinois.

Beyond basketball…

• Is involved in Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCS), Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and Bioengineering Club.
• Majoring in biomedical engineering with a minor in Spanish.
• In a human movement research lab.
• Interned with her knee surgeon this past summer, shadowing ACL surgeries and seeing patients in the office.
• Attended the annual American Society of Biomechanics Meeting this past summer and presented research.
• Volunteers at dog shelters.
• Her mother played volleyball at Youngstown State and her aunt did so at Cleveland State. Profitt, her mother and her aunt have all played in the Horizon League at one point in their careers.
• Brother is a junior in high school and plays varsity football and basketball. He broke the school’s single-season record for receiving touchdowns this fall.

Nicole Konieczny

On the court…

• Appeared in 22 games and made 30 starts as a true freshman.
• Ranked fourth in The Valley in assists per game at 3.2 and second in assist to turnover ratio at 1.6 in 2017-18.
• Beyond basketball…
• Was originally a Northwest Indiana local and started her prep career with two seasons at LaPorte before moving to South Bend and playing her final two seasons at Saint Joseph, where she led her team to the 2016-17 Indiana Class 3A state title.
• Is a rare Valpo basketball player to participate in Greek Life on campus as a Chi Omega.
• Member of Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
• Majoring in business management.

Caitlin Morrison

On the court…

• Is Valpo’s leading returning rebounder for 2018-19 at 4.5 per game.
• Ranked fourth in The Valley in blocks per game as a junior at 1.3 per contest.
• Led the team in points (11) and rebounds (7) in the final game of the season on March 9 in an MVC quarterfinal against Drake. Matched her career high in scoring in that game, and both 11-point outputs have come in conference tournament contests.

Beyond basketball…  

• Father Scott Morrison is a former Valparaiso men’s basketball player and played under Homer Drew from 1990-1992.
• Is majoring in finance with a minor in business analytics.
• Volunteers for an organization called CAAEL, which participates in events held for special education and at-risk students around Illinois.

Maya Meredith

On the court…

• Hit a buzzer-beater from nearly half court to send the Feb. 16, 2018 game against Southern Illinois to overtime. That shot was No. 9 on the next morning’s SportsCenter Top 10.
• Shattered a program-record that had stood since 1992 in her first career start by dishing out 16 assists on Dec. 15, 2017 against IU Northwest. She became the 10^th player in Missouri Valley Conference history to reach 16 assists, a mark that ranks tied for sixth in the conference’s prestigious history. She also became the second player in the nation with a 16+ assist game that season.

Beyond basketball…

• Loves to buy sneakers and has over 50 pairs.
• Enjoys adrenaline rush activities such as bungee jumping, free falls and parasailing.
• Uncle Kevin “Coach K” Lee is the founder of Quality Control Music, which has produced artists such as Migos, Lil Yatchy and Cardi B.
• Younger brother Donyell Meredith II is a freshman on the IU South Bend men’s basketball team.
• Majoring in healthcare leadership.

Nicole Johanson

On the court…

• Sat out her first season on campus as a redshirt.
• Helped Herscher High School finish with a 25-2 record in her senior season.
• Played for Example Sports AAU under the direction of coach Barry Bradford, the father of Valpo men’s basketball player Micah Bradford.

Beyond basketball…

• Majoring in biology with a minor in chemistry.
• Planning to go to veterinary school after finishing at Valpo with hopes of becoming a large animal vet.
• Lives on a farm.

Carie Weinman

On the court…

• Started her college career at Denver, where she shot 44 percent from 3-point range and averaged 6.4 points per game in 2017-2018.
• Has to sit out this season due to transfer rules.
• Poured in 34 points on Dec. 3, 2017, helping Denver to an 80-73 victory over Northern Arizona. The 34-point output ranked tied for fourth in program history and was the highest single-game total by a Pioneer in 17 years.

Beyond basketball…

• Was prep and AAU teammates with Valpo’s Caitlin Morrison.
• Majoring in psychology.
• Father played football at Grand Valley State.
• Was able to share a season of varsity basketball with her sisters Carly and Catie when she was a freshman in high school.