Valparaiso (16-10, 8-7 MVC)
Game #27 - Sunday, March 1 - 1 p.m.
Drake (21-7, 13-3 MVC)
Athletics-Recreation Center (5,000) - Valparaiso, Ind.
Next Up in Valpo Basketball: The regular season home slate comes to an end for the Valpo women’s basketball team on Sunday afternoon at the ARC, as it welcomes Drake to town for yet another key MVC matchup. Valpo will celebrate its Senior Day on Sunday, honoring five members of the program for their time in the Brown and Gold.
Previously: It didn’t require a flashy comeback or feature a ton of 3-pointers. Instead, Friday night’s victory over UNI was just a hard-fought battle in MVC play with 15 lead changes and 10 ties, one in which Valpo emerged victorious by a 72-69 final. The win, which was led by a career-high 22 points from sophomore Shay Frederick, assured Valpo of its first winning season since the 2008-09 campaign.
Following Valpo Basketball: Streaming Video: ESPN+
Radio: WVUR (95.1 FM, Valparaiso)
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Head Coach Mary Evans: Mary Evans (24-34) is in her second season as head coach of the Valpo women’s basketball program in 2019-20. Evans’ impact on the program was immediately clear in her first year, as Valpo shattered its previous program record of 224 made 3-pointers in a single season by knocking down 276 trifectas - a mark which ranks seventh in MVC history. Valpo ranked among the top-25 nationally in both total 3-pointers and 3-pointers per game in Evans’ first season at the helm of the Valpo program.
Series Notes: Drake owns an 9-0 record in the all-time series against Valpo. Seven of the decisions came on the court, while a Valpo win in 1995 was later forfeited. The Bulldogs are 7-0 against Valpo since Valpo joined the Valley, including an 87-66 decision earlier this year in Des Moines. While the result was similar to the first six meetings as MVC opponents, the path there was not, as Valpo led for nearly 16 minutes in the Jan. 31 game after not leading at all in any of the previous six matchups. Grace Hales led Valpo in the first meeting this year with 15 points, including her 1,000th career point late in the game.
@ValpoWBB...
...and @ValleyHoops
- Valpo has been selected to finish in eighth place in the MVC preseason poll, totaling 126 points.
- Valpo is in its third season as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference in 2019-20.
...looking back at last year
- Valpo posted an 8-24 record last season in head coach Mary Evans’ first year at the helm and went 3-15 in MVC play.
- Last year’s Valpo squad was ravaged by injuries, many times dressing just nine scholarship players.
- Valpo shattered its program record for 3-pointers in a season in 2018-19, knocking down 276 triples to race past the previous record of 224.
- Valpo moved into seventh place in a single season in MVC history in 3PTM.
- Shay Frederick was named to the MVC All-Freshman Team, while Meredith Hamlet was an Honorable Mention MVC Scholar-Athlete.
...versus UNI
- UNI led 22-18 at the end of one quarter and maintained a four-point advantage at halftime, 39-35.
- Much like the first half, the third quarter was back and forth, featuring three ties and seven lead changes. The only time after the opening seconds that either team enjoyed more than a one-possession edge came when UNI pulled ahead by five, 49-44, with 4:47 to play in the quarter.
- Valpo rallied to twice take a one-point lead in the late stages of the quarter, and the game entered the final 10 minutes tied at 54-54.
- Shay Frederick, Carie Weinman and Ilysse Pitts combined for all the Valpo points in a 10-2 run over the first four minutes of the fourth quarter, with Pitts canning a corner 3-pointer to force a UNI timeout with the Brown and Gold enjoying a 64-56 lead with 6:15 to go.
- The Panthers wouldn’t go down quietly, scoring the next six points in a row to cut the lead to two points. In fact, UNI would three times in a two-minute stretch make it a one-possession game, but all three times, Valpo came up with points.
- With the lead sitting at 69-66, the clock hitting two minutes to play and the shot clock about to expire, Weinman stepped up and knocked down a deep 3-pointer to extend the lead to six.
- UNI pulled within three with 39 seconds to go and had a shot to tie following a Valpo shot-clock violation, but Karli Rucker’s last-second 3-point attempt was deflected by Frederick and came up well short.
- Shay Frederick led the way in the victory as she poured in a career-best 22 points. She also grabbed five rebounds and tied for team-high honors with four assists while not committing a turnover.
- Weinman did not miss a shot from the field, finishing with 14 points on 6-of-6 shooting. She also continued her campaign for MVC Defensive Player of the Year with a game-high five steals, pushing her average in conference play to an MVC-best 3.0 steals/game.
- Four of Valpo’s five starters scored in double figures, as both Grace Hales and Caitlin Morrison scored 10 points as well.
- Valpo rallied from a halftime deficit to win for the sixth time this year.
...at Loyola
- Despite opening the game with a scoreless drought of over six minutes, Valpo trailed the Ramblers just 13-6 at the end of the first.
- Loyola extended its lead out to its peak of 11 points at 26-15 with 6:08 to play in the first half.
- Valpo out-scored Loyola 12-6 over the final six minutes of the half to close to within 32-27 at intermission.
- Loyola connected on a 3-pointer on its first possession of the second half, but that proved to be the Ramblers’ last points for over five minutes, as Loyola went 0-for-6 with three turnovers in that stretch.
- Meanwhile, Valpo scored eight straight on the offensive end, capped by an inside basket from Grace White, to tie the game at 35-35 with 4:45 to play in the period – the first tie since 0-0.
- Loyola pulled back out to a four-point lead before 3-pointers on consecutive trips in the final two minutes from Carie Weinman and Grace Hales gave Valpo its first lead of the game at 42-40 – a lead it would carry into the fourth quarter.
- Loyola tied the score twice in the opening minutes of the fourth period, but both times Valpo came right back with points of its own to prevent the Ramblers from taking an outright lead.
- The Ramblers tied the game at 44-44 on a pair of free throws with 8:06 to play, but again Valpo’s defense stepped up, keeping Loyola off the scoreboard for the next four-plus minutes.
- The scoreless stretch coincided with nine straight points on the offensive end, including a big 3-pointer from Caitlin Morrison with 7:28 remaining to gain separation on the scoreboard.
- Weinman led Valpo’s offensive effort with 21 points to surpass her previous season best of 20 at Toledo. The sophomore scored 17 of her points in the second half alone to help complete the comeback.
- Addison Stoller joined Weinman in double figures, finishing with 14 points to go with five rebounds.
...looking ahead
- The regular season concludes with the Missouri State/Southern Illinois road swing next weekend.
...at the ARC
- Sunday will be Valpo’s 13th home game of the season, as it currently owns a 8-4 record at home this year.
- This year’s squad will post the program’s best record at the ARC since the 2012-13 team went 9-5 at home.
- Valpo swept all four of its non-conference home games, with wins over Bowling Green, UIC, Morehead State and Chicago State.
- Valpo is 4-4 in MVC play to date at home, most recently taking down UNI.
- Valpo went 4-11 at the ARC last year in Mary Evans’ first season at the helm of the program.
@DrakeWBB
- Drake enters Sunday’s game at 21-7 overall this year and in second place in the MVC standings at 13-3.
- The Bulldogs have won five straight games coming into the ARC, most recently defeating Loyola by eight in Chicago Friday evening.
- Becca Hittner and Sara Rhine lead the way for the Bulldogs, as the pair of 2,000-point scorers average 18.4 and 17.9 points per game, respectively.
Celebrating the Seniors
- Valpo will recognize five members of its program on Senior Day Sunday.
- Taylor Richards will graduate in August with a health sciences (pre-PA) degree. Richards played in 14 games in 2017-18 before missing the entirety of last season due to injury and transitioning to a student assistant role this year.
- Alexis Cowan is expected to graduate in August with her master’s degree in sports administration. Cowan, a graduate transfer from FAU, has appeared in four games this year.
- Marlee Profitt has appeared in 46 games for Valpo. Her 2-point percentage of 75.6% this season is best in the nation. Profitt will graduate in May with a degree in biomechanical engineering.
- Maya Meredith will graduate in May with a degree in healthcare leadership. Meredith has seen action in 89 games over the last four years, highlighted by her school record 16-assist performance as a sophomore.
- Grace Hales earned her bachelor’s degree this past August in communication, and is scheduled to receive her master’s in sports media in May 2021. Hales is the 13th-leading scorer in program history.
Yet Another Noteworthy Win
- The win over UNI on Friday was Valpo’s 16th of the year, securing a winning record for the first time since 2008-09.
- The 16 wins also matches the most in a single season since the 2006-07 squad won 20.
- Friday’s win was Valpo’s eighth in MVC play this season, matching its total from its first two seasons as a conference member combined.
Taking Down Top-100 Foes
- The victory over the Panthers was a win over a squad currently ranked 84th in the RPI.
- It is Valpo’s second win in the last two weeks over a top-100 RPI team, as the Brown and Gold won at Illinois State, which currently sits 64th in the RPI, on Feb. 16.
- Prior to the victory over the Redbirds, Valpo had not defeated a top-100 RPI foe since a win over Detroit on March 9, 2013.
- The win at Illinois State was Valpo’s first road win over a top-100 team since the 2002 WNIT.
Stringing Together Wins
- Friday’s win over UNI was Valpo’s third consecutive victory, its first three-game winning streak in conference play since winning three straight Horizon League games in January 2009.
- For comparison, that winning streak featured wins over teams with RPIs of 221, 190 and 285, while the current streak is comprised of wins over teams with RPIs of 64, 149 and 84.
- This three-game winning streak is the second streak of at least three straight wins this year - the last time a Valpo team owned two stretches of three or more wins in a row in the same season was 2007-08.
A Look at the Standings
- With all teams having either two or three games remaining, Valpo is in the midst of a tight battle in the middle of the MVC standings.
- The Crusaders are currently tied with Illinois State for fourth place, but the two teams are part of a pack of four squads separated by just one game for fourth through seventh. Loyola sits one game further back in eighth position.
- The top-six placement is crucial, as the bottom four teams in the final standings have to open the MVC Tournament on Thursday.
Postseason Aspirations
- Having won five of its last six games, Valpo has now potentially put itself in a spot to earn a postseason berth.
- 144 Division I women’s basketball teams earn a spot in the postseason (64 NCAA, 64 WNIT, 16 WBI).
- Entering Saturday’s games, Valpo’s RPI sits at 141.
- The program has not appeared in the postseason since the 2003-04 team went to the NCAA Tournament.
Wanted: Weinman
- It wouldn’t be surprising to find sophomore Carie Weinman’s face on a Wanted poster, given the number of steals she has racked up this season.
- Weinman racked up five steals last time out in the win over UNI, giving her 11 in the last two games after she matched her season best with six at Loyola.
- Weinman has tallied four or more steals in seven of Valpo’s 15 MVC games to date.
- Only four times through 26 games this year has Weinman not come away with at least one steal.
- The sophomore leads the Valley both overall (2.3 steals/game) and in MVC-only play (3.0/game) in the steals category.
Hales Making Her Mark
- Senior Grace Hales became the 16th player in program history to reach the 1,000-point milestone for her career with a basket in the final minute Jan. 31 at Drake and currently ranks 13th in program history with 1,088 career points, just eight points shy of 12th.
- Hales reached the mark thanks to her consistency, as she has played in all 120 Valpo games since she stepped on campus, tied for fifth in program history in career games played. She has seen her scoring average go up year by year and is averaging a team-best 12.3 points/game this year.
- Hales ranks eighth on Valpo’s career 3-pointers made chart, as she currently owns 162 career triples.
- Hales also ranks among Valpo’s all-time best in a pair of shooting categories. She trails only current assistant coach Dani Franklin in career free throw percentage (.865), while she sits third in Valpo history in 3-point percentage (.379).
- In the MVC record book, which only counts years played in the Valley, Hales currently ranks fourth in free throw pct. (.879) and 17th in 3-point pct. (.398).
Starters, Assemble
- Valpo has trotted out the same starting five through each of its first 26 games of the season: Shay Frederick, Carie Weinman, Grace Hales, Addison Stoller and Caitlin Morrison.
- Hales and Stoller were regular starters a season ago, while Frederick joined the starting lineup midway through last year. Morrison was a regular starter each of her first two years as well before missing last season due to injury.
- Valpo has never had a season where the same five players started every single game. The 2007-08, 1997-98 and 1983-84 Valpo squads had four players who started every game of the season.
What A Rally
- The 13-point comeback in the fourth quarter of the home win over Loyola was Valpo’s largest final-quarter rally since the women’s game moved to four quarters.
- Ironically, the last time Valpo rallied from that kind of deficit within the game’s final 10 minutes came at Loyola on Feb. 17, 2011. The Crusaders trailed that day by 14 points with 8:45 to play (and later 8 points with 2:45 to play) and went on to a 72-68 victory.
- Valpo’s largest deficit in the win over the Ramblers was a 14-point deficit late in the third quarter, the largest deficit it has come at any point in a game to win since rallying from down 15 for a 67-59 win at Youngstown State on Jan. 12, 2013.
- It was the second rally of that type this year for Valpo, as in non-conference play against BGSU, it trailed by 12 in the fourth quarter and by 8 with 3:30 to play before coming back to force overtime and eventually win.
- In the home win over Evansville, Valpo recovered from a double-figure deficit to win for the third time this year, but this deficit came early in the second quarter, as Valpo trailed 27-16 with 7:52 to play in the first half.
- Most recently, Valpo trailed by 11 in the second quarter last time out in its road win at Loyola before rallying for a 13-point win.
- Valpo now owns four victories this year when trailing by double figures at any point in the game, while it has not lost a game it has enjoyed a double-digit lead at any point.
