Shay Frederick (Greenville, Wis./Hortonville) and Leah Earnest (Stevens Point, Wis./SPASH) both reached double figures in the scoring column Sunday as the Valpo women’s basketball team fell at Xavier by a 70-49 final.

How It Happened

• Frederick connected on a pair of 3-pointers as part of eight early points before the first media timeout as Valpo led 11-10 at the first stoppage.
• A pair of finishes at the rim from Earnest, including one while being fouled, led to five points from the sophomore as the Beacons were within 17-16 at the 3:10 mark of the opening period.
• Xavier scored six of the period’s final eight points to lead 23-18 at the end of one, and extended the run to 11-2 with the first five points of the second quarter.
• The Musketeers’ lead reached as many as 13 points in the first half and Valpo trailed Xavier 35-24 at intermission.
• The Beacons held the Musketeers to just three points over the first six-plus minutes of the second half as they crept back into the game. Valpo out-scored Xavier 10-3 over that stretch, with five different players scoring, and when Grace White (Redby, Minn./Red Lake [Denver]) finished a layup with 3:54 to play in the quarter, Valpo was within 38-34.
• Xavier scored on each of its next six possessions, however, to extend its lead back out to 51-36 with 10 minutes to play.
• Valpo got no closer than 13 points in the fourth quarter.

Inside the Game

• Frederick paced Valpo with 14 points and knocked down three 3-pointers. She now ranks ninth in program history with 153 career 3-pointers.
• The senior also led the Beacons’ effort on the glass with eight rebounds.
• Earnest reached double figures in scoring for the second time this year with 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting off the bench.
• Valpo tallied seven steals on Sunday, led by four from White, who is averaging 3.0 steals/game through the season’s first four games.
• The Beacons blocked five shots, including two by Caitlin Morrison (Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South).
• Valpo shot just 36.6% from the field and was 6-of-28 from 3-point range.

Thoughts From Coach Evans

“We need to do a better job running our offense. We need to create space, attack the paint, create 3-pointers with inside-out play and have better movement. We have to be able to get stopped on two feet in the lane and score through contact.”

“We’re going to watch film and learn from today the best we can, especially takeaways that will help us on Tuesday. We have to take care of our bodies as we face a quick turnaround around a UIC team that is just as athletic as what we saw today.”

Next Up

Valpo (0-4) has its final game before the Thanksgiving holiday on Tuesday evening as it makes the short trip to Chicago to play at UIC. Tipoff is slated for 6:30 p.m., and the game can be seen live on ESPN+ and heard live on WVUR.