Valparaiso (10-18, 8-9 MVC)
Game #29 - March 5, 2022 - 1 p.m.
Southern Illinois (20-7, 15-2 MVC)
Athletics-Recreation Center (5,000) - Valparaiso, Ind.
Next Up in Valpo Basketball: One final regular season game awaits the Valpo women’s basketball team on Saturday afternoon, as the Beacons take on Southern Illinois on Senior Day at the ARC. The trio of Caitlin Morrison, Carie Weinman and Grace White will be honored prior to the game.
Previously: Valpo battled toe-to-toe in a defensive struggle with a Missouri State team projected to be an at-large team in the NCAA Tournament for the first 20 minutes on Thursday evening at the ARC, but the Lady Bears pulled away with a big third quarter as the Beacons fell by a 66-46 final. Shay Frederick paced Valpo with 11 points.
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Head Coach Mary Evans: Mary Evans is in her fourth year at the helm of the program in 2021-22 and owns a record of 47-67. Evans has made an immediate impact on the program in her first three years, raising the team’s level of play to be competitive in a strong Missouri Valley Conference. Evans’ preferred style of play has been a big part of the program’s turnaround, as Valpo has led the MVC in 3-pointers made per game and in steals per game in each of the last two seasons.
Series Notes: It’s a brief series between SIU and Valpo, as the two programs did not meet prior to Valpo joining the MVC in 2017-18. SIU won the first five meetings before the Beacons won three in a row. In the first meeting this season, the Salukis picked up a 62-52 victory in Carbondale, as SIU’s top three players - Abby Brockmeyer, Makenzie Silvey and Gabby Walker - combined for 54 points and 27 rebounds. Shay Frederick and Leah Earnest led Valpo in that contest with 17 points each.
@ValpoWBB...
...and @ValleyHoops
- Valpo has been picked to finish in sixth place in the MVC preseason poll, totaling 208 points - just one point shy of fifth place.
- Valpo is in its fifth season as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference.
- The Valley was ranked seventh nationally in conference NET in 2020-21 and was eighth nationally in conference RPI in 2019-20.
...looking back at last year
- Valpo posted a 12-13 overall record during the 2020-21 season and went 7-9 in Missouri Valley Conference play.
- Valpo finished the regular season in seventh place in the MVC standings.
- Included among Valpo’s 12 victories were wins at Illinois and at Purdue, the program’s first Power Five wins since 2012-13.
- Valpo closed the season with a NET of 122 - the program’s best final NET/RPI ranking since the 2003-04 campaign.
- Shay Frederick was a First Team All-MVC honoree as she led the Valley in assists and ranked sixth in scoring.
- Carie Weinman earned Honorable Mention All-MVC notice and repeated on the All-Defensive Team as she led the Valley in steals for a second straight season.
...versus Missouri State
- Valpo used a 10-0 run to take an early 10-5 lead before the Lady Bears ended the first quarter on an 11-2 run to lead 16-12 at the end of the period.
- The second quarter was a defensive struggle, as Valpo outscored MSU 7-6 for the quarter to pull to within 22-19 at the half.
- Missouri State took control of the game out of the locker room, however, going on a 21-5 run over the first 6:38 of the second half to pull out to a 19-point lead.
- The Lady Bears led 49-30 with 10 minutes to play and extended their lead with a 3-pointer on their first trip of the fourth quarter.
- Valpo had one big push remaining, hitting four 3-pointers in a span of 2:34 — two from Grace White and one each from Ilysse Pitts and Olivia Brown — to close to within 54-42.
- The Beacons actually had a shot to make it a 10-point game with 5:24 to play, but couldn’t get a layup to fall, and the Lady Bears scored the next six points to put the game away.
- Shay Frederick led Valpo on Thursday with 11 points, her 19th double-figure effort of the season.
- The Beacons connected on seven 3-pointers Thursday evening, giving them 227 on the season — third-most in a single campaign in program history.
- Valpo actually held the edge in field goal percentage over Missouri State, 37.8%-36.9%, but the Lady Bears had 20 more field goal attempts, thanks in large part to 17 offensive rebounds.
- The Beacons committed 21 turnovers as well, their worst number in that department in the last 12 games.
...versus Loyola
- Loyola led 20-14 at the end of the first quarter and was up 31-22 at intermission.
- Valpo scored 15 points in the first five minutes of the second half, but lost ground to the Ramblers, who scored on each of their first nine possessions of the half.
- Loyola’s lead grew to as many as 15 points in the third quarter before Valpo reeled off 11 straight points late in the quarter. The Beacons trailed just 51-47 with 10 minutes to play.
- It was a slow start both ways to the fourth quarter, as neither team scored a point in the first two minutes of the period. A free throw by the Ramblers was answered by a pair from the charity stripe by Weinman to make it a 52-49 game with 7:35 remaining.
- Valpo actually had the ball with a chance to tie the game, but a turnover led to a Loyola basket, which sparked a eight-point spurt for the Ramblers over the next two minutes.
- After shooting 50% or better from the field in three of its previous four games, Valpo was limited to 35.4% shooting on Friday evening.
- Valpo did go 10-of-12 from the foul line on Friday, eclipsing the 80% mark from the stripe for the fourth time in its last five contests.
- Valpo tallied just four steals as a team, a new season low, as it forced just nine Rambler turnovers.
...looking ahead
- Hoops in the Heartland begins from Moline, Ill. next Thursday, March 10.
- If Valpo is the 6th seed, it takes on UNI to start tournament action Friday at 8:30 p.m. If Valpo is the 7th seed, it would open the tournament at 7 p.m. Thursday evening.
...at the ARC
- Friday is the final MVC home game of the season and the 13th home game in total this year for the Beacons.
- Valpo posted a 5-6 record at the ARC last season and is currently 5-7 at home this year.
@SIU_WBasketball
- Southern Illinois enters Saturday’s regular season finale at 20-7 overall on the year and 15-2 in MVC play.
- SIU secured at least a share of the MVC regular season title with a 51-28 win at Loyola on Thursday evening - the Salukis’ eighth straight victory.
- SIU can claim the outright conference regular season crown with a win on Saturday.
- Abby Brockmeyer leads the Salukis, averaging a double-double with 16.3 points and 10.4 rebounds per game. Makenzie Silvey scores 16 points/game as well and paces SIU in both assists and steals.
What’s at Stake
- Valpo enters the final game day of the regular season in a tie for sixth place with Drake at 8-9 in the conference standings.
- With either a Valpo win or a Drake loss, the Beacons would secure the sixth seed and earn a spot directly in the quarterfinals of Hoops in the Heartland, where they would take on third-seeded UNI.
- Should SIU win and Drake beat Indiana State, Valpo would be the seventh seed for the conference tounament and take on either Evansville or Bradley in the 7-10 first-round matchup on Thursday evening.
- While the fifth seed for tournament is out of reach due to tiebreakers, a Valpo win combined with a Loyola loss on Saturday would put the Beacons in a tie for fifth place in the standings to close the regular season - potentially Valpo’s first top-half finish since joining the conference.
- A win on Saturday would also end the Beacons’ conference campaign with a 9-9 record, which would match their best MVC record since joining the conference.
Celebrating the Seniors
- Valpo will recognize the three players who are completing their time in the Brown and Gold prior to Saturday’s game.
- Caitlin Morrison will depart Valpo as the program’s all-time leader in both games played and games started, marks which stand at 139 and 135, respectively, heading into Saturday’s game.
- Morrison has scored 836 career points and grabbed 483 rebounds, and also ranks fourth in program history with 135 blocked shots.
- Carie Weinman led the MVC in steals each of the last two years and is a two-time member of the MVC All-Defensive Team.
- Weinman has scored 899 points in her three seasons at Valpo, her average of 11.8 points/game good for seventh in program history. She also ranks eighth all-time at Valpo with 171 career steals.
- Grace White has tallied 736 points and 394 rebounds in her three seasons in the Valpo uniform, averaging double figures in scoring each of the last two years.
- White ranks seventh in program history in career free throw percentage, and is on pace to lead the MVC in steals/game this season.
Moving On Up
- Senior guard Shay Frederick is making an impact on a number of Valpo’s charts in the record book as the season nears its close.
- Frederick moved into Valpo’s career top-10 in scoring in its win at Indiana State, and currently ranks in eighth place on that chart with 1,241 career points.
- Frederick also continues to rack up the assists, as she ranks second in program history with 486 career assists. That total is good for 17th in MVC history, and she is looking to become just one of 17 players in conference history with 500 career assists.
- Frederick also has moved into fifth place in program history for career 3-pointers made (189) and free throws made (276).
- On the season, Frederick has dished out 137 assists - seventh-most in a single year in program history and the most assists in a season by a Valpo player since 2000.
- In the win at Indiana State, Frederick went 14-for-14 at the foul line to set a new program single-game record for free throws made without a miss.
Reaching 1K
- Frederick is one of three Valpo players to reach the 1,000-point milestone for her career this season.
- Carie Weinman hit 1,000 collegiate points in January as the Beacons played at UNI.
- Weinman now owns 1,090 career points, 899 of which have come in her three seasons at Valpo.
- Meanwhile, Grace White became the third Beacon to reach the milestone this season in the team’s thrilling victory last month at Indiana State.
- White has scored 1,013 points, 736 of which have come in the Valpo uniform.
Rally Pros
- Five of Valpo’s eight MVC victories have seen the Beacons overcome double-digit deficits at some point during the game to earn the win.
- Valpo has now rallied from down 10 or more to win 15 times in head coach Mary Evans’ four-year tenure at the helm of the program.
- Valpo faced a 13-point deficit in the second quarter at Indiana State and came back to earn the five-point win.
- Valpo overcame a 12-point deficit in the second quarter to earn the win over Bradley at the ARC.
- At Drake, the Beacons trailed by 10 in the first half before coming back for the victory.
- Valpo’s home win over UNI featured a comeback from down 13 in the fourth quarter, tying the program’s largest comeback in the final period since the move to quarters — Valpo previously rallied from a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter in a 66-64 win over Loyola on Jan. 24, 2020.
- Against Evansville at the ARC, the Beacons trailed by as many as 14 points before picking up the win - it was Valpo’s largest comeback overall since the aforementioned Loyola game, which featured a 14-point deficit at one point.
Accomplishing Firsts
- Valpo has recorded a number of firsts in program history during conference play this year.
- The Beacons have registered their first road win over two MVC teams this season, winning for the first time both at Drake and at Bradley.
- Both Drake and Bradley were previously 6-0 at home versus Valpo before this season.
- The win at the Knapp Center completed Valpo’s first season sweep of Drake, the program’s first two wins ever against the Bulldogs.
- Prior to the Beacons’ win at the ARC over Drake earlier this season, the Bulldogs held a 13-0 advantage in the all-time series.
- The win over Drake in January also gave Valpo its first sweep of the UNI/Drake weekend in MVC play.
- Valpo completed its first season sweep of Bradley with the home win over the Braves.
Top 100 Wins
- Valpo has made a habit of knocking off top-100 opponents in MVC play over the last few seasons and has another opportunity to do so on Saturday, having done so already three times this year.
- The home win over UNI came over a team which entered the night ranked #46 in NET, and the home victory came over a Drake squad which was #65.
- Most recently, the road win at Drake came over a Bulldogs squad which entered the day at #84.
- Valpo now has eight top-100 NET/RPI wins in Valley action over the last three seasons.
- Prior to its Feb. 16, 2020 win at Illinois State - its first top-100 win in conference play since joining the Valley - Valpo had gone nearly seven years without a top-100 victory.
Leading the Way
- Two Valpo players are currently on pace to lead the MVC in statistical categories this year.
- One season after leading the Valley in assists, Frederick again tops the chart this season as she’s averaging 4.9 assists/game.
- Frederick is trying to become the first MVC player to lead the conference in assists in consecutive seasons since Caitlin Ingle of Drake did so three straight seasons (2014-15 through 2016-17).
- Frederick currently ranks 44th nationally in assists/game this season, while her 486 career assists are 27th-most among active players.
- Grace White is attempting to lead the conference in steals/game, as she enters the final game of regular season play with a conference-best 2.3/game.
- Should White lead the MVC in steals, it would be the third consecutive year a Valpo player took top honors in that category, as Carie Weinman has paced the Valley each of the last two seasons.
