Valparaiso (1-0, 0-0 MVC)
Game #2 - Nov. 12, 2022 - noon
Southern Miss (1-0, 0-0 Sun Belt)
Athletics-Recreation Center (5,000) - Valparaiso, Ind.
Next Up in Valpo Basketball: Fresh off a season-opening win earlier this week, the Valpo women’s basketball team looks to make it back-to-back victories to open the season Saturday afternoon at the ARC as the Beacons welcome Southern Miss to town.
Previously: Valpo took the lead for good early in the third quarter Monday evening en route to a 71-64 victory at Central Michigan to open the 2022-23 season. Leah Earnest set a career best with 20 points and matched her career high with 10 rebounds, one of four Beacons to finish in double figures in the scoring column.
Following Valpo Basketball: Streaming Video: ESPN3
Radio: None
Streaming Audio: YouTube
Links for live coverage: Available via ValpoAthletics.com
Head Coach Mary Evans: Mary Evans is in her fifth year at the helm of the program in 2022-23 and owns a record of 49-68. Evans has made an impact on the program in her first four 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 in each of the last three seasons and in steals per game in two of the last three years.
Series Notes: Saturday will mark the first matchup between Valpo and Southern Miss on the hardwood. Valpo has previously faced four current members of the Sun Belt and holds a 7-4 cumulative record against current Sun Belt programs.
@ValpoWBB...
...and @ValleyHoops
- Valpo was picked to finish in 10th place in the MVC preseason poll, totaling 197 points, just 10 points behind Evansville.
- Valpo is in its sixth season as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference.
- The Valley was ranked 10th in conference NET last year, 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 finished last year with an 11-19 overall record, but was strong in MVC play, going 9-9 in conference and finishing in sixth place - both of which match the program’s best since joining the Valley.
- The Beacons registered the first win at Drake and the first win at Bradley in program history.
- Valpo swept the season series over Drake, the program’s first two wins ever against the Bulldogs.
- The Beacons also tallied four top-100 wins within Valley play.
- Grace White was named MVC Sixth Player of the Year - the program’s first major postseason award since joining the Valley. Shay Frederick was a First Team All-MVC choice, while White was an All-Defensive Team selection and Olivia Brown earned a spot on the All-Newcomer Team.
...at Central Michigan
- Valpo trailed by seven early in the first quarter, but rallied to lead by two at the end of the period and was ahead 33-32 at intermission.
- The Beacons took the lead for good early in the third quarter and led 55-48 with 10 minutes to play.
- CMU cut the lead to one possession three times in the game’s final four minutes, but each time Valpo responded with points on its end - the last a driving layup by Ilysse Pitts with 1:02 to play after CMU had made it a 64-62 game.
- Leah Earnest set a career high with 20 points to lead all players, hitting 8-of-11 from the field, and matched her career best with 10 rebounds.
- Earnest was one of four Valpo players to score in double figures, as Olivia Brown and Katie Beyer scored 11 points apiece and Ali Saunders added 10.
- The Beacons shot 51% from the field and limited CMU to 31.6% shooting.
- The Beacons were an efficient 7-of-17 from 3-point range while CMU was just 3-of-27 from deep.
...looking ahead
- It’s a long stretch of time at home for Valpo, as the Beacons will play three consecutive home games.
- Valpo hosts Eastern Illinois Nov. 16 and UAB Nov. 21 following Saturday’s game.
- The Beacons’ next game away from home won’t be until Nov. 27, when they travel to Northwestern.
...at the ARC
- Saturday’s game is the first of 15 home games this season for Valpo, five of which will be nonconference games.
- The Beacons went 6-7 in home games last season.
@SouthernMissWBB
- Led by 36 points from LSU transfer Domonique Davis, the Golden Eagles won their season opener over William Carey on Monday, 81-58.
- Southern Miss was picked fourth in the Sun Belt preseason poll after going 18-12 and posting a 9-8 record in Conference USA play last season.
Winning the Season Opener
- Valpo’s win over CMU on Monday was its first in a season opener since a 81-47 win over IU Kokomo to open the 2017-18 season.
- It was the program’s first win over a D-I team in a season opener since a 91-57 win over Butler to kick off the 2014-15 campaign, and the first time the team has won a season opener on the road since a 61-47 win at UIC in 1999-2000.
- With a win over Southern Miss, Valpo would open a season 2-0 for the first time since 2012-13. It would also be the first time in program history Valpo has won back-to-back games over D-I programs to start a season.
Doubling Up
- Leah Earnest wasted no time asserting herself as the 2022-23 campaign got underway at CMU, setting her career best with 20 points and matching her career high with 10 rebounds for her second career double-double.
- It was the first double-double by a Valpo player since Shay Frederick tallied 17 points and 11 assists Feb. 10 at Bradley.
- Earnest is the first Valpo player with a double-double in a season opener since Bryce Blood vs. IU Kokomo to open the 2017-18 season (13 PTS/13 REB), and the first in a season opener against a D-I opponent since Aimee Litka vs. Bowling Green in 2008-09 (17 PTS/12 REB).
Four Score (In Double Figures)
- A comparison of last year’s regular season finale and this year’s season opener, both of which featured four Beacons scoring in double figures, shows how revamped this year’s squad is.
- In last year’s win over MVC champion Southern Illinois to close the regular season, Carie Weinman, Shay Frederick, Grace White and Caitlin Morrison scored in double figures - none of whom are on this year’s roster.
- Leah Earnest, Olivia Brown, Katie Beyer, and Ali Saunders scored in double figures on Monday in the win at Central Michigan.
New Faces Featured
- On Monday, Valpo fans got their first look at a couple of new faces and their first extended look at a couple of players who have moved into the rotation this year.
- Sophomore Katie Beyer, who played just 11 minutes over six games in her first season and a half with the program, played 17 minutes at CMU, tallying 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting and five rebounds.
- Junior Ava Interrante, who played just 69 minutes over 18 appearances her first two seasons, played 15 minutes off the bench, scoring two points and grabbing three rebounds.
- Sophomore Olivia Sims started her Valpo debut, finishing with five points and a pair of steals in 24 minutes.
- Freshman Ali Saunders made an immediate impact in her collegiate debut, racking up 10 points in 18 minutes of action.
Replacing Production
- It is a revamped squad on the court for the Beacons in 2022-23.
- Valpo returns just 32.1% of their scoring, 38.1% of their rebounding, 24.4% of their assists and 35.9% of their minutes played from last year’s squad.
- Valpo lost its three leading scorers, four of its five leading rebounders and its three highest assist talliers from the 2021-22 team.
Who’s Back
- Seven letterwinners return for the Beacons in 2022-23.
- Included among that group are four regulars from last year’s team, highlighted by senior Olivia Brown, who was an MVC All-Newcomer choice last season.
- Brown averaged 6.6 points/game and hit at a conference-best 39.8% clip from the 3-point line. Brown stepped up her game within Valley play, averaging 9.5 points/game in MVC action and hitting at a 42.4% rate from deep.
- Also returning from last year’s starting group is junior wing Leah Earnest. Earnest averaged 7.7 points/game and 4.6 rebounds/game in 2021-22, ranking second on the team in rebounding.
- She paced Valpo on the boards nine times and scored in double figures on nine occasions, including a pair of 17-point efforts.
- Fifth years Maya Dunson (3.6 ppg, 2.1 rpg) and Ilysse Pitts (1.4 ppg, 1.4 rpg) also saw regular action last season.
- Juniors Ava Interrante and Jayda Johnston and sophomore Katie Beyer look to take advantage of the available playing time entering this year.
Who’s New
- While Valpo has three freshmen on this year’s team, none of them are traditional true freshmen.
- Both Ella Van Weelden and Lovie Malone redshirted last season in their first year on campus.
- Meanwhile, Ali Saunders came to campus at the holiday break and spent the spring semester with the team.
- The Beacons also added a pair of transfers to the roster for this season.
- Emma Tecca spent three seasons at Akron, but used just one season of eligibility. Tecca hit at a 45.2% clip from behind the 3-point line in 2020-21 — a mark which ranks among the best single-season clips in Akron history.
- Olivia Sims was at Oakland last season, where she hit at a 46.9% clip from the 3-point line in 12 appearances. Sims scored in double figures four times, including a 12-point performance against Michigan State.
Raining Threes
- In her time at the helm of the Valpo program, head coach Mary Evans’ teams have become known for their propensity to shoot 3-pointers.
- Evans’ first four seasons at the helm saw Valpo’s top-four single-season total 3-pointers made, including a program-record 276 in her first season in 2018-19 - a mark which ranks seventh in MVC history.
- Valpo has ranked among the top-35 in the nation in 3-pointers/game all three years, with the 2020-21 squad setting a program single-season record by averaging 9.0 triples/game.
- Prior to Evans’ arrival, Valpo had made 14 or more 3-pointers in a game just nine times in program history.
- In her four seasons at the helm, Valpo owns 11 more games with 14+ triples, including twice matching the program single-game record of 17.
- The style of play isn’t a surprise if you follow the coaching tree. Evans coached under Bob Boldon at Ohio for five years before getting the head job at Valpo, and Boldon was a former assistant coach at FGCU under their legendary head coach, Karl Smesko, whose teams have ranked among the top-5 in the nation in 3-pointers made in each of the last 10 years.
Top 100 Wins
- Valpo has made a habit of knocking off top-100 opponents in MVC play over the last few seasons.
- Four times in MVC play in 2021-22, the Beacons earned a victory over a top-100 team.
- Valpo has nine 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.
Down 10? No Problem
- Not surprisingly given their penchant for the 3-point shot, a double-digit deficit isn’t a death sentence for Valpo.
- Last season, five of the Beacon’s nine conference wins saw Valpo overcome a double-figure deficit at some points during the game.
- Valpo has rallied from down 10 or more to win 15 times in head coach Mary Evans first four years at the helm of the program.
Same Alma Maters
- While there are 12 players on the 2022-23 Valpo women’s basketball roster, there are only 10 high schools represented.
- Fifth year Maya Dunson and redshirt freshman Lovie Malone are both alums of Wayne (Ohio) H.S.
- Junior Ava Interrante and sophomore Katie Beyer were teammates at McHenry (Ill.) H.S.
