Valparaiso (1-12, 0-4 MVC)
Game #14 - January 14, 2024 - 1 p.m.
UNI (3-9, 2-1 MVC)
Athletics-Recreation Center (5,000) - Valparaiso, Ind.
Next Up in Valpo Basketball: The Valpo women’s basketball team continues a stretch of four consecutive home games on Sunday afternoon, taking on MVC preseason favorite UNI on Carnival Day at the ARC.
Previously: Valpo matched a season high on Friday evening by connecting on 11 3-pointers in its first MVC home game of the season, falling to Drake 83-54. Eight different players combined for the 11 triples. The Beacons were within seven points at halftime before the Bulldogs used a 31-point third quarter to pull away. Leah Earnest paced Valpo with 14 points, while Ava Interrante posted 10 points and three steals.
Following Valpo Basketball: Streaming Video: ESPN+
Links for live coverage: Available via ValpoAthletics.com
Head Coach Mary Evans: Mary Evans is in her sixth year at the helm of the program in 2023-24 and owns a record of 56-103. Evans has made an impact on the program in her first five years, raising the team’s level of play to be competitive in a strong Missouri Valley Conference. The 2022-23 season saw Evans lead Valpo to the first win in program history over perennial MVC power Missouri State. The Beacons also won three consecutive road games in Valley play, the first time the program accomplished that feat against three different opponents since 2007.
Series Notes: UNI leads the all-time series by a 12-5 margin, but it’s been nearly even at the ARC, as the Panthers own just a 5-4 edge in nine matchups in the 219. UNI swept the season series from Valpo last season, winning 89-58 in Cedar Falls and 83-60 at the ARC. Olivia Brown paced the Beacons with 13 points in the road game, while at home, Ali Saunders scored a game-high 19 points on 7-of-7 shooting and Leah Earnest posted a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds.
@ValpoWBB...
...and @ValleyHoops
- Valpo was picked to finish in 10th place in the MVC preseason poll, totaling 162 points, coming in ahead of Evansville and Bradley.
- Valpo is in its seventh season as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference.
- The Valley was ranked 13th in conference NET last season. The MVC ranked 10th in conference NET in 2021-22, seventh in conference NET in 2020-21 and was eighth in conference RPI in 2019-20.
...looking back at last year
- Valpo finished last season with a 7-23 overall record and finished at 5-15 in MVC play, good for 11th in the Valley standings.
- The Beacons earned their first win in program history over perennial MVC power Missouri State.
- Valpo also won three consecutive road games in Valley play, the first time the program accomplished that feat against three different opponents since 2007.
- Ali Saunders was named to the MVC All-Freshman Team.
...versus Drake
- Drake opened the game on an 8-0 run, but Valpo used five first-quarter 3-pointers to stay within striking distance.
- Triples in the final minute of the period by Ella Van Weelden and Leah Earnest gave Valpo a brief lead before the Bulldogs got a layup in the waning seconds to lead 18-17 at the end of the first.
- Drake pushed its lead to nine points late in the second quarter before Earnest beat the shot clock with a turnaround jumper on Valpo’s final possession of the period to bring the Beacons within 31-24 at halftime.
- A basket by Layla Gold 74 seconds into the second half made it a five-point game, and after Drake extended out to an 11-point edge, Earnest and Ava Interrante converted driving layups on consecutive possessions to make it 37-30 with 5:45 to play in the third period.
- Drake came up with a 19-3 run over the next four-plus minutes to pull away.
- The Beacons hit 11 3-pointers to match their season high, previously accomplished against Chicago State. Eight different players combined for the 11 triples.
- Earnest scored a team-best 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting. It is the sixth time this season the senior has led Valpo in scoring, while she also paced the Beacons in rebounds for the ninth time.
- Interrante knocked down a pair of triples on her way to a season-best 10 points. She also came up with a team-high three steals to match her season high.
- Valpo limited Drake, which entered the game averaging 81.9 points/game to just 31 points in the first half. The Bulldogs were just 11-of-24 from the floor, 2-of-10 from the 3-point line, 7-of-8 from the foul line and committed 13 turnovers over the first 20 minutes.
- Drake scored 52 points in the second half, however, hitting 16-of-28 from the field, 7-of-14 from the 3-point line and 13-of-14 from the foul line. The Bulldogs also turned the ball over just six times in the second half.
...at Southern Illinois
- Southern Illinois led by as many as 12 in the first quarter before Valpo rallied to within 23-17 at the end of the period.
- The Salukis went on a 9-0 run over the first 1:22 of the second quarter to extend their lead and led 43-27 at halftime.
- SIU led 61-42 with 10 minutes to play and pushed its lead to 21 early in the fourth quarter.
- Valpo went on a 16-3 run to erase two-thirds of the deficit over the next seven minutes, but was unable to get any closer than seven down the stretch.
- Saniya Jackson set a season high with 15 points, shooting 6-of-12 from the field. Beyond the scoring column, the freshman also paced the Beacons with six rebounds and three steals.
- Leah Earnest scored in double figures for the 11th time in 12 games, finishing with 12 points. She also handed out a game-high six assists to match her career best.
- Ella Van Weelden scored all of her career-high 12 points in the fourth quarter, knocking down a career-best four 3-pointers.
- The two teams enjoyed a pretty even shooting effort from the floor. Valpo hit at a 43.6% (24-of-55) clip and knocked down seven 3-pointers, while Southern Illinois hit 43.1% (22-of-51) and connected on five triples.
- The difference between the two squads came at the foul line. The Beacons were just 11-of-21 from the charity stripe, versus a 26-of-29 mark at the line from the Salukis.
- Valpo limited SIU, which entered the game averaging 12.6 offensive rebounds/game, to just nine offensive boards. In fact, the Beacons — who gathered eight offensive rebounds of their own — enjoyed a 13-10 edge in second chance points.
...looking ahead
- Valpo plays the back half of its current four-game homestand next weekend, welcoming Illinois State (Jan. 19) and Bradley (Jan. 21) to the ARC.
- The next weekend brings the in-state road swing, as the Beacons head to Indiana State and Evansville.
...at the ARC
- Valpo will play 12 regular season home games during the 2023-24 campaign. Sunday is the Beacons’ fourth home game of the season.
- The Beacons are 1-2 at home so far this year and posted a 3-12 record at home last season.
@UNIwbb
- UNI enters Sunday’s game with a 3-9 overall record this year, but is 2-1 in MVC play with wins over Indiana State and Evansville last weekend.
- The Panthers’ scheduled contest Friday night at UIC was postponed due to a facility issue.
- Maya McDermott is averaging a team-high 14.1 points/game. MVC preseason Player of the Year Grace Boffeli is averaging 13.7 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, but has not played since Nov. 29 due to injury.
Another Leap Forward
- Senior Leah Earnest took a jump forward in her production last season, and has taken another leap this year.
- Earnest enters Sunday’s game ranked eighth in the conference in scoring (13.9 points/game) and 10th in field goal percentage (.489).
- She is also averaging team-best marks of 6.3 rebounds/game and 2.7 assists/game as well.
- Earnest is on pace to become the first Valpo player since Debbie Bolen in 1991-92 to lead the team in points, rebounds and assists.
- Earnest has been consistent, scoring in double figures in 12 of 13 games to date.
- Earnest entered this season with a career high of 20 in the scoring column, but has outdone that three times this year, including a career-best 26 points at UAB.
- With her seventh rebound at Missouri State, Earnest hit the 500-rebound mark for her career, becoming the 19th player in program history with 500 career boards. She enters Sunday’s game ranked 18th in program history with 509 career rebounds.
Productive Rookie
- Freshman Saniya Jackson scored just 11 points combined over her first three collegiate games, but has been a steady hand on the offensive end since then.
- Jackson’s first double-figure scoring effort came at UAB, when she scored 13 points.
- Jackson has scored in double figures in six of Valpo’s last 10 games, including a season-best 15 to lead the Beacons against Southern Illinois.
- Jackson is shooting at a 47.7% clip from the field this season, including a 65.3% mark from inside the arc.
- Jackson has racked up 25 steals this year - second-most on the team - while committing just 18 turnovers. Per HerHoopStats.com, as of Saturday, she is one of just 21 D-I players with 25+ steals and 20 or fewer turnovers.
Remember the ARC?
- Valpo finally returned to its home court against Drake on Friday, playing its first home game since taking on Chicago State Dec. 9.
- The matchup against the Cougars was the Beacons’ lone regular season home game in a span of 55 days.
- Last Saturday’s game at SIU wrapped up a stretch where Valpo played nine out of 10 games away from home.
- It was 34 days between the Chicago State game and Friday’s matchup with Drake, the program’s longest stretch between home games since the 1999-2000 team went 35 days between home contests.
- The game on Friday, Jan. 12 was just Valpo’s third home game of the year, the latest in the calendar the program has played its third home game of the season since the 1988-89 squad played its third home game on Jan. 18.
3lla Van W33ld3n
- Redshirt sophomore Ella Van Weelden was the offensive impetus behind the Beacons’ run at Southern Illinois in the fourth quarter last Saturday.
- Van Weelden delivered 12 points in the final period, hitting 4-of-6 from behind the 3-point line in that 10-minute stretch.
- Incredibly, her output in that quarter alone was enough to set a career high in the scoring column, surpassing her previous best of nine points - set in her collegiate debut last year against Southern Miss.
- Van Weelden became the third Beacon to score in double digits in a single quarter this season - Leah Earnest scored 12 in the first quarter and Olivia Brown scored 14 in the third quarter against Chicago State.
Youth in the Lineup
- The Beacons’ starting lineup has been 60% comprised of freshmen the last two times out.
- Layla Gold made her first collegiate start last Saturday at Southern Illinois, joining Saniya Jackson and Nevaeh Jackson in the starting five.
- It was the first time Valpo has started three freshmen since March 11, 2016, when Hannah Schaub, Meredith Hamlet and Amber Lindfors were in the starting lineup against Northern Kentucky.
- Gold’s insertion into the lineup was necessitated after Olivia Brown suffered an injury in the foruth quarter of the previous game at Missouri State which kept her out against the Salukis. It was the first game Brown has missed in her three years at Valpo, snapping a streak of 71 consecutive games played.
Thievery Abounds
- Valpo has gotten back to its stealing ways on the defensive end this season.
- The Beacons rank 40th nationally with 10.6 steals/game, and per HerHoopStats.com, their steal rate of 12.4% is good for 32nd nationally.
- Valpo has been in double figures in steals in six games this season, highlighted by an 18-steal effort against Western Illinois Nov. 18.
- The 18 steals was the program’s best single-game mark since tallying 21 steals at Evansville on Jan. 12, 2020, and is tied for the second-highest output in Evans’ tenure as head coach.
- Freshman Raeven Raye-Redmond currently ranks third in the Valley with 2.5 steals/game despite playing just 16.3 minutes/game.
- Raye-Redmond is one of three players nationally with a steal rate of at least 7% who play at least 10 minutes/game, joining Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo and Norfolk State’s Diamond Johnson.
- Twice already this year, the Beacons have had a player tally eight steals in a game - Saniya Jackson did so Nov. 25 at UAB and Raye-Redmond did so in her collegiate debut in the aforementioned Western Illinois game.
- Jackson and Raye-Redmond are two of just 24 D-I players nationally to record eight or more steals in a single game so far this season.
- The duo are now tied for second on Valpo’s single-game steals chart, just one off the program single-game record.
- Prior to this year, the last Valpo player to tally eight steals in a game was Jeanette Gray against Houston in the 2002 WNIT.
- Raye-Redmond was the first MVC player to record eight steals in a game since UNI’s Ellie Herzberg did so against Indiana State on Feb. 19, 2017.
