Valparaiso (4-15, 3-7 MVC)
Game #19 - February 4, 2024 - 1 p.m.
Indiana State (7-13, 3-7 MVC)
Athletics-Recreation Center (5,000) - Valparaiso, Ind.

Next Up in Valpo Basketball: Winners of back-to-back games, the Valpo women’s basketball team opens up the second half of Valley play at the ARC Friday evening when the Beacons face off against Indiana State for the second time this season. Free pom poms and Love Valpo posters will be available for fans, and the first 500 fans will receive a free Valpo shoe charm.

Previously: A dramatic fourth quarter full of twists and turns Sunday in Chicago between Valpo and UIC was bound to come right down to the wire, and it took all the way until the final buzzer to determine the victor, as Beacon senior Leah Earnest got open for a buzzer-beating layup to deliver the 71-70 victory to Valpo.

While the winning basket was a two-point field goal, the Beacons used a season-best effort from behind the 3-point line to be in position to earn the win — six of which came in the fourth quarter. Nevaeh Jackson matched the program’s freshman record for 3-pointers in a game, knocking down six triples, while Olivia Brown hit four 3-pointers on as many attempts.

Following Valpo Basketball: Streaming Video: ESPN+
Radio: WVUR (95.1 FM, Valparaiso)
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 59-106. 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: Indiana State leads the all-time series with Valpo, 11-7, and the Sycamores took the first meeting of the season in Terre Haute just two weekends ago, 70-49. The Beacons led that game at intermission, 32-28, before ISU outscored Valpo 42-17 in the second half. Leah Earnest scored a game-high 18 points and also paced the Beacons with six rebounds in that meeting.

@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.

...at UIC
- UIC led 18-16 at the end of the first quarter and 32-24 at halftime. The Flames’ lead reached as many as nine points in the third quarter before Valpo closed to within 49-47 with 10 minutes to play.
- UIC pushed its lead to 56-50 with 6:58 to play, but the Beacons put together a 14-2 run over the next 3:48 to flip the script and take a 64-58 lead with 3:10 remaining.
- The Flames scored five points on their next two possessions to make it a one-possession game, and after the teams traded baskets, a Sara Zabrecky 3-pointer put UIC ahead 68-66 with 24 seconds left.
- After a Valpo miss, UIC split a pair of free throws to make it a 3-point game, setting up Nevaeh Jackson to hit a game-tying 3-pointer with 5.0 seconds to play.
- The Beacons were called for a foul with 4.1 seconds left on the ensuing inbounds - the Flames hit the first free throw to take the lead, but missed the second. Valpo secured the rebound and called timeout, but not before the clock had wound down to 1.5 seconds.
- Jackson triggered the inbounds in the frontcourt and hit Earnest on the near side, 15 feet from the basket. Jackson’s pass eluded Earnest’s defender’s lunging stab at a steal, and with the back side cleared out, Earnest turned, took one dribble and had an uncontested layup at the rim for the buzzer-beater.
- Earnest’s buzzer-beater for the win was Valpo’s first since Meredith Hamlet connected on a layup at the buzzer for a win at Chicago State Nov. 16, 2016.
- The basket capped a 20-point night for the senior, who hit the 20-point mark for the sixth time this season. Earnest also paced Valpo with seven rebounds and a career-high tying six assists as well.
- Nevaeh Jackson was responsible for nearly half of Valpo’s season-best 14 3-pointers, as the rookie went 6-for-9 from behind the 3-point line — coming up one point shy of her career best with 18 points.
- The Beacons set a season low by committing just 12 turnovers. After averaging 20.4 turnovers/game through the season’s first 14 games, Valpo has averaged just 14.6 turnovers/game over the last five contests.
- Sunday’s win came over a UIC team which entered the game with a 12-8 record on the year and with a winning record in Valley play.

...at Evansville
- Valpo led by six with less than three minutes remaining in the opening period before Evansville scored the final six points of the period to tie it at 13-13.
- The Purple Aces took a four-point lead at 25-21 just past the halfway mark of the second quarter, but that set the stage for a 13-2 Valpo run to end the half as the Beacons took a 34-27 halftime lead.
- Valpo pulled out to a 12-point lead less than three minutes into the second half. Evansville came back with an 11-2 run over the next two-plus minutes to cut the Beacons’ edge to 43-40.
- Valpo responded with a 14-2 run to close the third quarter which put the game out of reach, as the Beacons led 57-43 with 10 minutes to play.
- Valpo’s defense limited Evansville to 32.2% shooting, the second-lowest shooting percentage by a Valpo opponent this season.
- The Beacons matched the Purple Aces in the rebounding department, as both squads pulled down 41 boards — the second time this season Valpo has tied or outrebounded its opponent.
- Leah Earnest scored in double figures for the 16th time this year, pouring in a game-high 19 points, and also tied for team-high honors with five rebounds.
- Nevaeh Jackson enjoyed a very efficient shooting performance, hitting 6-of-8 from the field — including 2-of-4 from 3-point range — and both her free throw attempts for 16 points while also sharing team-high honors with five rebounds.
- Olivia Brown connected for 11 points — all of which came in the second half — and set a season best with five rebounds.
- The win was Valpo’s fourth straight at Evansville.

...looking ahead
- A visit to the ARC by Evansville closes out this weekend of Valley action.
- Next weekend brings the central Illinois road swing, with visits to Bradley and Illinois State.

...at the ARC
- Valpo will play 12 regular season home games during the 2023-24 campaign. Friday is the Beacons’ seventh home game of the season.
- The Beacons are 2-4 at home so far this year and posted a 3-12 record at home last season.

@IndStWBB
- Indiana State comes into Friday’s game at 7-13 overall and is tied with Valpo in the Valley standings at 3-7.
- The Sycamores have dropped back-to-back games since their win over the Beacons, falling to UIC (76-48) and Illinois State (64-59).
- Four of ISU’s five starters average between 10 and 11 points per game, led by Chelsea Cain, who scores 10.6 points/game on 54% shooting and also paces the Sycamores with 7.9 rebounds/game.

A Dramatic Win
- Sunday’s win at UIC went right down to the wire, as Leah Earnest converted a layup at the buzzer to give Valpo the 71-70 win.
- It was Valpo’s buzzer-beating victory first since Meredith Hamlet connected on a layup at the buzzer for a win at Chicago State Nov. 16, 2016.
- The one-point win was the program’s first victory by a single point since a 61-60 win at Northern Kentucky Dec. 30, 2015.

Hitting From Downtown
- Valpo had its best shooting day of the season from behind the 3-point line in the win over the Flames.
- The Beacons went 14-for-29 from downtown, season bests for both 3-pointers made and 3-point percentage (.483).
- The 14 triples are tied for ninth-most in a single game in program history.
- Valpo has hit 14 or more 3-pointers in a single game 22 times in program history, 13 of which have come in the tenure of head coach Mary Evans.
- The Beacons have connected on at least 10 triples five times this season, three of which have come in wins.

A Freshman Standard
- Leading the barrage from deep in the win over UIC was freshman Nevaeh Jackson, who finished the game 6-of-9 from 3-point range.
- Jackson hit three of her triples in the fourth quarter, including her final 3-pointer with five seconds to play which tied the game and set the stage for the eventual buzzer-beater.
- The six 3-pointers were the most by a Valpo player in a single game this year and came up just one shy of cracking the program’s single-game top-10 chart.
- Jackson matched Valpo’s record for 3-pointers in a game by a freshman with her six triples, last accomplished by Meredith Hamlet at Oakland Feb. 11, 2016.
- Jackson became the first MVC freshman to hit at least six 3-pointers in a win since Bradley’s Lasha Petree at Omaha Dec. 14, 2018. She is the first to do so in a conference win since UNI’s Madison Weekly at Loyola Feb. 21, 2014.

Nothing But Net
- Olivia Brown attempted four 3-pointers at UIC on Sunday - one in the first quarter, one in the second quarter and two in the fourth quarter - and connected on all four of them.
- It is the second time this year a Valpo player has been a perfect 4-for-4 from 3-point range in a game, as Ella Van Weelden did the same in the win over Bradley.
- The 4-for-4 effort from deep lifted Brown’s season 3-point percentage to .408 - third-best in the Valley - while she has hit at a .538 clip from deep in MVC play.

Taking Care of the Ball
- It’s pretty simple - the less turnovers a team commits, the more shots it has to add to its score.
- Last time out in the win at UIC, Valpo committed a season-low 12 turnovers.
- The performance against the Flames continued the Beacons’ recent improvement handling the ball. After averaging 20.4 turnovers/game through the season’s first 14 games, Valpo has averaged just 14.6 turnovers/game over the last five contests.

Happy Returns
- Over the last couple weeks, Valpo has been bolstered by returns to action from a pair of key players.
- In the Jan. 21 win over Bradley, fifth-year guard Olivia Brown returned to the court after missing four games with an ankle injury.
- Then, Jan. 28 at Evansville, fifth-year point guard Jill Harris saw nine minutes of action off the bench - her first playing time since Nov. 25, as she missed 13 games with a concussion.

A Big Win
- There was no drama in Valpo’s first Valley win of the year, as the Beacons led Bradley by as many as 34 points in the second half on their way to the 79-55 victory.
- Valpo’s 24-point margin of victory was its largest since beating Western Michigan 75-51 in December 2020.
- It was the program’s largest margin of victory in MVC play since a 93-49 win over Evansville in January 2019.
- The Beacons held Bradley to 55 points, a season low for their opponents. The Braves shot just 29.1% from the floor, the lowest mark by a Valpo opponent since Illinois State shot just 28.8% in January 2021.

Another Strong Performance
- Senior Leah Earnest capped another standout game on Sunday with her buzzer-beater.
- Earnest paced Valpo with 20 points and seven rebounds in the win, while also leading all players with six assists.
- All six of Earnest’s assists came on Beacon 3-pointers, meaning she had a direct hand in 38 of Valpo’s 71 points.
- Per HerHoopStats.com, there have been only three single-game performances by MVC players this year with at least 20 points, seven rebounds and six assists in the same game — Earnest is responsible for two of those, also hitting those marks in the win over Bradley.
- Over Valpo’s last five games, Earnest is averaging 20.2 points, 8.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game.

Another Leap Forward
- Earnest’s effort against UIC was just the latest in a standout season for the Wisconsin native.
- Earnest enters Friday’s game ranked seventh in the conference in scoring (15.1).
- She is just outside the Valley’s top-10 in rebounding with a team-best 6.8 rebounds/game and is also averaging a team-best 2.9 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 17 of 19 games to date.
- Earnest entered this season with a career high of 20 in the scoring column, but has hit that mark or better six times this year, including a career-best 26 points at UAB.
- Earnest surpassed the 500-rebound mark for her career in the MVC opener at Missouri State, becoming the 19th player in program history with 500 career boards. She enters Friday’s game ranked 16th in program history with 556 career rebounds.
- Earnest posted 24 points, 14 rebounds and six assists in Valpo’s win over Bradley - in single-game records dating back to the late 1980’s, no Valpo player has ever hit all three of those marks in the same game.
- Earnest is one of just three Division I players this season to reach all three of those marks in the same game — Iowa’s Caitlin Clark did so against Loyola, while Abilene Christian’s Bella Earle did so against California Baptist. She is also one of just two MVC players to post a stat line like that in the last 13 seasons.

Youth in the Lineup
- The Beacons’ starting lineup has been 60% comprised of freshmen since Valpo’s second game of the MVC slat.
- Layla Gold made her first collegiate start 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 fourth quarter of the previous game at Missouri State which kept her out against the Salukis. It was the first game Brown had missed in her three years at Valpo, snapping a streak of 71 consecutive games played.

Thievery Abounds
- Valpo averages 9.8 steals/game and have been in double figures in steals in eight 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 sixth in the Valley with 1.9 steals/game, while fellow rookie Saniya Jackson is 10th in the MVC with 1.8 steals/game.
- Both Jackson and Raye-Redmond have had an eight-steal game this season - Jackson did so Nov. 25 at UAB and Raye-Redmond did so in her collegiate debut in the aforementioned Western Illinois game.
- 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.