Valparaiso (5-21, 4-13 MVC)
Game #27 - March 2, 2024 - 2 p.m.
at Drake (23-5, 16-1 MVC)
Knapp Center (6,424) - Des Moines, Iowa
Next Up in Valpo Basketball: The Valpo women’s basketball team faces its final road test of the regular season Saturday afternoon, taking on MVC-leading Drake at the Knapp Center.
Previously: Valpo kicked off its final road trip of the regular season Thursday night in Cedar Falls, Iowa, falling to host UNI by a 78-59 final. Saniya Jackson led the Beacons with 14 points, nine rebounds and four steals, while Leah Earnest added 13 points and nine rebounds.
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 60-112. 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: Drake leads the all-time series over Valpo by a 16-2 margin. In the first meeting this season at the ARC, the Beacons were within 31-24 at halftime before the Bulldogs pulled away in the second half for an 83-54 win.
@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 UNI
- The game started on a sporting note, as Valpo yielded the opening tip to the Panthers so that UNI’s Emerson Green — who had suffered a season-ending knee injury early in the month — could make an uncontested layup and join classmates Grace Boffeli and Maya McDermott in reaching the 1,000-point career milestone this season. UNI returned the favor to the Beacons, allowing an uncontested basket of their own to even the score before the game got going in earnest.
- A 3-pointer from freshman Layla Gold with a minute to play in the quarter helped Valpo to a 15-13 lead at the end of the first period.
- The Panthers put together an 11-0 run in the second quarter to lead 28-18 with 5:27 to play in the half.
- Valpo scored the next four to get back to within six, and it was still just a nine-point game with a minute to play in the half after a 3-pointer by senior Ava Interrante. The Panthers scored four points in the final minute, however, to take a 40-27 lead into the locker room.
- A personal 7-0 run by freshman Saniya Jackson cut what was a 17-point UNI lead to just 46-36 with 6:33 to play in the third quarter. That was as close as the Beacons would get in the period, though, as UNI led 61-44 at the end of the third.
- Valpo was unable to get any closer than 13 points in the fourth quarter.
- Valpo held a big advantage from the 3-point line, going 11-of-28 from deep versus UNI’s 2-of-14 clip. It was the sixth time this year the Beacons have hit at least 10 triples in a game.
- The Panthers more than made up that deficit inside the arc, however. UNI held a 48-18 advantage in points in the paint and was 29-for-44 from 2-point range, as opposed to the Beacons’ 9-for-26 mark inside the arc.
- Valpo dished out 17 assists on its 20 baskets, led by a career-best and Valpo season-high seven helpers from Interrante.
- On the flip side, the Beacons committed 26 turnovers — their second-highest total of the season — which led to 27 UNI points.
- Jackson led Valpo on Thursday with 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting, her 14th double-digit scoring effort of the year. Jackson also tied for team-high honors with a season-best nine rebounds and led all players with four steals.
...versus UIC
- UIC scored 15 of the game’s first 17 points, jumping out to a 15-2 lead 5:08 into the game, and the Flames held a 21-12 lead at the end of the opening quarter.
- Valpo got to as close as seven in the second period on a triple by freshman Layla Gold two minutes into the quarter.
- It was still a single-digit deficit at the midway point of the quarter when Leah Earnest scored her 1,000th career point, but the Flames scored nine of the final 13 points of the half to lead 41-27 at intermission.
- Earnest connected on a 3-pointer right out of the locker room to make it an 11-point game, but that proved to be as close as the game would be in the second half. UIC led 63-41 at the end of the third quarter on its way to the win.
- Earnest finished with a team-high 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting.
- Jill Harris came up one point shy of her career high, scoring 13 points on 4-of-5 shooting.
- Valpo shot just 37.9% for the game, while UIC hit at a 55.8% clip. The Flames were 20-of-30 at the foul line to the Beacons’ 10-of-20 mark.
- The Flames outrebounded Valpo 44-26 and held a 50-34 advantage in points in the paint.
- Led by three steals from Olivia Brown, the Beacons tallied 10 steals, hitting double figures in that department for the 13th time this year.
...looking ahead
- Valpo closes out the regular season at the ARC next weekend against Southern Illinois and Missouri State.
...on the road
- - Valpo will play 17 games away from home in the 2023-24 regular season, 16 of which will be true road games.
- The Beacons are 3-13 away from home so far this year and posted a 4-10 record in true road games last season.
@DrakeWBB
- Drake enters Saturday’s game with a 23-5 overall record and is atop the MVC standings at 16-1.
- The Bulldogs’ lone loss in Valley play was a 79-70 setback at Illinois State, since which they have won eight in a row, including an 84-63 victory Thursday over UIC.
- Drake can clinch at least a share of the MVC regular season title with a win Saturday.
- Four of the Bulldogs’ five starters average in double figures, led by Katie Dinnebier, who tallies 18.3 points and 6.9 assists per game. Anna Miller nearly averages a double-double, with 12.9 points and 9.9 rebounds per game.
Looking at the Standings
- With just two weekends of play remaining in the regular season, every game is critical to final placement in the Valley standings and seeding for Hoops in the Heartland.
- Valpo currently sits in ninth place, two games back of eighth-place Indiana State.
- The Beacons are one game up on Southern Illinois and two games ahead of both Bradley and Evansville.
- Notably, if the Beacons are not the 11th seed, Valpo will avoid playing the latest game of the day on its first day of action for the first time since the 2019 tournament.
Knocking Down Triples
- Valpo enjoyed a big advantage from the 3-point line last time out at UNI, going 11-of-28 from deep as compared to the Panthers’ 2-of-14 clip.
- It was the second time this year the Beacons have connected on nine more 3-pointers than their opponent, as they did so as well in the win at UIC.
- Valpo has hit 10 or more 3-pointers six times this season, highlighted by a season-best 14 in the aforementioned UIC game.
Reaching Milestones
- Senior Leah Earnest hit a pair of milestones last weekend.
- With her third rebound last Thursday against Belmont, Earnest hit 600 rebounds for her career, becoming just the 12th player in program history to hit that mark.
- Earnest currently owns 617 career rebounds, 25 shy of 11th place in program history.
- Meanwhile, with her eighth point last Sunday against UIC, Earnest reached the 1,000-point milestone for her career, becoming the 18th member of Valpo’s 1,000-point club.
- Earnest has scored 1,021 career points, moving up one spot into 16th in program history last time out - she is 56 points shy of 15th all-time at Valpo.
- Earnest is just the 10th Valpo player all-time with both 1,000 career points and 600 career rebounds - of the seven players currently eligible, five of them are members of the Valpo Athletics Hall of Fame.
Double-Digit Quarters
- Earnest scored 21 of her career-best 32 points at Illinois State in the first half, 14 of which came in the second quarter for the highest-scoring quarter of her career.
- It was the fifth time in Earnest’s career she has scored 10 or more points in a single quarter, four of which have happened this season - she scored 13 points in the fourth quarter of the home game against Illinois State, 12 points in the first quarter of the win over Chicago State and 11 points in the fourth quarter at UAB.
- Earnest is responsible for half of Valpo’s individual double-digit scoring periods this year. Nevaeh Jackson scored a Valpo season-best 17 points in the second quarter of the home matchup with Illinois State.
- Olivia Brown poured in 14 points in the third quarter of the Chicago State win, while Ella Van Weelden tallied 12 points on four 3-pointers in the fourth quarter at Southern Illinois and the second quarter of the home win over Bradley.
Downing the Braves
- There was little drama in either of Valpo’s wins in its season sweep of Bradley this year, as the Beacons led by double figures for the entirety of the second half of both their 68-50 win at Bradley and their 79-55 home win over the Braves.
- The 18-point road win was Valpo’s largest road win since an 88-66 win at Evansville Jan. 12, 2020.
- Valpo’s 24-point margin of victory in the home win 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.
A Dramatic Win
- The Beacons’ 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.
Another Leap Forward
- Senior Leah Earnest’s recent efforts have been part of a stellar step forward this season.
- Over Valpo’s last 12 games, Earnest is averaging 19.3 points and 8.6 rebounds per game.
- Earnest enters Saturday’s game ranked fifth in the conference in scoring (16.0) and ninth in rebounding (7.3), while 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 24 of 26 games this season.
- Earnest entered this season with a career high of 20 in the scoring column, but has hit that mark or better seven times this year, including a career-best 32 points at Illinois State to go with 13 rebounds.
- The 32 points are tied for the most by a Valpo player in the last seven seasons. Earnest came up just one point shy of cracking the program’s single-game top-10 chart.
- She is the first Valpo player with a 30-point double-double since Tabitha Gerardot went for 33 and 18 versus Wright State Feb. 28, 2013.
- Earnest is one of just 22 D-I players to reach 32 points and 13 rebounds in the same game this year and is one of just two MVC players to do so.
- The performance at Illinois State was just the latest of Earnest’s impressive stat lines this year. She posted 24 points, 14 rebounds and six assists in Valpo’s home win over Bradley - the first player in Valpo history to reach those marks in the same game, and one of just four D-I players this year (a group which includes Iowa’s Caitlin Clark [2x] and LSU’s Angel Reese) to hit those marks.
- Earnest tallied 20 points, seven rebounds and six assists in the Beacons’ win at UIC. Only three times this year has an MVC player hit those marks in the same game, and Earnest’s efforts against Bradley and at UIC account of two of those instances.
Jackson Jackson
- The twins from Fort Wayne have been a big part of the Beacon squad this season.
- Saniya Jackson ranks third on the team with 9.0 points/game, a mark she has bumped up to 9.9 points/game - second-best on the team - in Valley play.
- Jackson has scored in double figures 14 times this year. She also leads the team and ranks among the top-10 in the Valley with 46 steals, and ranks second on the team in rebounding as well.
- Last time out at UNI, Jackson scored a team-high 14 points, tied for team-high honors with nine rebounds and led all players with four steals.
- Meanwhile, Nevaeh Jackson is fourth on the team in scoring with 7.0 points/game, reaching double digits on seven occasions. Her scoring average has increased to 8.5 points/game in MVC play.
- She also ranks second on the team in assists and blocked shots, as well as third in rebounding.
Youth in the Lineup
- The Beacons’ starting lineup has been 60% comprised of freshmen since Valpo’s second game of the MVC slate.
- 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 9.6 steals/game and has been in double figures in steals in 13 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.
- Two Beacons have had an eight-steal game this season - freshman Saniya Jackson did so Nov. 25 at UAB and fellow rookie Raeven 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.
