The Valparaiso University women’s basketball team ran into a hot Missouri State team that extended its winning streak to 10 games with a 108-63 victory on Sunday afternoon at JQH Arena in Springfield. Valpo was led in scoring by freshman Shay Frederick (Greenville, Wis. / Hortonville), who knocked down four 3s and finished with a game-high 17 points.
How It Happened
- An early triple by junior Grace Hales (Cromwell, Ind. / Westview) and a layup by Hannah Schaub (Brooklyn Park, Minn. / Park Center) helped Valpo out to a 5-4 lead. After that juncture, Missouri State went on a 14-0 run to build up an 18-5 advantage with 4:07 left in the first quarter.
- The two teams played even for the remainder of the quarter, but the Lady Bears maintained a 14-point lead through one period. The first quarter saw Missouri State shoot 65 percent and win the rebounding battle 12-3.
- Senior Allison Schofield (McCordsville, Ind. / Hamilton Southeastern) knocked in a 3-pointer eight seconds into the second quarter to pull Valpo within 11, but then Missouri State embarked on another large run. The Lady Bears (11-7, 7-0 MVC) scored 19 straight point to open the edge to 46-16 before Frederick connected from distance to stem the tide.
- Valpo went into the locker room trailing 51-25 despite nine first-half points by Frederick. Missouri State shot 66 percent.
- After finishing the first half without a field goal attempt and just one point, redshirt sophomore Addison Stoller (Cissna Park, Ill. / Cissna Park) came on strong in the third period. She had a third-quarter burst of 11 points after a 16-point third on Friday at Southern Illinois. Missouri State continued to make shots at a high clip, shooting 72 percent in that period to outscore Valpo 33-19.
- Valpo made seven of its 14 shots in the fourth, finishing with 19 points in each of the final two quarters.
Inside the Game
- Frederick finished with 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting and knocked down four 3-pointers. The four triples matched a personal best for the freshman reached twice previously, most recently on Dec. 21 against Bowling Green. She finished Sunday’s game two points shy of a career-high 19, which was set on Nov. 17 vs. St. Francis Brooklyn.
- Frederick had her sixth double-figure scoring game this season, while Stoller achieved her 11th and Hales her ninth. Stoller, who finished with 12 points, hit double figures in both games on this road trip. Hales has been in double figures in three straight.
- Valpo attempted a season-high 40 3-pointers, setting the JQH Arena record for attempted 3s in a game. It was one shy of Valpo’s program record, which was established on Feb. 27, 1992 vs. Wright State. This was the most 3-point attempts in a road game in program history.
- This year’s Valpo team already owns three of the top four single-game 3-point attempt totals in program history. Before this season, Valpo had attempted more than 36 3s in a game just once all-time. The team has done so three times this year.
- Missouri State was led by Sydney Manning, who had 14 points off the bench. Jasmine Franklin (10 points, 10 rebounds) and Sydney Wilson (12 points, 10 rebounds) both enjoyed double-doubles.
Thoughts from Head Coach Mary Evans
“Missouri State came out and they were on fire. We were never able to catch up. We ran good offense over the course of the game. We did not make shots in the first part of the first half, but they were good shots that just weren’t going in. Defensively, we didn’t have an answer to anything. Missouri State has an ability to score in a variety of ways. Our kids fought through some adversity, but it just wasn’t our day.”
“Shay’s demeanor and the way she plays basketball brings a real poise and confidence to our team. I appreciate her ability to come off the bench and be that calming factor. For a freshman that is very rare. I’m excited about having that kid for another three years.”
“As a team, we’re learning how to create space for Addison because she can drive the basketball, and she’s shown she can do that against anybody in this league. It’s about us getting better as a group of five and creating space for her. We made adjustments at halftime and did that well in the second half. She did a nice job in the second half of being more aggressive and our players created more opportunities for her.”
“We’ve got to get back home and regroup. We need to do a better job on defense, and that’s going to be our focus this week in practice.”
Up Next
After playing five of its first seven Missouri Valley Conference games away from Northwest Indiana, Valpo will begin a stretch of four straight home games on Friday. The tip time is set for 7 p.m. as Bradley enters the Athletics-Recreation Center. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ with links to live video, audio and stats available.
