Valparaiso (3-11, 1-5 MVC)
Game #15 - Jan. 19, 2023 - 6 p.m.
at UNI (10-5, 5-1 MVC)
McLeod Center (6,650) - Cedar Falls, Iowa
Next Up in Valpo Basketball: Coming off a strong win at home over Missouri State this past Saturday, the Valpo women’s basketball team looks to keep the momentum going into a three-game stretch away from home - a stretch which begins Thursday night at MVC co-leader UNI.
Previously: Valpo earned its first Missouri Valley Conference win of the year in emphatic fashion Saturday afternoon at the ARC, taking down a Missouri State team which is one of the Valley’s perennial powers and entered the weekend tied atop the MVC standings by a 77-68 final. The victory — Valpo’s first in program history over the Lady Bears — was highlighted by a star performance from fifth-year point guard Ilysse Pitts, who more than doubled her previous career best with a game-high 24 points.
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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 51-79. 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: Valpo trails the all-time series with UNI, 10-5, but the location has made a big difference in the results - Valpo has split eight all-time matchups with the Panthers at the ARC, but is just 1-6 away from home. Last season, the teams met three times, with each team defending its home court in the regular season (Valpo 60-58, UNI 68-38) before the Panthers claimed the rubber result at Hoops in the Heartland, 63-39.
@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.
...versus Missouri State
- The Lady Bears led by as many as eight in the first half and held a 39-35 advantage at intermission.
- Five early points from Ilysse Pitts in the third quarter gave Valpo a 42-41 lead, its first lead since the early minutes. The Beacons would not trail again in the third and led 58-56 with 10 minutes to play.
- Olivia Brown converted at the rim on Valpo’s first possession of the fourth quarter to make it a four-point lead, but the Lady Bears scored six straight points to jump back in front, 62-60 with 8:24 to play.
- The Beacons answered with a key 10-2 run over a four-minute stretch to give them control. A 3-pointer by Pitts with 7:19 remaining gave Valpo the lead for good.
- The run was capped in a highlight-reel end-to-end sequence. Pitts blocked a 3-point attempt by MSU’s Paige Rocca with the shot clock running down, secured the loose ball and broke out towards the rim. Her layup attempt was off the mark, but junior Leah Earnest trailed the break perfectly, leapt and put the rebound back in one motion, all while being fouled. When Earnest completed the 3-point play at the foul line, Valpo led 70-64 with 4:02 to play.
- A free throw for the Beacons extended the lead to seven points at 71-64 with under three minutes to play before the Lady Bears converted a pair at the stripe with 2:31 to go to make it 71-66. Valpo had empty offensive possessions on its next two trips, but forced MSU misses on the defensive end to keep the Lady Bears at bay.
- Pitts took care of business at the foul line down the stretch, hitting 6-of-8 at the stripe in the final minute, and Missouri State turned the ball over to the Beacons on each of its final three possessions.
- Pitts, who entered Saturday with a career best of 11 points, more than doubled that to lead all players with 24 points — 18 of which came in the second half. Playing in her 95th career game at Valpo, Pitts paced the squad in scoring for the first time.
- Valpo also got an efficient offensive performance from Earnest, who went 6-of-9 from the field and a perfect 6-of-6 from the charity stripe for 18 points to go with six rebounds. Earnest, who scored in double figures for the 11th time this year, set a career high with her six free throws made and also posted a career best with three steals.
- Rounding out a trio of Beacons who set a high water mark for output from the free throw line was Brown, who went 6-of-7 from the foul line as part of a 15-point effort — her eighth game in double figures this year. The senior also paced Valpo with four assists.
...at UIC
- Valpo earned its largest lead of the game, 46-38, with 4:58 to play on a 3-pointer from Ilysse Pitts.
- The Beacons were limited to just one point over the next four-plus minutes as UIC closed to within 47-46.
- Olivia Sims hit two free throws with 19.5 seconds to play, countered by two UIC free throws with 10.7 seconds.
- Olivia Brown split a pair at the line to make it 50-48 with 8.6 to go, setting up Josie Filer’s game-winning triple.
- The 51 points allowed matched the lowest output by an opponent since Valpo held Purdue to 47 points on Dec. 6, 2020.
- The Beacons held UIC to 39% shooting, while on the offensive end, Valpo hit at a 45.9% clip. At the foul line, however, the Beacons were just 11-of-22 - including just 4-of-8 in the final two minutes - to the Flames’ 12-of-18.
- Sims matched her career high in the scoring column, with her final two free throws giving her a team-best 12 points on the night. The sophomore, who went 4-of-6 from the field and 4-of-5 from the foul line, has four 12-point efforts in her career.
...looking ahead
- Valpo continues its three-game road swing and concludes the Iowa road trip Saturday afternoon at Drake.
- The Beacons will then step out of Valley play briefly on Wednesday, Jan. 25 to make up their postponed game at Wisconsin.
...on the road
- Thursday’s game is the seventh of 14 true road games for Valpo this season and the fourth MVC road game.
- The Beacons are 1-5 so far this season on the road and posted a 5-11 record in true road games last season.
@UNIwbb
- UNI enters Thursday’s game tied atop the MVC standings with a 5-1 mark in conference play and a 10-5 overall record.
- The Panthers have won back-to-back games at Drake and at Evansville since suffering their lone Valley loss at Belmont.
- Three UNI players average in double figures in the scoring column, led by Grace Boffeli, who puts up 16.2 points/game on 55.4% shooting and also paces the Panthers’ effort on the glass with 8.7 rebounds/game.
Standout Performance From Pitts
- The story of Valpo’s win over Missouri State was the play of fifth-year point guard Ilysse Pitts. Pitts, who entered Saturday with a career best of 11 points, more than doubled that to lead all players with 24 points — 18 of which came in the second half. Playing in her 95th career game at Valpo, Pitts paced the squad in scoring for the first time.
- Pitts did so in efficient fashion, needing just 10 field goal attempts as she went 7-of-10 from the floor, knocked down both of her 3-point tries and was successful on 8-of-10 from the foul line.
- Not surprisingly, Pitts also set career bests for field goals made (7) and free throws made (8). In addition, she tied for game-high honors with seven rebounds to set a season high and tied her season best with three steals.
- Through six Valley games, Pitts is averaging 7.0 points on 53.6% shooting and 4.8 rebounds per game.
Hitting the Glass
- This year’s team — which has been the best in head coach Mary Evans’ tenure on the boards — reached a zenith with its effort against the Lady Bears on Saturday.
- Valpo enjoyed a 28-23 advantage on the glass, a +5 mark which seems even more impressive when you dive into the numbers. That +5 edge came against a Missouri State team which outrebounded the Beacons by a combined 36 boards in last season’s two matchups, and which had enjoyed a double-figure rebounding advantage in each of its last four games.
- The Lady Bears’ 23 rebounds were their lowest total since Feb. 11, 2018.
- Valpo surrendered just five offensive rebounds to MSU, which totaled 40 offensive rebounds in last year’s two meetings. In fact, the Beacons ended up with seven offensive boards of their own and outscored MSU in second-chance points, 13-8.
Efficient Scorers
- Valpo’s top four scorers are all racking up their points in efficient fashion this season.
- Two of the top four are hitting at better than a 50% clip from the field - Leah Earnest (11.6 ppg, 54.7% FG%) and Ilysse Pitts (6.5 ppg, 51.6% FG%).
- The other two of the top four scorers, while below 50% overall, are both above 40% from the 3-point line - Olivia Brown (12.2 ppg, 44.7% FG%, 43.1% 3PT%) and Ali Saunders (10.1 ppg, 47.9% FG%, 42.9% 3PT%).
- Per HerHoopStats.com, all four players are averaging between 1.21 and 1.25 points per scoring attempt (defined as a field goal attempt or free throw trip) - Valpo and #10 Iowa are the only two teams in the nation whose top four scorers are all averaging at least 1.20 PPSA.
Heartbreaking Losses
- Valpo’s loss to UIC last Wednesday on Josie Filer’s 3-pointer with 1.9 seconds remaining was its second last-second defeat this season.
- The Beacons fell in overtime to UAB on Nov. 21 when the Blazers’ Maria Roters hit a layup with 3.3 seconds to play in the extra period.
- Prior to the UAB game, Valpo had not lost a game by a single possession since another heartbreaking defeat - a 74-73 loss to #25 Missouri State on Jan. 31, 2021 on three free throws with 0.8 seconds left.
- This year is the first time Valpo has lost multiple games on a last-second shot (inside the final five seconds) since 2010-11 - that year’s squad fell 69-67 at Evansville on a layup with 1.1 seconds remaining and 70-69 at Milwaukee on a jumper in the paint with 4.9 seconds to play.
Earnest Crashes the Boards
- Junior Leah Earnest has been one of the Valley’s most effective rebounders this season and has six double-figure rebounding performances this year - most recently a 10-board effort against Indiana State.
- Earnest’s average of 8.1 rebounds/game ranks among the top-100 nationally.
- Earnest now owns the top-two individual rebounding efforts in head coach Mary Evans’ tenure with 14 against EIU and 13 against UAB.
- Combining her scoring and rebounding, Earnest has registered five double-doubles after recording just one in her first two seasons combined.
- Earnest is the first player in program history to tally three double-doubles in the first four games of a season.
- Earnest already has more double-doubles this season than Valpo has posted as a team in any of the last three seasons. She is the first Valpo player with at least five double-doubles in a single campaign since Dani Franklin tallied five during the 2017-18 season.
Setting Career Bests
- Ilysse Pitts’ explosive performance against Missouri State last time out was just the latest in a string of career-best performances on the offensive end from Valpo players this year.
- Remarkably, a pair of Valpo players have set career highs in the scoring column this season despite being scoreless at halftime of the respective games - Maya Dunson versus Indiana State (14) and Ava Interrante at Western Illinois (15).
- Also in that WIU game, junior Jayda Johnston raced past her previous high of six points just 2:05 into the second quarter on her way to a team-best 16 points.
- Nine of Valpo’s 11 players who have seen action this season have tied or set career bests for scoring - notably, three separate games have featured multiple Beacons hitting career highs.
- The season-opening win at Central Michigan featured career bests for Leah Earnest (20) and Katie Beyer (11), while Ali Saunders (32) and Olivia Sims (12) hit career highs in the overtime loss to UAB.
A New Rookie Standard
- Freshman Ali Saunders set a new mark for Valpo rookies as she scored 32 points against UAB.
- The previous freshman record is unknown, but there have now been 16 games in program history a Valpo player has scored 32 or more points, and none of the previous 15 came from a rookie.
- Saunders posted the highest-scoring game by any Valpo player since Dani Franklin dropped 33 points against Eastern Illinois on Dec. 3, 2016.
- Saunders was in double figures in the scoring column in each of the first four games of her collegiate career - the first Valpo freshman since Franklin in 2014-15 to do so.
