Valparaiso (7-21, 5-14 MVC)
Game #29 - March 4, 2023 - 1 p.m.
Belmont (20-10, 16-3 MVC)
Athletics-Recreation Center (5,000) - Valparaiso, Ind.
Next Up in Valpo Basketball: The Valpo women’s basketball team closes out the regular season Saturday afternoon as the Beacons welcome MVC co-leader Belmont to the ARC for the first time. It will be Valpo’s Senior Day game, recognizing Ilysse Pitts and Maya Dunson, as well as student manager Kaylee Huyser and practice players James Sroge and Anthony Sciarroni.
Previously: Olivia Brown posted the highest-scoring half by a Valpo women’s basketball player in over five years on Thursday evening at the ARC, scoring 22 points in the second half, but it wouldn’t be enough to push the Beacons’ comeback effort over the hump, as visiting Murray State came away with a 77-64 win.
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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 55-89. 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 and Belmont had not met on the hardwood prior to this year and the Bruins joining the Missouri Valley Conference. The two teams faced off for the first time on Dec. 30 in Nashville in both squads’ Valley opener, with the Bruins earning a 74-60 victory. Olivia Brown went 6-of-8 from 3-point range as she led the Beacons with 18 points, while Ava Interrante tallied 14 points and Ali Saunders chipped in 10 points off the bench.
@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.
...versus Murray State
- Valpo shot just 26.1% from the field in the opening half as the Racers led from the jump. An 8-0 MSU run midway through the first quarter accounted for most of its 21-10 lead at the end of the opening period.
- The Racers led by as many as 21 points in the second quarter before entering halftime up 36-18.
- While the Murray State lead reached as many as 24 points in the third quarter, Olivia Brown helped Valpo keep pace by scoring 12 points in the third quarter alone, as the Racers’ lead was 60-40 with 10 minutes to play.
- Valpo opened the fourth quarter on a 9-0 run to cut the deficit to 11 points, and after MSU pushed the lead back out to 17, the Beacons put together another spurt to get within 73-61 with 2:30 to play. But they would get no closer than that.
- After being held scoreless in the first half, Brown exploded for 12 points in the third quarter and 10 in the final period for a 22-point second half on 8-of-9 shooting from the floor, leading all players in the scoring column and coming just two points shy of her career best.
- Not to be outdone, Ali Saunders had a 20-point night on 8-of-12 shooting, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range, as well. The freshman scored 10 points in each half en route to her second-highest scoring output of the season.
- It is the first time since Jan. 31, 2021 against Missouri State that Valpo has had two players finish with 20 or more points.
- Brown and Saunders were the only Beacons to finish in double figures, however, as Leah Earnest was next on the scoring list with seven points. The junior also paced Valpo with five rebounds.
- After shooting just 26.1% from the floor in the opening 20 minutes, the Beacons rebounded to hit at a 59.3% clip in the final 20 minutes to finish at 44% for the game.
- Valpo’s 46 second-half points matched its second half against Southern Miss for the team’s highest-scoring half of the season.
- The Beacons also shot a season-best 92.9% (13-of-14) from the foul line.
...at Illinois State
- After surrendering the first six points of the game, Valpo scored the next seven to set the stage for an opening quarter which featured five lead changes.
- The Beacons scored the final five points of the period in the final minute to take an 18-14 lead at the end of one.
- Valpo and Illinois State were tied at 25-25 late in the second quarter before the Redbirds closed the half on an 11-2 run to lead 36-27 at intermission.
- Valpo was held to one field goal over the first 7:50 of the third quarter as Illinois State pulled out to a 56-35 lead with 10 minutes to play. The Beacons were unable to get closer than 18 points in the final quarter.
- After shooting better than 50% in each of their previous two games, the Beacons hit just 34.7% (17-of-49) from the field and were just 7-of-29 from 3-point range.
- Valpo did hold Illinois State to 39.7% shooting from the floor (25-of-63), but the Redbirds hit 11 3-pointers — a season high for a Valpo opponent in MVC play. The Redbirds also committed nine fewer turnovers than the Beacons.
- Ali Saunders paced Valpo with 12 points and dished out a game-best six assists to set a career high.
- Jayda Johnston joined Saunders in double figures, scoring 10 points to reach double digits for the third time this season.
- Leah Earnest and Emma Tecca shared team-high honors with five rebounds each. Tecca’s five boards were her season best and matched her career high from her time at Akron.
...looking ahead
- Hoops in the Heartland begins Thursday, March 9 in Moline, Ill.
...at the ARC
- Thursday’s game is the last of 15 home games this season for Valpo.
- The Beacons are 3-11 at home so far this year and went 6-7 in home games last season.
@BelmontWBB
- Belmont enters Saturday’s regular season finale at 20-10 overall and tied with Illinois State atop the Valley standings at 16-3.
- After sitting at 3-3 through their first six MVC games, the Bruins have reeled off 13 victories in a row.
- Belmont most recently took down UIC on Thursday evening, 81-56.
- Destinee Wells paces the Bruins, averaging 17.4 points/game while also handing out 5.0 assists/game. Madison Bartley backs her up with 14.9 points/game on 52.3% shooting.
Senior Day
- Valpo is honoring a pair of players whose collegiate eligibility is coming to an end Saturday on Senior Day.
- Ilysse Pitts will be appearing for the Beacons for the 110th time on Saturday and has started all 28 games to date this season. She has totaled 349 points, 261 rebounds, 154 assists and 116 steals in her career.
- Pitts scored a career-best 24 points earlier this season in Valpo’s home win over Missouri State. She has pulled down eight rebounds on three occasions, most recently last month in the Beacons’ win at Evansville, and also owns career bests of six assists and five steals.
- Maya Dunson joined Valpo midway through the 2020-21 season and enters Saturday with 75 games played in the Brown and Gold, making 29 starts. She has totaled 416 points and 242 rebounds in her collegiate career.
- Dunson scored a career-best 14 points earlier this season in Valpo’s home game against Indiana State. She has registered a career-high seven rebounds on three occasions, most recently last month in the Beacons’ road win over the Sycamores.
A Look at the Standings
- With just one game to go in the regular season, seeding for Hoops in the Heartland is up in the air up and down the MVC standings, and Valpo’s placement is no exception.
- The Beacons currently sit as the 11 seed, but could move up to the 10 seed with a win over Belmont and either an Evansville or an Indiana State loss on Saturday, as Valpo would hold tiebreakers over both teams and would earn the middle spot in a three-way tie.
- Three teams are still in play for the 6 and 7 seeds as Valpo’s potential first-round opponent: UIC, Southern Illinois and Murray State.
Brown’s Big Half
- It was a tale of two halves on Thursday for Olivia Brown.
- After entering halftime scoreless on 0-of-3 shooting, Brown exploded for 22 points on 8-of-9 shooting in the final 20 minutes.
- It was the highest-scoring half for a Valpo player since Meredith Hamlet scored 23 in the first half against IU Northwest on Dec. 15, 2017.
- It is the fourth time this season a Beacon has scored 14 or more points in the second half after going into halftime scoreless.
- Brown split her scoring pretty evenly between the two second-half quarters, posting 12 points in the third period and 10 in the fourth quarter. She is the first Valpo player to score in double digits in both quarters of a half since Shay Frederick did so in the third and fourth quarters against UNI on Jan. 8, 2021.
- Brown remains among the Valley’s best 3-point shooters, hitting 2.0 triples/game on .415 shooting from deep, and has boosted her numbers within MVC play to 2.2 3-pointers/game on .438 shooting.
- Brown’s .415 season 3-point percentage would rank eighth in a season in program history, while her current career 3-point clip of .408 at Valpo ranks second in program history.
Second Half Scoring
- Remarkably, with Brown’s 22-point second half on Thursday, four different Valpo players have scored 14 or more points in a game this season after entering halftime scoreless.
- Jayda Johnston dropped 14 points in the second half at the ARC against Illinois State after being held without a first-half point.
- Maya Dunson scored 14 second-half points in the home game against Indiana State.
- Ava Interrante went for 15 in the second half at Western Illinois following a scoreless first half.
Double-Digit Quarters
- Five different players have combined for 11 double-digit scoring periods this year following Brown’s 12-point third quarter and 10-point fourth quarter last time out.
- Brown became the second Valpo player with two double-digit periods in the same game, as Ali Saunders previously dropped 10 first-quarter points and 11 points in overtime against UAB.
- Brown owns a team-high five double-digit quarters this year, as she also scored 13 first-quarter points at home against Bradley, 11 points in the second quarter at Drake and 10 points in the fourth quarter against Western Michigan.
- Saunders has three double-digit periods, as she hit four fourth-quarter 3-pointers for 12 points in the home game against Drake.
- Emma Tecca, who entered the home game against UNI averaging less than a point per game, scored 10 of her career-high 12 points in the fourth quarter of that contest.
- Jayda Johnston poured in 13 points in just 6:22 of playing time in the third quarter against Illinois State at the ARC.
- Maya Dunson had 11 points in the fourth quarter versus Indiana State at the ARC.
Enjoying the Road
- The road was kind to Valpo over the last two weekends, as the Beacons won three road wins in a row after entering the stretch with just one road victory to their credit this year.
- This marks the third consecutive season (excepting the COVID-affected 2020-21 season) that Valpo has swept the Indiana State/Evansville road swing - the first time in program history it has swept the same conference road trip three straight years.
- The win at Bradley gave Valpo three consecutive road wins in conference play for the first time since winning at Loyola once and at SIU twice in February 2021, and the first such streak against three different opponents since winning at Oral Roberts, Centenary and Western Illinois in January 2007.
- The three-game winning streak, all on the road, is the program’s first since the aforementioned 2021 trio of victories. The last time Valpo won at least three straight games, all of which were on the road, prior to that came on either side of New Year’s Day 2005, when Valpo won at Dartmouth to close nonconference play and opened Mid-Con play with wins at Centenary and at Oakland.
Earnest Doubles Up
- Junior Leah Earnest has been one of the Valley’s most effective rebounders this season, averaging 7.4 rebounds/game.
- She has posted nine double-figure rebounding performances this year - most recently a 12-board effort against UNI - and has paced the Beacons in boards 20 times.
- Earnest now owns the top-three individual rebounding efforts in head coach Mary Evans’ tenure with 14 against EIU and 13 against both UAB and Wisconsin.
- Earnest also scored 10 points against the Panthers, giving her eight double-doubles this season 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 has more double-doubles this season than Valpo has posted as a team since the 2016-17 season. Her most recent double-double matched Dani Franklin, who tallied eight during the 2016-17 campaign, while her next one would mark the most since Jasmyn Walker posted nine double-doubles in 2014-15.
A Perfect Shooting Performance
- Freshman Ali Saunders was literally perfect when shots left her hands at home against UNI.
- Saunders was 7-for-7 from the field, including a 3-pointer, and was also 4-for-4 from the foul line to tie for game-high honors with 19 points.
- Saunders is the first Valpo player with a 100% field goal percentage on at least seven attempts since Tamra Braun went 10-for-10 at Oakland on Jan. 3, 2004.
- Along with her perfect shooting performance, Saunders dished out four assists. Per HerHoopStats.com, she is one of only four D-I players nationally with a game this season where they have gone 7-of-7 or better from the field and also tallied at least four assists.
- Saunders nearly duplicated the feat in the win at Bradley, missing just a lone 3-point attempt on her way to sharing game-high honors with 17 points (6-7 FG; 2-3 3PT; 3-3 FT).
Improvement on the Glass
- This year’s Valpo team has been the best in terms of rebounding margin in the tenure of head coach Mary Evans, and the Beacons have been even better within conference play.
- In their nine nonconference games, the Beacons were a -5.3 in rebounding margin and surrendered 5.9 more offensive rebounds per game than they grabbed.
- But within MVC play, Valpo has been just -4.6 in rebounding margin and has surrendered just 2.9 more offensive rebounds per game than it has tallied.
- The win over Missouri State was especially notable - Valpo enjoyed a 28-23 advantage on the glass, a +5 edge that 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 held a 35-29 edge on the glass in the win at Indiana State - the Beacons outrebounded the Sycamores, who hold a positive rebounding margin on the season, by six in both matchups this year.
Setting Career Bests
- With Emma Tecca’s 12-point effort against UNI, tying her career best set while she was at Akron, all 11 active Beacons have set or matched their career high in the scoring column this season.
2/12 vs. UNI - Emma Tecca (12)
1/29 vs. Bradley - Olivia Brown (24)
1/24 vs. Missouri State - Ilysse Pitts (24)
1/7 vs. Indiana State - Maya Dunson (14)
12/9 at Western Illinois - Jayda Johnston (16), Ava Interrante (15)
11/21 vs. UAB - Ali Saunders (32), Olivia Sims (12 [tied twice more])
11/12 vs. Southern Miss - Ella Van Weelden (9)
11/7 at Central Michigan - Leah Earnest (20), Katie Beyer (11)
