Valpo women’s basketball freshman Saniya Jackson (Fort Wayne, Ind./Northrop) continued her strong rookie campaign as she tied for game-high honors with a season-best 16 points on Sunday as the Beacons fell to MVC preseason favorite UNI at the ARC, 76-52.
How It Happened
- Valpo forced turnovers on each of UNI’s first three possessions of the game, jumping out to a 5-0 lead behind a 3-pointer from Ava Interrante (McHenry, Ill./McHenry) and a finish inside from Jackson.
- UNI came back with nine straight points over four possessions to take the lead for good. Nevaeh Jackson (Fort Wayne, Ind./Northrop) briefly slowed the Panthers’ momentum with a 3-pointer with 6:02 to play in the period to make it a one-point game, but UNI rattled off eight more in a row to pull ahead.
- The Panthers led 20-13 at the end of the first quarter.
- It was still a seven-point game halfway through the second period after a triple by Olivia Sims (Toledo, Ohio/Notre Dame Academy [Oakland]) brought the Beacons within 25-18. UNI reeled off 11 points in a row after that bucket and led 38-20 at halftime.
- The Panthers led by as many as 30 points in the third quarter and enjoyed a 63-34 lead with 10 minutes to play.
- Led by six points from Saniya Jackson, the Beacons outscored UNI in the fourth quarter, 18-14.
Inside the Game
- Saniya Jackson surpassed her previous season best by one point, hitting 6-of-8 from the field — including a season-high three triples — for 16 points to share game-high scoring honors with MVC Preseason Player of the Year Grace Boffeli.
- Jackson has scored in double figures in seven of Valpo’s last 11 games.
- Jackson also paced the Beacons on the defensive end with three steals, her fourth effort of at least three steals this season.
- As a team, Valpo racked up 11 steals on Sunday — the seventh time this year the Beacons have reached double figures in that department.
- Jackson was the lone Valpo player to score in double figures, as second on the Beacons’ ledger was Katie Beyer (McHenry, Ill./McHenry), who scored a season-high eight points in 11 minutes off the bench.
- Ella Van Weelden (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Marion) chipped in five points, tied for team-high honors with five rebounds and blocked a pair of shots to match her career high.
- Valpo forced UNI to commit a season-high 21 turnovers — a strong feat given the Panthers played one of the nation’s toughest nonconference schedules. The Beacons held a 22-21 edge in points off turnovers.
- Valpo shot just 31.6% from the field, as compared to the Panthers’ 52.8% clip.
Postgame Press Conference - Head Coach Mary Evans and Saniya Jackson
https://youtu.be/QRButcFcNb0
Next Up
Valpo (1-13, 0-5 MVC) continues its four-game homestand next Friday, Jan. 19 as the Beacons take on Illinois State at the ARC at 6 p.m.