In a year where Valparaiso University women’s basketball coach Mary Evans has emphasized growth, Addison Stoller (Cissna Park, Ill. / Cissna Park) has exemplified the word. The redshirt sophomore continued to outdo herself on Sunday afternoon at the Athletics-Recreation Center, again altering her career high in scoring by pouring in 24 points after posting 22 in the previous game. She accounted for over half of the team’s scoring in a 58-47 setback to visiting Southern Illinois.
How It Happened
- Four lead changes occurred in the opening quarter including a go-ahead 3-pointer by Meredith Hamlet (McBain, Mich. / McBain) at the 7:37 mark. That triple was significant because it was Valpo’s 225th of the season, breaking a program record that had stood since 1991-92.
- Shay Frederick (Greenville, Wis. / Hortonville) converted a trey with 2:52 left in the first that again put Valpo on top, this time at 10-9. Valpo added to that lead and made it 12-9 by the quarter break after an opening period where Southern Illinois shot just 23 percent and all five Valpo starters cracked the scoring column.
- Southern Illinois (13-12, 6-8) scored the first five points of the second quarter to take a 14-12 lead, but Stoller became the third Valpo player of the day to swish a go-ahead 3 with 5:37 left in the period, making it 15-14.
- A 7-0 Saluki run followed the Stoller basket, helping the guests own a 22-17 lead at halftime. Valpo shot just 7.1 percent (1-of-14) in the second quarter.
- A Hamlet 3-pointer and a Stoller layup allowed Valpo to score the first five points of the third quarter and tie the game at 22, but Southern Illinois accounted for the next seven, five of which came from Mackenzie Silvey.
- The spurt extended to 13-1 when Silvey drained a 3 at the 4:31 mark, allowing the Salukis to open up their largest lead of the day at 35-23.
- Valpo cut it back down to eight with 2:39 left in the third, but that was the final time the lead was smaller than 10. By the end of the third, Southern Illinois was up 45-31 after going 8-of-12 from the field in that period.
- The fourth was a quarter of runs as Southern Illinois used an 8-0 spurt to push the lead to 18 before Valpo scored the final seven points of the game to make 11 the final margin. Stoller scored nine points in the fourth quarter alone on 3-of-4 shooting.
Inside the Game
- Valpo shattered single-season program records for both made 3s and 3-pointers attempted by the end of the first quarter on Sunday. In both categories, Valpo set the previous record in 1991-92 when the team attempted 676 triples and made 224. The made 3s mark was matched in 2007-08. The new records were solidified with three regular season games and at least one MVC Tournament game to spare.
- Stoller has averaged 23 points per game in two meets with Southern Illinois this season and posted that same scoring average in two games this weekend. She put together her initial career high with 22 in Carbondale on Jan. 25 and matched that on Friday against Missouri State before shattering it on Sunday.
- Hamlet added eight points on Sunday to advance into the Top 5 in the history of Valpo women’s basketball. She is up to 1,277 points, passing Amber Schober (1988-2002) and Betsy Rietema (2003-2007) on Sunday. Jeanette Gray (1999-2003) is fourth at 1,460.
Thoughts from Head Coach Mary Evans
“Addison had good matchups this weekend. We played two teams that are really good defensively. Her matchup was the best one we had. On top of finding her own points, she did a nice job of making some quality passes to her teammates. She’s such an unselfish kid that it’s nice to have her be able to facilitate some things, because she makes the right decisions. She’ll shoot it when she needs to, and she’ll also find her teammates when she needs to do so.”
“We had open looks and other people took a good number of shots. It was balanced as far as who was getting shots, we’ve just got to get back in the gym and get shots up. We need to get our legs underneath us and get some rest as well. We’re trying to get our confidence back in our 3-point shooting. A lot of that is getting repetitions in practice.”
“We held them to seven offensive rebounds, and that was a big step forward. We did a good job against their transition offense. They got a few transition baskets in the third quarter that sparked a run and stretched the game out. There was progress in both of those areas. Our guards did a tremendous job getting into the rebounding mix and helping us there. If we can take that and grow from it, there are a lot of positives from this weekend. We’re continuing to grow individually and as a team. We’re going to see some good things moving forward.”
Up Next
Valpo (6-21, 2-13) will return to the hardwood on Thursday at 7 p.m. for a game against Bradley in Peoria. Please note that the game is a day earlier than the typical Friday night in The Valley. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ with links to live video, audio and stats available on ValpoAthletics.com.
