Valparaiso (0-1, 0-0 MVC)
Game #2 - Friday, November 15 - 7 p.m.
at North Dakota State (0-2, 0-0 Summit)
Scheels Center (5,644) - Fargo, N.D.
Next Up in Valpo Basketball: The Valpo women’s basketball team continues its early-season travels Friday night as it heads north to play at North Dakota State. The game will be the first of two in a 43-hour span for the Brown and Gold in The Peace Garden State.
Previously: Valpo opened up the 2019-20 campaign Sunday afternoon, taking on Big Ten foe Ohio State at the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame Classic at Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio. Valpo hung tight with the Buckeyes through the opening quarter of play, but OSU would pull away for an 89-38 win.
Following Valpo Basketball: TV: MidCo Sports Network
Streaming Video: ESPN3
Radio: WVUR (95.1 FM, Valparaiso)
Streaming Audio/Live Stats – Available via ValpoAthletics.com
Head Coach Mary Evans: Mary Evans (8-25) is in her second season as head coach of the Valpo women’s basketball program in 2019-20. Evans’ impact on the program was immediately clear in her first year, as Valpo shattered its previous program record of 224 made 3-pointers in a single season by knocking down 276 trifectas - a mark which ranks seventh in MVC history. Valpo ranked among the top-25 nationally in both total 3-pointers and 3-pointers per game in Evans’ first season at the helm of the Valpo program.
Series Notes: This is the second meeting in as many years between Valpo and North Dakota State, as the two squads met in Valpo last season on Dec. 16, 2018 in their first-ever matchup. NDSU came out 51-48 victors in that game, as Valpo missed a potential tying 3-pointer in the final seconds. Meredith Hamlet led Valpo with 15 points and eight rebounds, while Addison Stoller recorded a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Ilysse Pitts registered career bests with 10 points and eight rebounds as well.
@ValpoWBB...
...and @ValleyHoops
- Valpo has been selected to finish in eighth place in the MVC preseason poll, totaling 126 points.
- Valpo is in its third season as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference in 2019-20.
...looking back at last year
- Valpo posted an 8-24 record last season in head coach Mary Evans’ first year at the helm and went 3-15 in MVC play.
- Last year’s Valpo squad was ravaged by injuries, many times dressing just nine scholarship players.
- Valpo shattered its program record for 3-pointers in a season in 2018-19, knocking down 276 triples to race past the previous record of 224.
- Valpo also moved into seventh place in a single season in MVC history in 3-pointers made.
- Shay Frederick was named to the MVC All-Freshman Team, while Meredith Hamlet was an Honorable Mention MVC Scholar-Athlete.
...versus Ohio State
- A 3-pointer from Caitlin Morrison had Valpo within one at 11-10 with 3:08 to play in the first quarter.
- Valpo trailed 15-11 at the end of the first quarter, having forced six turnovers and held OSU to 36.4% shooting over the opening 10 minutes.
- After the teams traded baskets to start the second period, OSU went on a 12-2 run over a span of 3:39 to pull out to a 14-point lead, and then after Valpo cut the lead to nine, ended the half on an 11-2 run to lead 40-22 at the half before out-scoring Valpo 31-4 in the third quarter.
- Redshirt junior Addison Stoller paced Valpo with 11 points and six rebounds. Sophomore Shay Frederick tied for game-high honors with three assists.
- Valpo shot just 12-of-52 from the game and, coming off a record-setting 2018-19 campaign in the 3-point department, was just 2-for-25 from downtown. That mark matches the Brown and Gold’s worst shooting performance from the 3-point line in the tenure of head coach Mary Evans.
- Ohio State finished the game 35-of-67 (52.2%) from the field, but Valpo did force 18 turnovers. The Buckeyes entered the season with the nation’s fourth-ranked incoming freshman class, and the OSU rookies combined for 48 of its 89 points.
...looking ahead
- Valpo continues life in the north on Sunday afternoon as it concludes the two-game trip with a game at North Dakota.
- Valpo then faces its second Power Five opponent of the young season on Thursday, Nov. 21 as it plays at Northwestern.
- In all, Valpo will play its first four games of the season away from home before its home opener on Nov. 24.
...on the road
- Valpo posted a 2-12 record in true road games last season in Coach Evans’ first season at the helm.
- Both of Valpo’s road victories came in non-conference action, as it defeated Chicago State and Purdue Fort Wayne.
@NDSUwbb
- The Bison are 0-2 to start this season, falling 95-63 at UNI and most recently dropping a 74-68 decision in overtime at home to Northern Illinois.
- NDSU went 7-22 last season, including a 4-12 mark in Summit League play, and was picked seventh in this year’s Summit League preseason poll.
- Michelle Gaislerova led the Bison last year, averaging 14.4 points per game, and has posted 14.5 points per game through two games this season.
- Emily Dietz posted a double-double with 21 points and 13 rebounds last time out against NIU.
Grace-ful Homecoming
- Receiving the waiver from the NCAA to be immediately eligible to play this season has extra-special meaning this weekend for junior Grace White.
- White is a member of the Ojibwe tribe and a native of Redby, Minn., located on the Red Lake Indian Reservation. She is the first Division I athlete from her home tribe.
- Busloads of fellow Ojibwe tribe members are expected to make the trip for this weekend’s two games to support White and Valpo, as Fargo is located just 2:50 from Redby and Grand Forks is two hours away.
Life on the Road
- Valpo is in the midst of a four-game stretch away from home to open the 2019-20 campaign.
- The Crusaders have one neutral site game and three road contests before finally opening up at home on Nov. 24.
- It is Valpo’s longest stretch of games away from home to open a season since beginning the 2007-08 season with six consecutive games away from the ARC.
- The Nov. 24 home opener is the program’s latest since the 2010-11 squad also took to the ARC floor for the first time on Nov. 24.
Easing Into the Season
- The Valpo women’s team was the last MVC team, men’s and women’s, to open up the 2019-20 season when it tipped off this past Sunday afternoon, six days into the campaign.
- In all, Valpo will play just once in the season’s first 10 days and just three times over the first 16 days.
Non-Conference Challenges
- The lid-lifter against Ohio State was one of four non-conference matchups for Valpo against postseason teams from a season ago.
- A WNIT finalist from last year awaits Valpo on Nov. 21, as it makes the short jaunt to Evanston to face Northwestern.
- Valpo will take on Toledo, which advanced to the second round of the WNIT last year, in a road game on Nov. 27.
- The quartet of WNIT opponents rounds out with a home game at the ARC against Morehead State - which defeated Ohio State in the opening round of last year’s WNIT - on Dec. 17.
- That sets the stage for an MVC slate which features two matchups apiece against three postseason teams last year: Missouri State (NCAA Sweet 16), Drake (NCAA) and UNI (WNIT).
From Way Downtown
- Valpo showcased a new style of play a year ago in the first season under head coach Mary Evans, far surpassing the program’s previous highs regarding 3-pointers.
- The 2018-19 squad set a single-season record with 276 3-pointers made, shattering the previous mark of 224 shared by the 1991-92 and 2007-08 Valpo teams and moving into seventh place in a single season in MVC history.
- Last year’s team also established a new watermark with 837 3-point attempts, roaring past the previous record of 676 held by the 1991-92 squad.
- The 2018-19 team boasts two of the top-five games in program history in 3-pointers made, including a record-tying 17 on Dec. 21, 2018 versus Bowling Green.
- Last year’s squad also holds five of the top-six games in terms of 3-pointers attempted, highlighted by a record-setting 44 tries from downtown on Feb. 8, 2019 against Drake.
- Looking at advanced metrics, Valpo ranked seventh nationally in 3-point rate (41.0%) - the percentage of all scoring attempts that are 3-point attempts - and eighth nationally in percentage of points from 3-point attempts (40.5%).
- It was a balanced effort from beyond the arc as well, as no one player had more than 58 triples on the year. Seven different players attempted at least two 3-pointers/game, with three of those seven trying at least four triples per contest.
