A slow start to the game doomed the Valpo women’s basketball team on Thursday night, as despite playing the last three quarters against host Missouri State nearly even, the Beacons fell to the Lady Bears by a 67-47 final. Senior Leah Earnest (Stevens Point, Wis./SPASH) surpassed the 500-rebound mark for her career in the fourth quarter, becoming the 19^th player in program history to hit that milestone.

How It Happened

• Ava Interrante (McHenry, Ill./McHenry) hit a shot from outside the paint to beat the shot clock 1:41 into the game, getting Valpo on the board as MSU led 4-2.
• That proved to be the Beacons’ lone field goal of the first quarter, as Valpo added its other three points in the period from the foul line. The Lady Bears enjoyed a 20-5 lead after the opening 10 minutes.
• Missouri State extended its lead to as many as 20 points in the second quarter, but the Beacons held the Lady Bears to just three points over the final five minutes of the period to close the deficit to 30-14 at intermission.
• Nevaeh Jackson (Fort Wayne, Ind./Northrop) connected on a pair of 3-pointers early in the third quarter, and when Earnest drove for a layup with 6:15 to play in the period, the Beacons had moved to within 12 points at 34-22.
• Valpo cut its deficit to 12 points multiple times in the third quarter, and were within 13 at 44-31 after a 3-pointer from Olivia Brown (East Grand Rapids, Mich./East Grand Rapids [St. Bonaventure]) with 1:53 to play in the quarter. MSU scored the final five points of the quarter, though, extending its lead out to 49-31 with 10 minutes remaining.
• The Beacons had one more run left in the fourth quarter. The Lady Bears led 52-33 with under nine minutes to play before Brown connected on 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions. Two trips later, Earnest finished inside, forcing an MSU timeout with 6:52 remaining as Valpo was as close as it had been in the second half, trailing just 52-41.
• The Beacons were unable to keep the momentum after the stoppage, however, going over four minutes in between field goals as MSU went on a 10-2 run to put the game away.

Inside the Game

• Brown knocked down a trio of 3-pointers, going 3-of-5 from behind the arc, on her way to a game-high 15 points.
• Earnest scored in double figures for the 10^th time in the season’s first 11 games, finishing with 10 points. The senior also led all players with nine rebounds and handed out a team-high three assists.
• With her seventh rebound of the game, an offensive board halfway through the fourth quarter, Earnest reached 500 career rebounds. The 19^th player in program history to hit that mark, Earnest ended the night in 18^th place in program history with 502 career boards.
• Raeven Raye-Redmond (Trotwood, Ohio/Trotwood Madison) ensured she would remain among the conference’s leaders in steals as she racked up five takeaways on Thursday, her second-best single-game effort of the year.
• Layla Gold (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral) blocked a pair of shots while playing 21 minutes off the bench.
• It was a tale of two halves shooting the ball for the Beacons. Valpo hit just 5-of-20 from the field in the first half and was 0-of-6 from deep. In the final 20 minutes, the Beacons hit 12-of-24 from the floor and were 5-of-12 from 3-point range.
• Valpo committed 21 turnovers while forcing 16 Missouri State miscues, but the Lady Bears held a significant 22-8 edge in points off turnovers.

Next Up

Valpo (1-10, 0-2 MVC) continues conference play with the final game of its current five-game road stretch, as the Beacons head to play Southern Illinois Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. That game can be seen live on ESPN+.