Leah Earnest

#22 Leah Earnest

Pos. G/F
Ht. 5-10
Yr. 5th
Hometown Stevens Point, Wis.
High School (Prev. School) SPASH

2023-24: Started all 30 games ... a Second Team All-MVC honoree ... named Valpo Athletics Female Athlete of the Year ... averaged 16.5 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game, leading the Beacons in all three categories ... became first Valpo player since 1991-92 to lead the team in all three categories ... ranked sixth in the MVC in scoring and eighth in rebounding, one of only four Valley players to rank in the top eight of both ... increased averages in MVC-only play to 17.2 points/game and 7.5 rebounds/game ... ranks fifth in a single season in program history with 494 points, second-most by a Valpo player since 1994 ... also ranks seventh in a single season in points/game and sixth in field goals made (180) ... closed season 12th in program history with 641 career rebounds, 14 shy of the top-10, and 14th in program history with 1,099 career points, 118 points away from the top-10 ... scored in double figures 28 times, including nine efforts of 20+ points ... grabbed 10+ rebounds on six occasions, recording a double-double all six times ... handed out at least five assists six times ... led Valpo in scoring in 19 games, rebounding in 25 games and assists in 13 games ... opened season with team highs of 13 points (6-9 FG), nine rebounds and four assists Nov. 12 at Eastern Illinois ... recorded first double-double of the season Nov. 21 at Southern Miss, racking up 12 points and a game-best 12 rebounds ... smashed previous career high, scoring a game-high 26 points (9-19 FG; 3-6 3PT) Nov. 25 at UAB ... followed that effort Nov. 29 at Western Michigan by going 10-of-16 from the floor for 22 points ... set career high for field goals made ... also grabbed game-high 11 rebounds for second double-double of the year ... scored 21 points (7-11 FG), set career best with game-high six assists and tied career high with three steals in Dec. 9 win over Chicago State ... led all players with 17 points, nine rebounds and three steals Dec. 30 at Murray State ... tied career best with game-high six assists and scored 12 points Jan. 6 at Southern Illinois ... posted third double-double of the season, going for 20 points - 13 of which came in the fourth quarter - and 10 rebounds Jan. 19 against Illinois State ... had best game of career Jan. 21 win in win over Bradley, leading all players with 24 points (7-11 FG; 3-6 3PT; 7-7 FT), 14 rebounds and six assists ... first player in program history to register at least 24 points, 14 rebounds and six assists in the same game ... one of just seven such games by a D-I player in 2023-24, joining efforts from Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, among others ... matched her career bests for 3-pointers, rebounds and assists ... led all players with 18 points Jan. 26 at Indiana State ... led all players with 19 points in Jan. 28 win at Evansville ... hit buzzer-beating layup to cap 20-point game and lift Valpo to win at UIC Feb. 4 ... also led Valpo with seven rebounds and matched career best with six assists in the win over the Flames ... had two of MVC's three single-game efforts with at least 20 points, seven rebounds and six assists in 2023-24 ... paced Valpo with 16 points and tied for game-high honors with eight rebounds Feb. 9 versus Indiana State ... tallied 17 points (9-9 FT) and led Valpo with 12 rebounds Feb. 11 against Evansville ... led all players with 18 points, eight rebounds and four assists in Feb. 15 win at Bradley ... surpassed career high with 32 points Feb. 17 at Illinois State and led all players with 13 rebounds as well ... led all players with 18 points and eight rebounds while dishing out a team-best five assists Feb. 22 versus Belmont ... hit 1,000-point milestone for her career Feb. 25 against UIC, leading team with 16 points ... led all players with 25 points (9-16 FG; 7-7 FT) and tied for team-high honors with seven rebounds versus Southern Illinois March 7 ... led all players with 23 points (10-17 FG; 2-3 3PT; 1-1 FT) and eight rebounds in MVC Tournament opener March 14 against UIC ... named an MVC Third Team Scholar-Athlete ... received College Sports Communicators Academic All-District recognition.

2022-23: Appeared in all 30 games, making 22 starts ... ranked third on team in scoring with 9.8 points/game and led the team in rebounding with 7.4 rebounds/game ... shot at a .470 clip from the floor ... also ranked third on the team with 28 steals ... finished year sixth among MVC players in rebounding ... reached double figures in rebounds nine times and paced Valpo in rebounding on 22 occasions ... posted eight double-doubles on the season, most by a Valpo player since 2016-17 ... set career high with 20 points (8-11 FG) and grabbed 10 rebounds in season-opening win at Central Michigan Nov. 7 ... hit 6-of-10 from the field for 12 points and paced Valpo with eight rebounds Nov. 12 in win over Southern Miss ... set career high with 14 rebounds and scored 11 points as well for double-double Nov. 16 against Eastern Illinois ... 14 boards is the most by a Valpo player since January 2018 ... recorded another double-double Nov. 21 versus UAB, scoring 13 points and leading all players with 13 rebounds ... became first player in Valpo history with three double-doubles in the first four games of a season ... set career high by making all three of her 3-point attempts Nov. 27 at Northwestern, finishing with a team-high 13 points while also grabbing five rebounds ... knocked down three triples as part of 13-point effort Dec. 2 versus Bowling Green ... continued double-digit scoring streak with 12 points against Western Michigan Dec. 7 while also pacing Valpo with seven rebounds ... posted a double-double at Western Illinois Dec. 9, notching 10 points and 10 rebounds ... reached double figures in rebounding with team-best 10 boards at Murray State Jan. 1 and added eight points ... scored 11 points and tied for team-high honors with five rebounds Jan. 5 against Evansville ... notched another double-double versus Indiana State Jan. 7, finishing with 10 points and 10 rebounds while also dishing out three assists ... scored 18 points (6-9 FG; 6-6 FT) and grabbed six rebounds in Jan. 14 win over Missouri State ... set career bests for free throws made and steals (3) against the Lady Bears ... scored team-best 16 points and came up one board shy of career best with 13 rebounds for sixth double-double of the season Jan. 25 at Wisconsin ... posted seventh double-double of the year in Jan. 29 win over Bradley, finishing one point shy of her career best with 19 points and tying for game-high honors with 11 rebounds ... also set career high with four assists and matched career best with three steals in the win over the Braves ... led Valpo with 13 points and a game-high eight rebounds Feb. 4 at Southern Illinois ... picked up eighth double-double of the year Feb. 12 against UNI, coming off the bench to deliver 10 points and a game-high 12 rebounds ... went 6-of-8 from the field for 14 points and also grabbed five rebounds Feb. 19 in win at Evansville ... scored four critical points in the final 30 seconds to finish off 11-point, five-rebound night in win at Bradley Feb. 23 ... narrowly missed double-double with nine points and game-high nine rebounds against Belmont March 4.

2021-22: Played in all 30 games, starting on 17 occasions ... averaged 7.7 points and 4.6 rebounds per game in 22 minutes/game of action ... ranked second on the team in rebounding and third in blocked shots ... finished year 12th in the MVC in conference-only play in field goal percentage ... scored in double figures nine times ... led Valpo in rebounding nine times and in scoring three times ... opened season with nine points and four rebounds Nov. 10 versus Miami (Ohio) ... exploded for a career-best 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting to lead Valpo Nov. 14 against Central Michigan ... tallied 12 points Nov. 21 at Xavier ... scored eight points and grabbed seven rebounds versus #22/23 Notre Dame Dec. 8 ... narrowly missed double-double in Dec. 21 win over Detroit Mercy, finishing with nine points and eight rebounds ... win over the Titans started a stretch where she averaged 11.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per game over an eight-game stretch ... matched career best with team-high 17 points to open MVC play at Southern Illinois Dec. 31 ... scored 10 points two days later at Missouri State ... scored nine points and recorded eight rebounds in Jan. 7 win over UNI ... poured in 15 points (7-11 FG) and added seven boards in Valpo's first-ever win over Drake Jan. 9 ... recorded second career double-double in win at Bradley Jan. 15, posting 11 points and tying her career high with 10 rebounds ... went 6-of-9 from the field for a team-best 15 points against Indiana State Jan. 21 ... scored 10 points (4-6 FG) and grabbed six rebounds against Illinois State Feb. 12 ... finished with 12 points (4-5 FG; 4-5 FT) in win at Indiana State Feb. 20.

2020-21: Appeared in 23 games in her first season at Valpo ... made a pair of starts Feb. 19-20 against Evansville ... averaged 3.4 points and 2.9 rebounds per game in 13.5 minutes/game of action ... led Valpo in rebounding and blocked shots twice apiece, as well as steals once ... debuted with four points and a game-high 10 rebounds in 25 minutes off the bench at Bowling Green Nov. 29 ... became just the second Valpo freshman in the last 25 years with double-digit rebounds in her debut ... grabbed six rebounds in Dec. 6 win at Purdue ... pulled down five rebounds in Dec. 12 victory over Western Michigan ... went 3-for-4 from the field for seven points in just nine minutes of action in Dec. 16 win against Xavier ... scored season-best 11 points to go with four rebounds in return to home state at Wisconsin Dec. 20 ... went 3-for-4 from the floor for six points Jan. 19 against Loyola ... scored six points versus #RV/25 Missouri State Jan. 31 ... posted seven points and five rebounds Feb. 5 versus Bradley ... dished out season-high three assists Feb. 20 in win over Evansville ... grabbed six rebounds in win at Loyola Feb. 24 ... connected on pair of baskets in fourth quarter of eventual overtime win at Southern Illinois Feb. 28.

Prep: A four-year letterwinner for the Panthers ... two-time First Team All-State honoree ... program's all-time leading scorer and rebounder ... finished career with 2,084 points and over 1,000 rebounds ... led Panthers to conference and regional titles in each of her final three seasons ... averaged 27.8 points and 14.5 rebounds per game as a senior, breaking her own conference single-season records from her junior year of 26.6 points and 13.0 rebounds per game ... four-time All-Conference choice and two-time Conference Player of the Year ... a versatile athlete, also earned First Team All-State honors in softball and advanced to state tournament in golf.

Personal: Major is exercise science, with minors in human biology and digital media ... daughter of Brian and Brenda Earnest.