Valparaiso (1-2, 0-0 MVC)
Game #4 - November 14, 2024 - 6 p.m.
at Milwaukee (1-2, 0-0 Horizon)
Klotsche Center (3,500) - Milwaukee, Wis.

Next Up in Valpo Basketball: The Valpo women's basketball team faces a quick turnaround from its Tuesday victory, as the Beacons hit the road to take on a former Horizon League rival Thursday evening at Milwaukee.

Previously: Buoyed by the energy from a few hundred fifth-graders from Valparaiso Community Schools on Tuesday morning at the ARC, the Valpo women's basketball team rolled to an 81-40 victory over visiting Trinity Christian. Kayla Preston scored a career-best 20 points, while Kylie Waytashek (14) and Nevaeh Jackson (13) also scored in double figures.

Following Valpo Basketball: Video: ESPN+
Links for live coverage: Available via ValpoAthletics.com

Head Coach Mary Evans: Mary Evans is in her seventh year at the helm of the program in 2024-25 and owns a record of 61-118. Evans' first six seasons at the helm have seen Valpo's six of the top-eight single-season 3-pointers made marks, including each of the top five, while defensively, her teams have racked up steals at a high rate, averaging at least 7.7 steals/game in five of her six seasons. Under her guidance, Valpo players have earned an MVC Sixth Player of the Year honor, five All-Conference accolades, three All-Freshman/Newcomer Team awards and three All-Defensive Team honors.

Series Notes: Milwaukee owns a 22-9 advantage in an all-time series in which the two programs shared conference affiliation for one year in the Mid-Continent Conference and 10 seasons in the Horizon League. The two programs have not met since Valpo departed the Horizon League following the 2016-17 season. The Panthers have won the last five meetings between the two teams, most recently an 80-64 decision in Milwaukee Feb. 20, 2017.

@ValpoWBB...
...and @ValleyHoops
- Valpo was picked to finish in eighth place in the MVC preseason poll, totaling 193 points to edge out Indiana State.
- The eighth-place projection is two spots ahead of the Beacons' regular-season finish last year.
- Valpo is in its eighth season as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference.
- The Valley was ranked 13th in conference NET last season. In Valpo's time in the MVC, the conference has been ranked as high as seventh in NET (2020-21).

...looking back at last year
- Valpo finished last season with a 5-25 overall record and finished at 4-16 in MVC play, good for 10th in the Valley standings.
- Leah Earnest was a Second Team All-MVC honoree. 
- Valpo won three consecutive road games in Valley play, the second straight year the Beacons have accomplished that - prior to that, the program had last accomplished that feat against three different opponents since 2007.

...versus Trinity Christian
- Valpo opened the game on a 14-2 run over the first nine minutes and led 17-6 at the end of the first quarter, led by eight points from sophomore Nevaeh Jackson.
- The Beacons tallied assists on eight of their nine field goals in the second quarter and fifth-year Leah Earnest stuffed the stat sheet in the period with a team-high five points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals as Valpo led 42-14 at intermission.
- Sophomore Kayla Preston scored nine points in the third quarter and freshman Kylie Waytashek added seven as the Beacons extended their lead to 68-27 at the end of the third quarter.
- Preston tallied seven more points in the final period and freshman Lexi Castator added four points and four rebounds as Valpo closed out the victory.
- All 12 Beacons who played on Tuesday played at least nine minutes, while the Beacons' five starters averaged just north of 14 minutes of action.
- Preston had easily the best game of her collegiate career, leading all players with 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field and 6-of-8 from the foul line. The sophomore tied her career best with five rebounds and also set career highs with four assists and two steals.
- Waytashek finished with 14 points, four rebounds and three assists in her third collegiate game.
- Jackson rounded out a trio of Valpo players in double figures in the scoring department with 13 points, including three 3-pointers.
- Castator narrowly missed a double-double, finishing with nine points, tying for game-high honors with 10 rebounds and dishing out four assists without a turnover.

...versus Purdue Fort Wayne
- The Mastodons got out to an 11-2 lead, which Valpo was able to cut to 16-11 at the end of the first quarter.
- The Beacons used a 7-1 run early in the second quarter to take their first lead and extended their lead to five just past the midway point of the frame before PFW went 14-5 over the final 4:34 of the first half to regain the lead heading into halftime, 36-32.
- An 8-0 spurt for the Mastodons extended their advantage to 44-32 just two minutes into the second half, prompting a Valpo timeout.
The Beacons responded out of the stoppage with the next seven points.
- PFW led 54-46 at the end of the third quarter, and while the Beacons got the deficit down to four points with 6:45 to play, the Mastodons pulled away late.
- Valpo held the advantage shooting from the field, hitting at a 46.7% (21-45) clip to the Mastodons' 40.7% (24-59) clip. Purdue Fort Wayne did knock down 11 3-pointers to the Beacons' seven.
- The Beacons held a 28-24 edge in points in the paint, but turnovers were the bugaboo on Saturday night. Valpo committed 26 turnovers to Purdue Fort Wayne's 18, and the Mastodons held a 29-16 edge in points off the miscues.
- Nevaeh Jackson led all players with a 20-point night, edging her previous career best of 19 set last year against Illinois State.
- Leah Earnest notched the 17th double-double of her career, shooting 8-of-15 from the floor for 17 points and leading all players with 11 rebounds.

...looking ahead
- The Beacons face another familiar foe next Tuesday, as they make the short trip to Chicago to face Loyola. 
- Valpo returns home to the ARC Monday, Nov. 25 to host Goshen.

...on the road
- Thursday's game is Valpo's first true road game of the season. The Beacons opened the season with a neutral-site game against Liberty.
- Valpo will play either three or four true road games prior to MVC play, depending on the results on the first day of action at Lehigh's Christmas City Classic.

@MKE_WBB
- Milwaukee enters Thursday's game with a 1-2 record this year, most recently falling in overtime at home to Butler, 79-70, on Saturday afternoon.
- The Panthers were picked fourth in the Horizon League preseason poll, while Kamy Peppler was named to the preseason All-Horizon League team.
- Milwaukee posted a 16-16 overall record last year and went 10-10 in Horizon League play.

Familiar Foes
- Thursday marks the first of three games in nonconference action which sees the Beacons take on a former conference opponent.
- Valpo and Milwaukee paired up in conference play in 1993-94 in the Mid-Continent Conference and then from 2007-08 through 2016-17 in the Horizon League.
- Next Tuesday, Valpo renews acquaintances with Loyola - those two programs were both members of the Horizon League from 2007-08 through 2012-13 and then the Missouri Valley Conference from 2017-18 through 2021-22.
- The Beacons close conference play next month against Detroit Mercy, who they took on for the entirety of their decade in the Horizon League.

Notables From Tuesday
- Valpo surrendered just 40 points to Trinity Christian, the lowest mark by a Valpo team since giving up just 37 in a win over UIC Dec. 15, 2019.
- The 41-point margin of victory (81-40) was the program's largest since a 95-49 win over Chicago State Dec. 28, 2019.
- The Beacons dished out 25 assists on 29 made field goals, the program's highest single-game assist total since a 26-assist performance against Purdue Calumet Dec. 9, 1998.
- Valpo's 43 rebounds was the highest team single-game total since grabbing 44 against UAB Nov. 21, 2022.

Setting New Bests
- Four Valpo returnees have posted career highs in the scoring column in the Beacons' first two games.
- Senior Katie Beyer, who entered the season with five career 3-pointers, hit three triples on her way to a 14-point game off the bench in the season opener versus Liberty.
- Beyer surpassed her previous career best of 11 points, which notably also came in a season opener, two years ago at Central Michigan.
- Sophomore Layla Gold scored in double figures for the first time in her collegiate career against Liberty, ending with 11 points, including a pair of 3-pointers.
- Gold's two highest-scoring games of her career came in back-to-back games, as her previous career high was nine points in last season's MVC Tournament game against UIC.
- Against Purdue Fort Wayne, Neveah Jackson hit four 3-pointers as she scored a game-high 20 points, surpassing her 19-point effort last year versus Illinois State.
- Last time out against Trinity Christian, Kayla Preston smashed her previous best, going for 20 points on 7-10 FG and 6-8 FT.

Defending the Interior
- Valpo has been strong defensively inside the arc in its last two games.
- The Beacons limited Purdue Fort Wayne to 8-for-23 shooting on layups and 13-for-33 shooting in all from 2-point range last Saturday.
- Then on Tuesday, Valpo held Trinity Christian to 10-of-32 shooting from 2-point range.
- The Beacons have held the edge in the paint in each of the last two games - 28-24 against Purdue Fort Wayne and 36-20 versus Trinity Christian.

The First Time
- Valpo fans got their first look at five of the program's six newcomers in the season opener against Liberty.
- Transfers Maci Rhoades (Radford) and Fiona Connolly (La Salle) were both in Valpo's starting lineup against the Flames.
- True freshmen Lexi Castator, Mor Shabtai and Kylie Waytashek came off the bench for the Beacons.
- The final of Valpo's newcomers, transfer Bella Swedlund (Toledo/Kansas) made her collegiate debut Tuesday against Purdue Fort Wayne.

Leah's Last Ride
- Graduate student Leah Earnest is back for her fifth and final season of eligibility, looking to put a bow on one of the most productive careers in program history.
- Earnest was a Second Team All-MVC selection last season and tabbed a preseason Second Team All-MVC choice this year.
- Earnest became the first Valpo player since 1991-92 to pace the team in scoring, rebounding and assists. 
- She ranked sixth in the Valley in scoring and eighth in rebounding, one of only four Valley players to rank in the top-eight of both categories. 
- Earnest scored 494 points on the season, fifth-most in a single season in program history and second-most since 1994.
- Earnest currently ranks ninth in program history in career rebounding (662) and 13th on the career scoring chart (1,138).
- For reference, should she duplicate her season totals from last year, Earnest would close her career third all-time at Valpo in scoring and second in rebounding.