The Valparaiso University women's basketball team recovered from a slow start with a furious third-quarter rally, but host Loyola Chicago fended off the guests down the stretch to prevail 70-62 at Gentile Arena in Chicago. The Beacons, who cut what had been a 20-point deficit to as few as five, were led in scoring by sophomore Nevaeh Jackson (Fort Wayne, Ind. / Northrop), who turned in 17 points, followed by fifth-year senior Leah Earnest (Stevens Point, Wis. / SPASH) with 16.
 
How It Happened

• A block by sophomore Layla Gold (Indianapolis, Ind. / Cathedral) led to a fastbreak 3-pointer for Jackson for Valpo's first points of the contest. That trey leveled the score at three, but Loyola would score the next eight to grab an 11-3 lead with 4:44 left in the opening quarter, forcing a Beacons' timeout.
• Another transition triple by Jackson helped Valpo fight to within three, but Loyola scored the final four points of the period and held a 15-8 advantage through 10 minutes. Valpo shot at a higher clip than Loyola in the opening period, but was plagued by nine early turnovers.
• In the second quarter, the Beacons received a lift from Earnest, who – after not attempting a shot in the opening quarter – went 4-of-5 from the field and turned in an old-fashioned 3-point play to finish the quarter with nine.
• The biggest star of the second quarter was Loyola's Naelle Bernard, who was scorching hot from long range, nailing all four of her 3-point attempts. Her jolt helped the Ramblers shoot 68.8 percent from the field and 83.3 percent from three in the second quarter to outscore the Beacons 27-14 and take a 42-22 lead into halftime.  
• The Beacons rattled off 12 straight points to begin the third quarter, including six by junior Maci Rhoades (Beavercreek, Ohio / Beavercreek [Radford]) and four by Gold. Rhoades swished in a 3 as part of the team's early-half surge, which prompted a Loyola timeout with 6:35 left in the third after Valpo had cut the lead to 10 at 42-32. The Beacons extended the run to 12 after the timeout before the Ramblers finally notched their first bucket of the third period, a 3-pointer with 5:04 on the clock.
• Valpo had pulled as close as seven by the time the third quarter came to a close and faced a nine-point disparity when the horn sounded to end a successful period. The Beacons outscored the Ramblers 20-9 in the third.
• Valpo's first three baskets of the fourth quarter all came on transition opportunities, and the third of those was a layup by Rhoades that narrowed the gap to five at 53-48 in a game that Valpo had trailed by as many as 20. Valpo was still within six at 57-51 with 4:07 to play, but four straight points for the Ramblers lifted the lead back to double figures.
• A driving layup by Jackson inched the Beacons back to within six with 1:12 to play, and then Jackson drilled a 3 to cut it back to five with 52 seconds left. The Ramblers had 10 free-throw attempts in the final minute and made nine of them to hold on for the eight-point win. All 10 of Loyola's free-throw attempts in the contest came in the final minute in this nonconference matchup between teams who previously shared conference affiliation in both the Horizon League and Missouri Valley Conference.

Inside the Game

• Jackson scored in double figures for the fourth straight game with her team-high 17.
• Earnest's 16 points came on 5-of-9 shooting and 6-of-8 from the free throw line. She stuffed the stat sheet with eight rebounds, four assists and three steals, leading the team in all three categories.
• Earnest has tallied 15 points or more in four of her five games this season. Her steal and assist totals on Tuesday both equaled season highs.
• In the last 20 years, this was only the fourth time a Valpo player had at least 15 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals. Earnest previously did so on Jan. 29, 2023 vs. Bradley. Before that, Dani Franklin (Dec. 18, 2017 at Eastern Illinois) and Katie Boone (Jan. 17, 2005 vs. Chicago State) were the last two Beacons with similar stat lines.
• Rhoades established a season-high with 10 points, enjoying her first double-figure scoring output in a Valpo uniform. She was two points shy of her career high of 12 on Nov. 15, 2023 vs. ETSU while playing for Radford.
• After Loyola went 8-of-13 from 3-point range in the first half (including 5-of-6 in the second quarter), the Beacons held the Ramblers to 1-of-6 from beyond the arc after the intermission.
• In the third quarter alone, Valpo had seven steals and forced 11 Loyola turnovers. The Beacons had a dozen steals for the game and forced the Ramblers into 23 turnovers.
• Valpo held a 24-8 edge in fast-break points.

Up Next
The Beacons (1-4) will host Goshen on Monday at 6 p.m. at the Athletics-Recreation Center. It's the team's "Giving Thanks" game. Tickets are available at tickets.valpoathletics.com.