The Valpo women's basketball team entered the fourth quarter Monday trailing Liberty by just five points and had a shot to cut it to a two-point game on its first possession of the period, but the Flames pulled away over the final 10 minutes to a 77-58 final as the two teams contested their season opener at the inaugural AIA Total Athlete Tip-Off in Xenia, Ohio.
How It Happened
- The first quarter was tightly contested, with neither team getting more than a one-possession advantage throughout the opening 10 minutes. Both teams hit four triples in the opening period, with senior Katie Beyer (McHenry, Ill./McHenry) hitting two of the Beacons' 3-pointers, as Liberty led 16-15 at the end of the quarter.
- Liberty pulled out to a five-point lead just over two minutes into the second quarter before Valpo scored six in a row from the foul line — four from fifth-year Leah Earnest (Stevens Point, Wis./SPASH) — to edge in front, 21-20, with 5:41 to play in the first half.
- The Flames came back with the next eight points to take the lead for good and eventually held a 38-29 lead at intermission.
- LU came out of the halftime break with a 10-2 run in the first 2:25 of the second half to gain its largest lead to that point at 48-31.
- The Beacon defense limited the Flames to just six points over the next seven minutes, allowing Valpo to put together a 18-6 stretch to close to within 54-49 late in the third quarter. Sophomore Nevaeh Jackson (Fort Wayne, Ind./Northrop) had a team-best seven points during that run, while Beyer knocked down yet another triple as well.
- A pair of free throws from Earnest in the final second of the quarter had the Beacons within 56-51 with 10 minutes to play.
- Valpo had a 3-point attempt on the opening trip of the fourth quarter that didn't fall, and Liberty came down and knocked down a triple on its first possession.
- A 3-pointer from sophomore Layla Gold (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral) with 7:37 to play gave the Beacons life, bringing them within 61-54, but that proved to be Valpo's final field goal of the game as the Flames pulled away late.
Inside the Game
- Monday's opener was the earliest by date in program history, as the previous earliest was Nov. 7.
- Valpo shot just 33.3% from the field for the game (14-for-42) to Liberty's 53.7% (29-of-54) clip. The Flames were 13-for-20 from 3-point range as well.
- The Beacons did take advantage of numerous trips to the foul line, ending the afternoon 23-of-32 at the charity stripe. The 23 made free throws were the most by a Valpo team since going 24-of-29 at the line against Missouri State Jan. 14, 2023.
- A pair of Valpo players set career bests with double-digit scoring efforts Monday. Beyer surpassed her previous best of 11 with a 14-point game, including a 3-for-6 effort from 3-point range after coming into the game with just five career 3-point makes.
- Gold delivered multiple triples for the second time in her career en route to a career-best 11-point game.
- Earnest paced the Beacons with 15 points, including a 10-for-12 effort at the foul line — matching her career high for free throws made. She also tallied team highs with six rebounds and four assists, with the former moving her into 11th place in program history with 647 career rebounds.
- Five Beacons made their team debuts on Monday. Transfers Maci Rhoades (Beavercreek, Ohio/Beavercreek [Radford]) and Fiona Connolly (South Burlington, Vt./Brewster Academy [La Salle]) were both in Valpo's starting lineup, while true freshmen Lexi Castator (Fort Wayne, Ind./Northrop), Mor Shabtai (Tel Aviv, Israel/Tichonet) and Kylie Waytashek (Royalton, Minn./Royalton) came off the bench for the Beacons.
Thoughts From Coach Evans
"I thought we played three pretty good quarters of basketball today. We emphasized at halftime the need to locate and get out on Liberty's shooters, and we did that in the third quarter, allowing us to put together a run to be right in the game entering the fourth. Now, we need to figure out how to move that into the fourth quarter and finish off the game."
"What a fantastic tournament to be part of. This whole weekend has been great, from our team retreat to the banquet last night to the games today. AIA has done a tremendous job to put this event on, and it's special to have been invited to be part of this."
Next Up
Valpo (0-1) comes home to the ARC for its home opener Saturday night at 7 p.m. against Purdue Fort Wayne. The game can be seen live on ESPN+.
