Valparaiso (4-7, 0-0 MVC)
Game #12 - December 29, 2024 - 1 p.m.
Southern Illinois (2-7, 0-0 MVC)
Athletics-Recreation Center (5,000) - Valparaiso, Ind.

Next Up in Valpo Basketball: The start of the second season is here for the Valpo women's basketball team, as the Beacons open Missouri Valley Conference play Sunday afternoon at the ARC as they host Southern Illinois.

Previously: It was nearly a second straight day with a viral moment for Valpo Athletics, as the women's basketball team had a great look at a 3-pointer as regulation ended to take down Detroit Mercy last Saturday at the ARC. But the shot went in and out, sending the game to overtime, where the visiting Titans eventually earned a 79-71 win after two extra sessions. Leah Earnest and Layla Gold combined for 45 points as the Beacons closed out their nonconference slate and turn their attention to the MVC schedule.

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 64-123. 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: The Salukis hold a 9-4 advantage in the all-time series over Valpo, including a 4-1 lead on the Beacons' home court. SIU won both matchups last year by nine points, prevailing 75-66 in Carbondale and 60-51 at the ARC. Saniya Jackson paced the Beacons with 15 points and six rebounds in the first meeting, while Leah Earnest's 25 points and seven rebounds weren't enough in the latter meeting to lift Valpo to victory.

@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 Detroit Mercy
- Valpo led by as many as five points in the fourth quarter before UDM rallied to tie the game with 3:07 to play.
- The Beacons forced a jump ball on the defensive end to regain possession in a tie game with less than 15 seconds remaining.
- Valpo was able to get a clean look for one of their top threats from downtown, but Maci Rhoades' shot from the left corner dipped inside the cylinder for a moment before spinning up and out to send the game to overtime.
- A 3-pointer from Layla Gold with 43 seconds to play in the first overtime put Valpo on top, 67-65.
- The Titans got an inside basket nine seconds later to tie the game. UDM had the final shot after forcing a Valpo turnover, but the defense forced a tough, contested deep jumper which was off the mark.
- The first 75 seconds of the second extra period all but decided the game, as Valpo had three consecutive empty possessions and UDM scored on each of its first three trips, forcing a timeout from the Beacons trailing 73-67 with 3:44 to go. Valpo got no closer than four the rest of the way.
- The Beacons never led in the first half, as UDM opened the game on a 13-3 run over the opening seven-plus minutes. Valpo did rally to within four at the end of the first quarter and was down just 27-25 at intermission.
- Valpo took its first lead of the game on a Rhoades triple less than 30 seconds into a tightly contested third quarter, which saw the Beacons ahead 48-47 with 10 minutes to play in regulation.
- The loss came against a Detroit Mercy team which is now 8-2 on the season, with its only losses coming at the hands of Michigan and Michigan State.
- It was Valpo's first double-overtime game since falling at the ARC to Southern Illinois in 50 minutes on Feb. 26, 2018. These are the program's only two multiple-overtime games since 2006.
- Leah Earnest and Gold both cracked the 20-point mark on Saturday, the first time Valpo has had two 20-point scorers in the same game since Olivia Brown posted 23 points and Earnest scored 21 last December against Chicago State.
- Earnest paced the Beacons with 24 points on 10-of-15 shooting, matching her career high for field goals made. It was the 13th effort of 20 or more points of her career.
- Meanwhile, Gold finished with 21 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the floor for her second effort of at least 20 points this season. The sophomore also blocked a game-high five shots, just one off her career best.
- Coming off their best shooting game of the season from the 3-point line, the Beacons were just 8-of-30 (26.7%) from deep. Valpo shot at a 39.1% clip overall versus the Titans' 44.6% clip from the floor and 33.3% from the 3-point line.

...at Saint Louis
- Valpo jumped out to a quick start, scoring the opening eight points in just over two minutes to force an early SLU timeout. While the Billikens got within two points multiple times later in the frame, the Beacons kept them at bay and held a 20-16 lead at the end of the first.
- The second quarter was tightly contested, featuring three ties and six lead changes as it was played almost entirely with no team holding more than a one-possession edge. A 3-pointer by Nevaeh Jackson with 1:15 to play in the half capped a 17-point half for the sophomore and proved to be the difference at intermission, as the Beacons headed into the locker room with a 32-29 lead.
- Saint Louis scored the first basket of the second half to briefly tie the game, but Valpo responded with 11 points in a row — a 3-pointer by Maci Rhoades, a layup from Raeven Raye-Redmond and back-to-back Jackson triples — to earn its largest lead at 43-32 with 5:06 to play in the period and force a SLU timeout.
- Right out of the stoppage, the Billikens turned the tables with 11 points of their own in a row over the next four-plus minutes to tie the game with less than a minute to play in the quarter. Katie Beyer hit from deep in the final seconds of the period to give Valpo the lead back with 10 minutes to play, 46-43.
- After the teams traded baskets to open the fourth quarter, SLU scored nine points over four possessions while keeping the Beacons off the board to pull ahead, 54-48, and force a Valpo timeout with 7:03 to play. Layla Gold drove and finished on Valpo's first possession after the timeout to cut its deficit to four, but that was as close as the Beacons would get the rest of the way.
- The loss came against a Saint Louis program which won the 2024 WNIT and the 2023 A-10 Tournament, advancing to the NCAA Tournament in the latter year.
- Jackson's performance was the highlight of the evening for the Beacons. The sophomore, who entered the game with a career high of 20 points accomplished twice this season, soared past that with a game-high 26 points, including a 6-of-11 mark from 3-point range to match her career best for triples made. Jackson also set a career best with nine field goals made.
- Maci Rhoades reached double figures in scoring for the fourth time this season as she scored 11 points, hitting 3-of-4 from 3-point range.
- The Beacons enjoyed their best shooting game of the year from the perimeter, finishing 12-of-25 from downtown, but were limited to 9-of-36 shooting from inside the arc. Valpo was outscored 40-16 in the paint by SLU.
- The Beacons did continue to force turnovers at a high rate, as the Billikens coughed the ball up 19 times, but Valpo committed 16 turnovers as well and SLU actually held a slight 21-17 edge in points off turnovers.

...looking ahead
- A home game in the first half of Valley action this season is a rarity for Valpo, as after Sunday's conference opener, the Beacons spend four straight games on the road, starting with a trip to UNI and Drake.
- The journey to Murray State and Belmont awaits the following weekend.

...at the ARC
- Sunday's game is the sixth of 15 home games this season for the Beacons, as Valpo will host five nonconference games and 10 MVC games.
- Valpo is 3-2 at the ARC this season and went 2-10 at home last season.

@SIU_WBasketball
- The Salukis enter MVC play at 2-7 overall this year. SIU has dropped its last three games, including most recently a 75-57 decision to UAB this past Sunday.
- SIU went 11-20 last season and posted a 6-14 record in Valley action.
- Newcomer Gift Uchenna ranks among the MVC's best in scoring (15.0, 10th), rebounding (11.7, 1st) and blocked shots (2.3, 3rd).

The Conference Opener
- Valpo looks to get the MVC slate started on the right foot Sunday afternoon.
- The Beacons have dropped their Valley opener in each of the last three seasons and in six of seven seasons since joining the conference.
- The lone time Valpo opened MVC play 1-0 came in 2020-21, with a 63-56 victory over UNI.
- Notably, that win over the Panthers was one of just two openers which came at the ARC over Valpo's seven seasons in the Valley.
 
Forcing Miscues
- Through 11 games this year, Valpo is averaging 20.8 turnovers forced/game, easily the most in the MVC. 
- The Beacons have forced more turnovers than they've committed in eight of 11 games and rank third in the Valley with a +2.36 turnover margin.
- Valpo has forced at least 20 turnovers in six games so far, highlighted by back-to-back games forcing 26 miscues in wins over Goshen and North Dakota.
- Last time out, the Beacons bettered that mark, forcing 29 turnovers against Detroit Mercy - 13 of which were steals. Valpo held a 33-18 advantage in points off turnovers.
- Against Goshen, the Beacons racked up 15 steals, a season high and the team's highest total in exactly one calendar year. The Beacons matched that mark in the win over Western Michigan as well.
- In the win over North Dakota, Valpo turned the Fighting Hawks' 26 turnovers into 33 points and held a massive 33-9 edge in points off turnovers. It was the program's greatest number of points off turnovers and the highest edge in the category since a Feb. 22, 2020 win at Loyola, when Valpo forced 31 turnovers and owns a 38-4 advantage in points off turnovers.

Gold Standard
- Heading into the Western Michigan game, sophomore Layla Gold had tallied just 28 assists through the first 36 games of her career, with a career best of three helpers set in last year's MVC Tournament game versus UIC.
- Gold outdid that mark in each of the next two games, however, as she handed out four assists in the win over WMU and then bested that with six assists at Saint Louis - notably, both efforts came without committing a turnover.
- Per HerHoopStats.com, Gold is the only MVC player this season with multiple games with at least four assists and no turnovers, and is the first Valpo player with at least four assists and no turnovers in consecutive games since Hannah Schaub at Illinois and at Morehead State in November 2018.
- Last time out against Detroit Mercy, Gold finished with 21 points - her second-highest output of the season - and five blocked shots - one off her career best. She is the first Valpo player in at least 15 years with 20+ points and 5+ blocks in the same game, and one of just 14 players nationally this year with such an effort.

20/20/20/20 Vision
- 11 games into the season, and Valpo already has four different players with eight combined 20-point games under their belt.
- That is already more than last year's team, which featured just two different players with at least one 20-point effort.
- Leah Earnest has three such efforts: 24 points on 10-of-15 shooting last time out versus Detroit Mercy, 23 points on 6-of-10 shooting in the win over Western Michigan and 29 points - the second-highest output of her career - at Lehigh.
- Gold joined Earnest in crossing the 20-point mark last time out versus UDM, finishing with 21 points on 6-of-10 shooting. Earlier this year, Gold more than doubled her previous career best of 11 points with a 23-point night - which included five 3-pointers - at Milwaukee.
- Nevaeh Jackson zoomed past her previous career high with 26 points at Saint Louis; this coming after 20-point performances earlier this year in the win over Goshen and against Purdue Fort Wayne.
- Against Trinity Christian, Kayla Preston smashed her previous best, going for 20 points on 7-10 FG and 6-8 FT.

Zooming Up the Charts
- Just five games ago, Leah Earnest ranked 13th in program history in career scoring, but over the last 210 minutes of basketball, the fifth-year standout has springboarded all the way up to sixth all-time at Valpo with 1,286 career points.
- Just last time out against UDM, Earnest moved up from ninth to sixth, surpassing Shay Frederick, Amber Schober and Betsy Rietema within the same game.
- Next up for Earnest is Meredith Hamlet in fifth position with 1,350 career points.
- Earnest also continued her match up the career rebounding chart last time out as well, moving past Tabitha Gerardot for fourth on the program's career rebounding chart as she finished the game with 728 boards - next up there is Jeanette Gray in third position with 766 carer boards..
- Earnest is also third all-time at Valpo with 124 games played (one shy of second), sixth with 275 free throws made (two shy of fifth; five shy of fourth) and eighth with 465 field goals made (six shy of seventh).
- Earnest impacted the program's single-game record book as well at the Christmas City Classic as she went 12-for-12 at the foul line against Lehigh. She is one of just 12 players to hit 100% from the foul line in a game (minimum 10 attempts) and one of just four to do so on at least 12 tries.

Career Highs
- Five of Valpo's seven returnees have set career bests in the scoring column this season - the only returnees who haven't are Saniya Jackson, who is out for the season, and Earnest.
- Joining the trio who had their first career 20-point efforts are senior Katie Beyer and sophomore Raeven Raye-Redmond.
- Raye-Redmond smashed past her previous best of nine with a 15-point night on 6-of-9 shooting at Milwaukee.
- Beyer hit three 3-pointers on her way to a 14-point game in the season opener versus Liberty, and then against North Dakota, surpassed that again with a 16-point effort.

All-Tournament Honors
- Valpo had a pair of players recognized as All-Tournament Team honorees following the conclusion of the Christmas City Classic.
- Leah Earnest averaged 23.5 points, 10 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game over the Beacons' two contests.
- Katie Beyer earned her selection by virtue of a strong 16-point performance, surpassing her career high, in the win over North Dakota.

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.
- 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.