The Valpo women's basketball team put together one of its best defensive performances of the year to open Missouri Valley Conference with a 1-0 record, as the Beacons led for the final 35 minutes of a 69-51 win at the ARC over Southern Illinois. Leah Earnest (Stevens Point, Wis./SPASH) led three Beacons in double figures offensively with 22 points and added 11 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the year.
 
How It Happened

• It was a slow start offensively for the Beacons, who trailed the Salukis 6-2 four minutes into the game.
• Valpo took the lead for good with an 11-0 run, which featured two triples from Nevaeh Jackson (Fort Wayne, Ind./Northrop) and five points from Earnest, to pull ahead 13-6 with 3:28 left in the opening period.
• SIU closed to within three late in the quarter, but Katie Beyer (McHenry, Ill./McHenry) closed an eight-point opening quarter with a last-second layup off a feed from Mor Shabtai (Tel Aviv, Israel/Tichonet) to make it 21-15 Valpo 10 minutes into the game.
• The game took perhaps its decisive turn a little past the halfway point of the second quarter, as SIU had closed to within 26-25 and had two possessions with a chance to take the lead.
• Valpo got stops on the defensive end both times, and after the second one, Beyer drilled a triple to not only give the Beacons breathing room, but also spark a 9-0 run to push the lead into double figures for the first time.
• Valpo eventually took a 36-26 lead into intermission.
• The Beacons' lead hovered between 10 and 13 points for the first five-plus minutes of the second half before a quick three-possession spurt — an Earnest layup, a Jackson 3-pointer and a fast-break layup for Lexi Castator (Fort Wayne, Ind./Northrop) triggered by an Earnest blocked shot — pushed the lead to 18 with 3:22 to play in the quarter.
• Valpo's advantage was 58-41 with 10 minutes to play.
• The decisive lead proved quite handy in the fourth quarter, as the Beacons opened the final period with 12 consecutive empty possessions. SIU scored on four of its five trips on the offensive end to close to within 58-49 with 7:44 to play and force a Valpo timeout.
• While the Beacons were still dealing with their drought on the offensive end, their defense stepped up, limiting the Salukis to just two free throws over the next four minutes to maintain some breathing room.
• Layla Gold (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral) finally snapped the offensive skid with a driving layup with 3:23 remaining, and Jackson followed with a drive and finish of her own on the next possession to make it 62-51 and force an SIU timeout with 2:45 to go.
• The Beacons did not give up a point the rest of the way, closing out the game on an 11-0 run and holding the Salukis without a field goal over the final 7:44 and without a point over the final 5:05.

 
Inside the Game

• The win was Valpo's first in an MVC opener since beginning the 2020-21 campaign 1-0 in Valley play with a win over UNI. Notably, that is the only other time since joining the Valley that Valpo has opened the conference slate at the ARC.
• The victory was Valpo's fifth in 14 all-time meetings against SIU, snapping a three-game winning streak by the Salukis. The 18-point margin of victory was Valpo's largest in the series.
• The Beacons held the Salukis to 19-of-60 shooting from the field Sunday, the 31.7% field goal percentage the lowest mark by a Valpo D-I opponent this season.
• Valpo also limited SIU to 1-of-14 shooting from the 3-point line, matching the line the Beacons limited Goshen to from deep earlier this year. It was the best defensive 3-point percentage by Valpo against a D-I opponent since holding Purdue to 0-of-15 from deep in the win over the Boilermakers Dec. 6, 2020.
• Led by three steals by Earnest, the Beacons racked up 10 steals on Sunday — their seventh effort in double digits in steals this year.
• Meanwhile, on the offensive end, Valpo hit at a 46.5% clip from the field and was 9-of-20 from deep. The Beacons' 45% mark from 3-point range was their second-best of the season — they have now hit at least 40% from 3-point range in four of the last six games.
• Valpo took advantage of its trips to the foul line as well Sunday, finishing 20-of-24 from the charity stripe — the 83.3% free throw percentage the team's second-best of the season.
• Earnest finished with 22 points, including a 10-of-12 mark from the foul line, and 11 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season.
• Earnest's effort was her third double-double with at least 20 points this year, tied for the most among MVC players.
• The graduate student took the floor for the 125^th time in her Valpo career, tied for second-most in program history. She also moved up two spots on the program's career free throws made chart, jumping to fourth with 285 career makes from the charity stripe.
• Jackson backed Earnest up with an 18-point effort, including a 4-of-7 mark from the 3-point line. The sophomore scored in double figures for the ninth time this year and hit at least four triples for the fourth time.
• Jackson also pulled down a season-high six rebounds, a mark matched by Maci Rhoades (Beavercreek, Ohio/Beavercreek [Radford]), who also set a season best.
• Buoyed by her eight-point opening quarter, Beyer finished with 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting to score in double digits for the fourth time this year.
• Shabtai made her first collegiate start in the win, dishing out a season-high five assists in 27 minutes of action.
• Despite giving up 11 offensive rebounds and 21 rebounds overall to SIU's Gift Uchenna, the D-I leader in offensive rebounding, Valpo was outrebounded by just a 35-32 margin in the win. After the Salukis scored eight second-chance points in the first quarter, the Beacons held SIU to just two second-chance points over the final 30 minutes.

Postgame Press Conference - Mary Evans and Nevaeh Jackson

Next Up
Valpo (5-7, 1-0 MVC) opens a tough stretch of four consecutive road games on Thursday evening from Cedar Falls, Iowa as the Beacons take on UNI at 6 p.m. The game can be seen live on ESPN+.