Valparaiso (5-12, 1-5 MVC)
Game #18 - January 19, 2025 - 1 p.m.
Bradley (8-9, 2-4 MVC)
Athletics-Recreation Center (5,000) - Valparaiso, Ind.

Next Up in Valpo Basketball: The Valpo women's basketball team completes its brief two-game homestand Sunday afternoon as the Beacons welcome Bradley to the ARC. Valpo has won the last six games in the series against the Braves.

Previously: Valpo took to the court of the ARC for the first time in three weekends Friday evening, falling to visiting Illinois State by a 79-65 final. Layla Gold paced three Beacons in double figures in the scoring column with 13 points, while Fiona Connolly scored a collegiate-best 10 points

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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 65-128. 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: Bradley leads the all-time series between the two programs by a 12-9 mark, but it has been Valpo coming away with the victory in each of the last six meetings, sweeping the season series the last three years. Last season, the Beacons held a 22-point halftime lead at the ARC in the first meeting on their way to a 79-55 win, led by 24 points, 14 rebounds and six assists from Leah Earnest. Later in the season, Valpo traveled to Peoria and came away 68-50 victors, led by 18 points and eight rebounds by Earnest.

@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 Illinois State
- An 8-2 spurt to end the first quarter gave the Redbirds a 19-11 advantage.
- After ISU scored the first basket of the second period, Valpo reeled off nine straight points to pull within 21-20. The Beacons had two offensive trips with the chance to take the lead, but were unable to take advantage, and Illinois State scored the next six to pull back out to a seven-point edge.
- Valpo got back to within three, but it was the Redbirds scoring the final four points of the period to take a 35-28 lead into halftime.
- After a pair of Beacon free throws made it a five-point game to start the second half, the Redbirds scored 10 straight points over a three-minute span to push their advantage up to 15 points.
- Nevaeh Jackson scored five points in just 20 seconds late in the third quarter to bring the Beacons back to within nine.
- Illinois State carried a 52-40 lead into the fourth quarter, and the Beacons were unable to get the deficit back to single digits in the final 10 minutes.
- Layla Gold scored a team-high 13 points, including three 3-pointers, to reach double figures in the scoring column for the seventh time this year.
- Fiona Connolly came off the bench to deliver a career-best 10 points on 5-of-9 shooting, surpassing her season best of seven from earlier this month at Drake and her previous collegiate high of eight from last season at Rider. The junior also tallied three assists and matched her career high with three steals.
- Jackson hit double figures in scoring for the 12th time this year as she finished with 10 points as well.
- Valpo hit just 5-of-25 from 3-point range Friday, as its three worst shooting marks of the year from deep have come in the last three games. Meanwhile, the Redbirds hit 50% from the field and were 7-of-17 from the 3-point line.
- Illinois State also enjoyed 15 more free throw attempts than Valpo, going 22-of-29 at the stripe to the Beacons' 10-of-14.
- Valpo ended the night a +8 in the turnover margin, committing just 12 miscues for the second straight game while forcing 20 Redbird turnovers, 10 of which were Beacon steals — the ninth time this year they have racked up at least 10 thefts. Despite the +8 advantage in turnovers, Valpo held just a slim 17-16 edge in points off turnovers.
- The Beacons owned a double-digit advantage in the paint, outscoring the Redbirds 40-28 in that category.

...at Belmont
- After the teams traded baskets over the first two minutes of the game, the Bruins went on a 14-0 run over the next five minutes to pull out to an 18-4 lead and held a 25-12 lead at the end of the first quarter.
- Belmont's lead remained in double figures throughout the second quarter as it led 38-26 at halftime.
- Belmont pushed its edge to 16 points early in the third quarter before the Beacons responded with a 9-0 run to move within single digits. Valpo trailed 51-43 with 10 minutes to play.
- Layla Gold converted a driving layup on the Beacons' second possession of the fourth quarter to make it a two-possession game.
- Valpo limited Belmont to just two baskets over the first six-plus minutes of the final period, but was unable to make any more headway as the Beacons had just Gold's field goal over the same stretch. The difference came at the free throw line, where the Bruins took their opportunities to go on a 9-2 run after Gold's basket to extend their lead back to double digits for good.
- Sunday's game concluded a stretch of four road games in 11 days for the Beacons, all of which came against top-100 NET teams. Belmont entered Sunday's contest ranked #57 in the NET.
- After shooting season worsts from the field and 3-point range at Murray State, the Beacons had their second-worst marks in both departments Sunday, hitting just 33.3% (19-of-57) from the field and 17.9% (5-of-28) from 3-point range.
- Valpo did limit Belmont to 42.3% shooting from the floor and 24% from 3-point range on the defensive end.
- The Beacons were a +7 in turnover margin on Sunday, committing just 12 miscues — matching their season low against a D-I opponent — while forcing 19 Belmont turnovers. Valpo outscored the Bruins 21-12 in points off turnovers.
- Valpo also held a 10-7 edge in second-chance points over the Bruins.
- Leah Earnest paced Valpo with 15 points on Sunday and added five rebounds as well.
- Katie Beyer came off the bench with 10 points — her fifth double-figure scoring effort of the year — and a team-high seven rebounds — setting a career high.

...looking ahead
- Next week is a light week for Valpo, with a single game next Sunday, Jan. 26, at UIC.
- The following weekend offers up another road trip, as the Beacons make the swing to visit their in-state rivals.

...at the ARC
- Sunday's game is the eighth of 15 home games this season for the Beacons, as Valpo hosted five nonconference games in addition to its 10 MVC home games.
- Valpo is 4-3 at the ARC this season.

@BradleyWBB
- Bradley enters Sunday's game at 8-9 overall this year and 2-4 in MVC play following a 52-49 loss at UIC Friday evening.
- The loss to the Flames was the third straight defeat for the Braves.
- Bradley leads the nation in defensive 3-point percentage, as its opponents are hitting at just a 22% clip from deep and averaging just 3.6 made triples/game.
- Soleil Barnes is the lone Brave scoring in double figures, as she averages 15.6 points/game.

Series Dominance
- The Valpo-Bradley series has been all Valpo recently, with the Beacons coming into Sunday with six consecutive wins over the last three seasons.
- The first four of those wins didn't come easy, however, as all four were decided by single digits and Valpo's average margin of victory was just five points.
- That script flipped last season, with the Beacons winning the two contests by a combined 42 points.
- Valpo's six-game winning streak against a conference opponent is the program's longest since going a perfect 8-0 against Centenary in the four seasons the two programs shared membership in the Mid-Continent Conference (2003-07).
- The Beacons' six-game winning streak against Bradley is also tied for the program's longest active winning streak against a D-I opponent, as they have also won six straight against Chicago State.

High Scoring Quarters
- If the last two seasons are any indication, the potential would be there for a 30+ point quarter by one of the squads on Sunday, as both Valpo and Bradley have hit that mark against the other over the last two years.
- For that to occur, however, it would take a marked departure from Bradley's form this season, as the Braves average just 59.2 points/game and allow a league-low 56.7 points/game.
- On Feb. 23, 2023 in Peoria, Valpo had to hold off a furious Bradley rally to hang on for a four-point win, as the Braves put up 35 points in the fourth quarter - the highest-scoring fourth quarter by a Valpo opponent since the move to quarters. Bradley hit 14-of-18 from the floor, 4-of-5 from 3-point range and 3-of-3 from the foul line in that period.
- Last season at the ARC, the Beacons exploded for a 33-point second quarter - their highest output in the second period since the move to quarters. Valpo went 9-of-14 from the floor, including 7-of-10 from the 3-point line, and 8-of-9 from the foul line over that 10-minute stretch.

The Road Awaits Again
- This weekend provides a brief respite to the Beacons' bus life, but more travel itineraries are right around the corner.
- Next week is Valpo's single-game week against its travel partner, as it will head to UIC next Sunday.
- The following weekend sees the Beacons trek to Indiana State and Evansville.
- At the halfway point of the Valley slate (following the Evansville game), Valpo will have played seven of its 10 games on the road.

Gotta Make Shots
- Valpo suffered through its two worst shooting performances of the year last weekend, posting a .296 field goal percentage at Murray State and a .333 field goal percentage at Belmont.
- The Beacons had their worst games of the year from 3-point range as well, hitting below 20% from deep in both contests and combining to go just 9-for-52 (.173) on 3-pointers over the two games.
- While Valpo upped its field goal percentage to .431 on Friday against Illinois State, the Beacons still struggled from deep with their third-worst 3-point shooting mark of the year, hitting just 5-of-25 (.200).
- The last three efforts from deep come after an eight-game stretch during which Valpo hit at a .376 clip from 3-point range and averaged 8.5 3-pointers made per game.
- The Beacons shot at better than a 40% clip from 3-point range in four of the eight games in that stretch.
 
Forcing Miscues
- The Beacons rank as the MVC's best at forcing miscues, averaging 20.0 turnovers forced/game.
- The Beacons have forced more turnovers than they've committed in 11 of 17 games.
- Valpo also leads the MVC with 9.9 steals/game and has tallied double-figure steals in nine games this year.
- Valpo has forced at least 20 turnovers in eight games so far, highlighted by 29 forced turnovers against Detroit Mercy and 26 in back-to-back wins over Goshen and North Dakota.
- 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.

20/20/20/20 Vision
- Valpo has four different players with 11 combined 20-point games under their belt this season.
- That is already more players and more 20-point games as last year's team, which featured just two different players who combined for nine 20-point efforts.
- Leah Earnest has six such efforts: 22 points on 10-of-17 shooting at Drake, a game-high 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting at UNI, 22 points in the win over SIU, 24 points on 10-of-15 shooting 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.
- Earnest scored 20+ in four consecutive games Dec. 21-Jan. 4, the first Valpo player to do so in at least 15 years - the last time a Valpo player had scored 20+ in even three straight games was Shay Frederick in the 2020-21 campaign.
- Layla Gold joined Earnest in crossing the 20-point mark 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 raced past her previous career high with 26 points at Saint Louis; this coming after 20-point performances earlier in the season 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
- Leah Earnest entered the season 14th in program history in career scoring, but has jumped all the way up to fifth all-time at Valpo with 1,376 career points.
- Earnest moved up from sixth to fifth at Drake with her final basket of the game, surpassing Meredith Hamlet and her 1,350 points.
- Next up for Earnest is Jeanette Gray in fourth with 1,460 career points.
- Earnest continued her match up the career rebounding chart against UDM, moving past Tabitha Gerardot for fourth on the program's career rebounding chart. She finished the Illinois State game with 760 boards - next up there is Gray in third position with 766 career boards.
- Earnest is also second all-time at Valpo with 130 games played (11 shy of Caitlin Morrison for the program record), fourth with 298 free throws made (43 shy of third) and fifth with 495 field goals made (7 shy of 4th).
- 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.

No Sophomore Slump
- After ranking fourth on the team in scoring (7.2 points/game) as a rookie, sophomore Nevaeh Jackson has cemented herself as a consistent second scorer this season.
- Jackson has nearly doubled her scoring average, entering Sunday's game second on the team with 13.2 points/game.
- Jackson has scored in double figures in 12 of 17 games, highlighted by her 26-point effort at Saint Louis.

Gold Standard
- After averaging just 3.4 points/game as a freshman last year, sophomore Layla Gold has taken a significant step forward this year as well.
- Gold ranks third on the team with 8.7 points/game and leads the team in 3-point percentage.
- Gold has scored in double figures seven times this year, including three of the last four games, after having a season high of nine points last season.

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.

Missing Pieces
- Valpo is down two starters for the remainder of the season due to injury.
- Saniya Jackson did not see any game action this year, undergoing successful knee surgery in early November.
- Raeven Raye-Redmond suffered a lower leg injury late in regulation Dec. 21 against Detroit Mercy and will miss the rest of the year as well.