Valparaiso (0-3, 0-0 MVC)
Game #4 - November 16, 2025 - 4 p.m.
Milwaukee (1-3, 0-0 Horizon)
Athletics-Recreation Center (5,000) - Valparaiso, Ind.

Next Up in Valpo Basketball: The Valpo women's basketball team opens up its 2025-26 home slate Sunday afternoon when it welcomes former Horizon League rival Milwaukee to the ARC for the first time in nearly nine years. The home opener is part of a basketball doubleheader Sunday.

Previously: Milana Nenadic enjoyed easily the most prolific game of her collegiate career, exploding for 20 points to lead the Beacons on Wednesday as they dropped a 97-50 decision at #16/18 Iowa State.

Following Valpo Basketball: Video: ESPN+ - Brian Jennings (PxP) and Renee' Turpa (Analyst)
Radio - WVUR (95.1 FM, Valparaiso) - Eli Conklin
Links for live coverage: Available via ValpoAthletics.com

Head Coach Courtney Boyd (0-3 at Valpo, 1st season; 190-71 [.728] overall, 9th season): Courtney Boyd was named the ninth head coach of the Valparaiso University women's basketball program on Friday, April 4, 2025. A national championship-winning head coach and player, an NAIA National Coach of the Year, and a two-time conference Coach of the Year, Boyd has won 20 or more games in seven of her first eight seasons as a head coach. She spent the last two seasons at the helm of the Quincy University program after six seasons as head coach at Clarke University, leading the latter program to the NAIA national title in 2022-23.

Series Notes: Milwaukee owns a 23-9 advantage in an all-time series in which the two programs shared conference affiliation for one year in the Mid-Continent Conference and 10 seasons in the Horizon League. The Panthers have won the last six meetings between the two teams, including a 90-79 victory in Milwaukee last season in the first matchup since Valpo departed the Horizon League. Layla Gold scored 23 points in that game, while Raeven Raye-Redmond also notched a career high with 15 points.

@ValpoWBB...
...at #16/18 Iowa State
- Matched up against Iowa State All-American post Audi Crooks, Milana Nenadic went right at her early on, scoring eight points in the first four-plus minutes to help Valpo to a 10-8 lead.
- The Cyclones closed the final 5:26 of the opening period on an 8-0 run to lead 16-10 with 10 minutes elapsed.
- Iowa State pushed its lead to double figures for the first time three minutes into the second quarter, but on back-to-back possessions, Kylie Waytashek and Mor Shabtai drilled 3-pointers to bring the Beacons back within 24-18 with 6:10 to play in the half.
- The Cyclones limited Valpo to just four points the remainder of the half, reeling off a 19-4 run to close the half as the Beacons trailed 43-22 at halftime.
- Nenadic had eight points as Valpo out-scored Iowa State 17-11 over the first 6:50 of the second half to bring its deficit down to 54-39.
- The Cyclones once again closed the quarter on a run, this time a 13-3 run to push their lead back out to 67-42 with 10 minutes to play, and then scored the first six of the fourth quarter en route to the win.
- Nenadic more than doubled her previous collegiate scoring output with her 20-point night and matched her career high with six rebounds.
- Shabtai tied her career best in the scoring column, dropping eight points for the second time this season. She also handed out four assists, just one off her career high, while not committing a turnover.
- Valpo shot just 29% (18-of-62) from the floor and was 5-of-17 from 3-point range. Iowa State hit at a 53.4% clip (39-of-73) from the field, but the Beacons held the Cyclones to just 4-of-16 from the 3-point line.
- Crooks scored a school-record 43 points for the Cyclones, the first time Valpo has surrendered 40+ to an opposing player since 1991.
- Wednesday's game was the 49th time in program history Valpo has faced a nationally-ranked team and the eighth time it has played a current Big 12 program.

...at Detroit Mercy
- The Titans opened the game on a 21-3 run over a stretch of nearly nine minutes.
- Valpo responded with a 17-2 run of its own spanning the first two quarters, pulling back to within 23-20 with 5:42 to play in the first half.
- The Titans maintained a lead in the mid-single digits for the remainder of the half, as Valpo went into the locker room trailing 33-27.
- The Beacons cut the deficit to four in the first minute of the third quarter and had six shots on their next two trips to make it a one-possession game, but were unable to convert.
- UDM took advantage, going on a 10-0 run to extend its lead to 43-29 and force a Valpo timeout approaching the midway point of the quarter. The margin fluctuated between nine and 15 points the rest of the period, with the Titans eventually taking a 53-41 lead with 10 minutes to play.
- Valpo was unable to get any closer than that 12-point spread in the fourth quarter, and the Titans went on to end the game on a 15-0 run to extend the final margin.
- Fiona Connolly tied for game-high honors with 19 points and led the Beacons with nine rebounds, both of which were career highs.
- Playing just her second collegiate game, Allia von Schlegell reached double figures in the scoring column with 10 points - including three 3-pointers - while not committing a turnover in 26 minutes of action.
- Mikayla Huffine tied her career best with six rebounds and also dished out a game-high four assists.
- Valpo shot just 28.6% (18-of-63) from the floor, hit just 25% (6-of-24) from 3-point range and was only 46.2% (6-of-13) from the foul line. The Beacons also committed 24 turnovers against their former Horizon League rivals while forcing just 13 UDM miscues.

...looking ahead
- Valpo returns to the road, playing at South Dakota next Friday, Nov. 21.
- The Beacons will spend Thanksgiving in Cleveland, facing Radford, Cleveland State and St. Bonaventure over a four-day stretch at the CSU Invitational.

...at the ARC
- Sunday's game is the first of 13 home games this season for the Beacons, as Valpo will host three nonconference games and 10 MVC games.
- Valpo posted a 9-6 record at the ARC last season, the program's first winning record at home since the 2019-20 season.

...in home openers
- The Beacons dropped their home opener last season to Purdue Fort Wayne, 72-56.
- Valpo's last win in a home opener came on Nov. 12, 2023, a 72-65 win over Southern Miss.
- This season's home opener being the fourth game of the year is the program's latest home opener since the 2020-21 team played four straight road games before finally taking the floor at the ARC for game five.

...and @ValleyHoops
- Valpo is in its ninth season as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference.
- Valpo was picked outside the top-four of the MVC preseason poll, as the Valley released only the top four selections.
- The Valley finished last season ranked seventh in the NET, matching the conference's highest NET/RPI ranking in Valpo's time as an MVC member (2020-21).

...looking back at last year
- Valpo finished last season with a 13-19 overall record and went 9-11 in MVC play to finish in eighth place.
- Among the Beacons' 13 victories were a thrilling rally from a 20-point deficit for a home win over Drake which entered the game ranked 69th in NET, the program's highest-ranked win since a win over #54 UNI in 2021-22.
- Leah Earnest was tabbed a First Team All-MVC honoree as she concluded a decorated career that saw her finish first in program history in career rebounds and third in career scoring.
- The 2024-25 Beacons hit 245 3-pointers, third-most in a single season in program history, and tallied 314 steals, seventh on the program's single-season chart and the most since 2001-02.

@MKE_WBB
- Milwaukee enters Sunday's game at 1-3 this season, most recently getting edged at home by Western Michigan Thursday, 65-64.
- The Panthers, who were picked ninth in the Horizon League preseason poll, have been led early this season by Jorey Buwalda, who paces the team with 10.8 points and 9.8 rebounds per game.
- Milwaukee is coming off an 8-24 record in 2024-25, which includes a 5-15 mark in Horizon League play.

Nenadic's Night
- Milana Nenadic enjoyed the most prolific game of her collegiate career last time out at #16/18 Iowa State.
- Nenadic, who entered Wednesday's game with 18 points across three-plus seasons of college basketball and a career high of eight points, tied that career high just 4:22 into the ballgame en route to a 20-point night.
- Even more impressively, 18 of Nenadic's 20 points came when going head-to-head with ISU's All-American post, Audi Crooks.
- It was the first 20-point effort by a Valpo player against a Power Four opponent since Grace White has 22 at Michigan State Nov. 16, 2021.
- It was Valpo's first 20-point game against a top-25 team since Carie Weinman and Caitlin Morrison had 20 apiece versus #25 Missouri State Jan. 31, 2021.

Old Friend Alert
- Sunday marks one of four matchups for Valpo in nonconference play against a former league opponent, as it shared membership with Milwaukee in the Mid-Continent Conference during the 1993-94 season and in the Horizon League from 2007-17.
- The Beacons opened the season against DePaul, which they shared conference affiliation in the North Star Conference with from 1987-91.
- Valpo has also already played Detroit Mercy and plays at Cleveland State later this month, both of which were in the Horizon League for the entirety of Valpo's 10-year tenure as a league member.

Road Warriors
- Sunday is the Beacons' lone home game before Dec. 7, as Valpo opened the season with three straight on the road and will play seven of its first eight games away from home.
- The last time Valpo played this many consecutive road games to start a season came in 2020-21, when it opened with four straight road contests.
- The last time Valpo had a stretch like this in terms of games away from home to open the season came in 2013-14, when it started with eight of its first nine games away from home.

Career Bests
- Of Valpo's five players with previous D-I experience who played in the season opener at DePaul, three of them set career highs in the scoring department.
- Leading the way was Fiona Connolly with 12 points, topping her previous best of 10 points last season against Illinois State.
- Connolly went on to easily top that mark last time out at Detroit Mercy, scoring 19 points while also grabbing a career-best nine boards. 
- With eight points at DePaul, Mor Shabtai edged past her previous best of seven points last season against Goshen. Shabtai matched that mark again last time out at #16/18 Iowa State
- Milana Nenadic doubled her previous career best of four points as she came off the bench with eight points at DePaul, before exploding for her 20-point night last time out.
- Nenadic also tripled her previous career best in the rebounding department by grabbing six boards at DePaul, a mark she matched against the Cyclones, while Kamryn Winch also set a career high  in the season opener with a team-best 11 boards.
- At Detroit Mercy, Mikayla Huffine matched her career best with six rebounds.