Valparaiso (0-0, 0-0 MVC)
Game #1 - November 4, 2025 - 6 p.m.
at DePaul (0-0, 0-0 Big East)
Wintrust Arena (10,387) - Chicago, Ill.

Next Up in Valpo Basketball: The Valpo women's basketball team opens the Courtney Boyd era and the 2025-26 regular season with its season opener Tuesday evening in Chicago, as the Beacons face off with DePaul.

Previously: The Beacons played a closed scrimmage against Northern Illinois and earned an 89-70 win over Grace in its lone open exhibition game.

Following Valpo Basketball: Video: ESPN+
Links for live coverage: Available via ValpoAthletics.com

Head Coach Courtney Boyd: 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 enters the 2025-26 season with a 190-68 (.736) record in eight years as a collegiate head coach and has won 20 or more games in seven of her eight seasons. 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: DePaul has won all 17 meetings in the all-time series between the two programs, which includes a brief stint from 1987-91 when Valpo and DePaul shared conference affiliation in the North Star Conference. The two teams have met just once since 2004, however - an 84-53 win for the Blue Demons in November 2010 as part of the Preseason WNIT.

@ValpoWBB...
...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.

...looking ahead
- Valpo stays on the road as the season gets going, traveling to take on Detroit Mercy Nov. 8 and Iowa State Nov. 12.
- The Beacons' first home game is Sunday, Nov. 16 at 4 p.m. against Milwaukee.

...on the road 
- Tuesday's game is the first of six nonconference true road games for the Beacons, who will play 10 road games in MVC play as well.
- Valpo will play 18 games in all away from home, as it has a pair of neutral-site games in Cleveland.
- Last season's squad posted a 3-11 mark in true road games.

...in season openers
- Valpo dropped its season opener in Xenia, Ohio against Liberty last season, 77-58.
- This year's team is attempting to buck a recent trend, as the Beacons have won just one of their last seven season openers.

@DePaulWBBHoops
- DePaul finished last season with a 13-19 overall record and were 8-10 in Big East play, good for sixth in the conference standings.
- The Blue Demons were picked to finish in eighth place in this season's Big East preseason poll.
- Kate Clarke, who has averaged better than 10 points/game in her two years with the Blue Demons, was a Preseason All-Big East Honorable Mention choice, but will miss the early part of the season due to injury, as will Meg Newman.

A New Era
- Valpo will step on the court Tuesday for its first regular season action under the tutelage of first-year head coach Courtney Boyd.
- The ninth head coach in program history, Boyd will hope to get off to a better start than many of her predecessors, as only two of Valpo's previous eight head coaches won their first game in charge.

Who's Back
- The Beacons return seven players from their 2024-25 squad for the 2025-26 campaign.
- While seven players are back for another season in the Brown and Gold, Valpo has to replace its four leading scorers as it lost 73.8% of its scoring and 66.9% of its rebounding from last season's team.
- A pair of seniors who played big roles as incoming transfers last season highlight the group of returnees: Maci Rhoades and Fiona Connolly.
- Raeven Raye-Redmond, Mor Shabtai, Kayla Preston, Kylie Waytashek and Bella Swedlund round out the returning group.

Who's New
- Boyd is blending a diverse group of nine newcomers with the seven returnees to fill out the 16-player roster. 
- The group of newcomers includes four true freshmen and five transfers - one Division I, two Division II and two junior college.
- Senior Mikayla Huffine spent the last two years playing under Boyd's tutelage at Quincy.
- A pair of redshirt junior posts enter their first season as Beacons: Milana Nenadic (Idaho State/Maine) and Kamryn Winch (Maryville).
- Valpo also brings in junior college transfers Kayla Sullivan (State Fair C.C.) and Kennedy Sproule (Bay College).
- Four freshmen will be getting their first taste of college basketball this year: Isabella Anderson, Nuala Connolly, Autumn Dibb and Allia von Schlegell.

International Flavor
- Valpo has a trio of international players on its 2025-26 roster: sophomore Mor Shabtai (Israel) and transfers Milana Nenadic (Ontario, Canada) and Kennedy Sproule (Manitoba, Canada).
- Prior to Shabtai's arrival last year, the Valpo program hadn't had an international player since Sharon Karungi (Uganda) roamed the paint from 2013-15.

Sister Act
- For the third straight season, the Beacons have a pair of sisters on their roster, as freshman Nuala Connolly joins senior sister Fiona on this year's squad.
- The last two years featured identical twins Nevaeh and Saniya Jackson.
- Before that, the last set of sisters to suit up together in the Brown and Gold were the trio of Hamlet sisters: Annemarie (2013-16) overlapped with both older sister Elizabeth (2013-14) and younger sister Meredith (2015-19).

#1 Allia von Schlegell
- von Schlegell played her final two seasons at Nazareth Academy after playing first two seasons at Saint Viator 
- von Schlegell earned Special Mention All-State honors while averaging 15 points/game as a senior, helping to lead Nazareth to conference and regional titles.
- von Schlegell helped Nazareth all the way to the state championship game as a junior. 
- von Schlegell averaged 11 points and four assists as a sophomore at Saint Viator, earning honorable mention All-Conference.

#2 Maci Rhoades
- Rhoades started all 31 games she appeared in during her first year at Valpo, missing only the MVC Tournament game versus Bradley due to injury, and averaged 6.5 points and 3.0 rebounds per game.
- Rhoades ranked third on the team in rebounding and steals (37) in 2024-25.
- Rhoades scored in double figures 11 times in 2024-25, including seven times in MVC play and in five of the final six regular season games - Valpo owned an 8-3 record when she scored in double digits.
- Rhoades hit three or more 3-pointers on five occasions and led the Beacons in assists six times and in steals four times. 
- Rhoades scored a career-best 13 points in Valpo's Feb. 21 win over Evansville.
- Rhoades played the first two seasons of her collegiate career at Radford.

#3 Isabella Anderson
- Anderson was a  five-time All-Conference selection for Milbank [S.D.] H.S.
- Anderson earned Honorable Mention All-State honors as a senior, was team MVP each of her final two seasons and was a three-time team defensive player of the year.
- Anderson closed her career as Milbank's all-time leading scorer (1,387 points). 
- Anderson was selected for the South Dakota 3-Class Shootout following her senior season. 
- Anderson helped Milbank capture a region championship and advance to the state Sweet 16 in 2023.

#4 Fiona Connolly
- Connolly appeared in 31 games in her first season at Valpo in 2024-25, starting four times and averaging 3.5 points and 2.2 rebounds per game.
- Connolly ranked second on the team with 60 assists while leading the Beacons in steals seven times and in assists five times 
- Connolly scored in double figures for the first time in her collegiate career Jan. 17 against Illinois State, tallying 10 points on 5-of-9 shooting, also setting a career high for field goals made and matching a career high with three steals.
- Connolly played the first two seasons of her collegiate career at La Salle.

#5 Raeven Raye-Redmond
- Raye-Redmond appeared in 11 games in 2024-25, making seven starts, before suffering a season-ending injury.
- Raye-Redmond averaged 4.9 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.1 steals and 1.5 assists per game, while leading the Beacons in steals four times and in assists three times.
- Raye-Redmond exploded for a career-high 15 points Nov. 14 at Milwaukee, hitting 6-of-9 from the floor while also matching her career best with five assists.
- Raye-Redmond appeared in 28 games off the bench as a rookie in 2023-24, ranking second on the team with 39 steals.
- Raye-Redmond debuted with an eight-steal night Nov. 28, 2023 against Western Illinois, the highest steal total by a Valpo player since 2002 and by an MVC player since 2017.

#9 Mor Shabtai
- Shabtai saw action in 30 games as a freshman in 2024-25, making 21 starts and averaging 17.4 minutes/game. 
- Shabtai ranked third on the team in assists and led the Beacons in assists on six occasions.
- Shabtai played in the Israeli Women's Basketball Premier League before her arrival on campus, seeing action with Hapoel Petah Tikva, ASA Jerusalem and Elitzur Holon

#10 Autumn Dibb
- Dibb was an Honorable Mention All-State choice and was selected to the 2025 WBCA All-Star Game as a senior as she helped lead Muskego [Wis.] H.S. to the state championship game. 
- Dibb was a two-time Second Team All-Conference honoree who set a school single-season record as a senior with 111 assists. 
- Dibb was part of basketball teams which won three regional titles, as well as conference and sectional titles in 2025.
- Dibb was also a member of four state champion soccer teams.

#11 Kennedy Sproule
- Sproule played two seasons for the Bay College Norse, earning Second Team All-Conference honors both years.
- Sproule also earned All-Defensive Team accolades as a sophomore. 
- Sproule helped her team capture two conference championships and appear in two district tournaments.
- Sproule averaged 13.9 points and 7.7 rebounds per game over her two seasons while connecting on 174 3-pointers.
- Sproule set program single-game records with 13 3-pointers and 45 points.

#20 Mikayla Huffine
- Huffine helped Quincy to a 25-8 record as a junior in 2024-25 as the Hawks captured their first GLVC tournament title since 2005, had their best GLVC regular season finish since 2011 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2016.
- Huffine started all 28 games as a sophomore in 2023-24 for the Hawks.
- Huffine played the 2022-23 season with the Iowa Western C.C. Reivers, helping to lead the team to a 26-5 record and an appearance in the regional championship game as she tallied a team-high 113 assists.

#21 Milana Nenadic
- Nenadic spent the 2024-25 season at Idaho State, appearing in five games.
- Nenadic previously appeared in six games over two years at Maine, part of the 2023-24 team which won America East regular season and tournament titles and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
- Nenadic was ranked as the #15 high school prospect in North America and the top-rated Canadian by Blue Star Basketball in the 2023 graduating class before reclassifying.
- Nenadic was named to the Canada U16 national team in 2021.

#22 Nuala Connolly
- Connolly most recently played at Western Reserve (Ohio) Academy.
- Connolly previously played prep at La Lumiere (Ind.), Proctor (N.H.) Academy and South Burlington (Vt.) H.S.

#23 Bella Swedlund
- Swedlund appeared in eight games off the bench in 2024-25 in her first season at Valpo.
- Swedlund made her collegiate debut last season Nov. 12 against Trinity Christian and scored her first collegiate point Nov. 25 from the free throw line against Goshen.
- Swedlund previously spent one season apiece at Toledo and Kansas without playing.

#24 Kayla Preston
- Preston saw action in 23 games off the bench as a sophomore in 2024-25, averaging 3.0 points/game and grabbing 20 rebounds.
- Preston smashed her career high with 20 points in the Nov. 12 win over Trinity Christian, hitting 7-of-10 from the field and 6-of-8 from the foul line to lead all players. 
- Preston also scored in double figures again in the Nov. 25 win over Goshen with a 10-point effort.
- Preston appeared in 20 games off the bench as a freshman in 2023-24.

#25 Kayla Sullivan
- Sullivan was a Third Team NJCAA Division I All-American as a sophomore in 2024-25.
- Sullivan also earned First Team All-Region 16 honors last season, was a First Team All-Conference selection and was named team MVP.
- Sullivan averaged 10.8 points and 6.8 rebounds per game while helping State Fair C.C. win the Region 16 Tournament title and earn a trip to the NJCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship.

#33 Kylie Waytashek
- Waytashek appeared in 25 games off the bench as a freshman in 2024-25, playing a total of 164 minutes while scoring 50 points and grabbed 19 rebounds.
- Waytashek scored a season-best 14 points in the Nov. 12 win over Trinity Christian.
- Waytashek knocked down a pair of 3-pointers and recorded a pair of steals March 13 in the MVC Tournament against Bradley.
- Waytashek came to Valpo after being named an Honorable Mention All-State honoree as a senior at Royalton [Minn.] H.S., closing her time there as the program's all-time leader in scoring and blocked shots.

#44 Kamryn Winch
- Winch spent the last three years at Maryville, appearing in 16 games over the last two seasons after redshirting in 2022-23.
- Winch scored a career-best 10 points in 2023-24 against Hannibal-LaGrange and grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds in 2024-25 versus UHSP.
- Winch earned All-State honors and was named to the area Girls Basketball Winter Dream Team as a senior after averaging 19 points and 15 rebounds per game for North County [Mo.] H.S.