The Valpo women's basketball team continued action at the CSU Invitational on Friday afternoon, falling to host Cleveland State by an 80-41 final.
 
How It Happened

• The defense started strong, getting stops on four of CSU's first five possessions, and baskets from Milana Nenadic (Kitchener, Ontario/Cameron Heights [Idaho State/Maine]) and Kamryn Winch (Bonne Terre, Mo./North County [Maryville]) gave the Beacons a 4-2 lead two and a half minutes into the contest.
• Valpo went scoreless for the next four-plus minutes as the Vikings went on a 12-0 run to pull out to a double-figure lead. A bucket from Nenadic with 2:54 to play in the period looked to slow CSU's momentum, but the hosts went on another 9-2 spurt to close the opening quarter with a 23-8 lead.
• Fiona Connolly (South Burlington, Vt./Brewster Academy [La Salle]) connected on a 3-pointer on Valpo's first possession of the second quarter, but the Beacons scored just twice more in the period as CSU led 44-15 at halftime.
• Valpo started the second half on a 7-0 run, as Connolly sandwiched another triple and a layup around a Nenadic second-chance basket. The Vikings responded with nine in a row, however, to prevent the Beacons from cutting any further into the lead.
• CSU's lead was 65-28 at the end of the third quarter.

 
Inside the Game

• Friday's game came against a Cleveland State program which won 27 games and advanced to the Fab 4 of the WNIT last season.
• Connolly tied for game-high honors with 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting. It is the third straight game in double figures for the senior, who has scored 10 or more five times this year.
• Winch grabbed a team-best eight rebounds, leading the way as Valpo out-rebounded CSU by a 41-37 margin. It marks the first time Valpo has won the rebounding battle in consecutive games since doing so versus Evansville and Bradley in February 2024.
• The Beacons shot just 30.8% from the floor and were just 4-of-23 from 3-point range, while the Vikings hit at a 47.5% clip and were 7-of-20 from deep.
• Valpo committed 33 turnovers, 24 of which were CSU steals. The Vikings scored 45 points off of turnovers.
• Valpo utilized its third different starting lineup of the season Friday, as Nenadic and Winch started alongside Connolly, Mor Shabtai (Tel Aviv, Israel/Tichonet) and Mikayla Huffine (Rockford, Ill./Rockford Lutheran [Quincy/Iowa Western C.C.).

 
Next Up
Valpo (0-7) closes play at the CSU Invitational on Saturday afternoon, taking on St. Bonaventure at noon CT. The game will be streamed live on the CSU Athletics YouTube page.