Valparaiso (0-9, 0-1 MVC)
Game #10 - December 12, 2025 - 6 p.m.
SIUE (5-3, 0-0 OVC)
Athletics-Recreation Center (5,000) - Valparaiso, Ind.

Next Up in Valpo Basketball: After a brief foray into MVC play, the Valpo women's basketball team gets back to nonconference action with the first of three games over six days, hosting SIUE Friday evening at the ARC. It will be a Christmas Party at the ARC, with Santa and Mrs. Claus available for photos.

Previously: Mor Shabtai posted career highs with 16 points and nine rebounds on Sunday as the Beacons dropped their MVC opener to UIC, 61-44.

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

Head Coach Courtney Boyd (0-9 at Valpo, 1st season; 190-77 [.712] 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: Friday will be the fifth meeting all-time between Valpo and SIUE - the series is tied 2-2, with both programs winning on their respective home court twice. The last matchup came back on Dec. 19, 2015, a 69-56 Valpo victory at the ARC. Abby Dean led the way that day with 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting and eight rebounds, while Dani Franklin scored 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting off the bench.

@ValpoWBB...
...versus UIC
- Valpo got off to a flying start to the game, scoring right off the opening tip as Fiona Connolly gained possession and immediately drove to the rim.
- It was the Beacons' defense which carried the day early on, holding UIC to 1-of-7 shooting and forcing two turnovers over the opening four-plus minutes as Valpo led 6-2.
- Valpo went five minutes between baskets as UIC closed the opening period on a 12-2 run to lead 14-8 after the first 10 minutes.
- After a Connolly free throw with 7:10 to play in the second quarter, the Beacons were within 18-13. But UIC scored nine in a row over the next seven minutes to push its lead into double figures.
- Connolly closed the half like she started it, scoring on a putback inside the final 10 seconds and then, after a pair of UIC free throws, banking in a 3-pointer from 25 feet out at the buzzer to bring Valpo within 29-19 at halftime.
- Mor Shabtai connected on a 3-pointer and Mikayla Huffine finished a drive on back-to-back possessions midway through the third quarter, forcing a UIC timeout with 5:19 to play in the period and its lead down to 35-26.
- The Beacons' defense limited the Flames to just two free throws the rest of the quarter, but the offense was unable to take advantage, going scoreless over that same stretch as UIC led 37-26 with 10 minutes remaining.
- UIC went on a 14-3 run over the first half of the fourth quarter to pull away.
- Shabtai set career bests across the board Sunday, smashing her previous highs of 11 points and four rebounds with team highs of 16 points and nine rebounds. She went 6-of-9 from the field, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range, as she set new bests for field goals and 3-pointers made as well.
- The sophomore also drew nine fouls while not committing a foul or a turnover in her 29 minutes of action.
- The Beacons shot just 29.8% from the floor Sunday and were just 5-for-21 from 3-point range and 5-for-13 from the foul line. On the flip side, Valpo's defense held UIC to 38.1% shooting, including just 3-for-18 from 3-point range.

...looking ahead
- The Beacons turn right around for their lone road game in the month of December Sunday at Western Michigan.
- Valpo closes nonconference play Wednesday evening at the ARC against Central Michigan.

...at the ARC
- Sunday's game is the third of 13 home games this season for the Beacons, as Valpo will host three nonconference games and 10 MVC games.
- The Beacons are currently 0-2 at the ARC this year.
- Valpo posted a 9-6 record at the ARC last season, the program's first winning record at home since the 2019-20 season.

....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.

@SIUEWBB
- SIUE comes to the ARC with a 5-3 record, most recently falling 65-56 at Missouri this past Sunday.
- The Beacons are the Cougars' third MVC opener of the season, as they already own wins over Indiana State (81-71) and Evansville (75-69).
- Kiyoko Proctor is averaging a team-best 13.6 points/game and has a team-high 21 assists, while Lauren Miller contributes 12.6 points/game.

Gimme Mor
- Sophomore guard Mor Shabtai had a career performance in the Beacons' MVC opener Sunday against UIC.
- Shabtai, who entered the game with career highs of 11 points and four rebounds, easily outdid that as she paced Valpo with 16 points and nine rebounds.
- She went 6-of-9 from the floor, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range, to set new bests in field goals made and 3-pointers made.
- Shabtai is just the third Valpo player in the last six seasons to post at least 16 points, nine rebounds and three made 3-pointers in a single game, joining Leah Earnest (2x) and Shay Frederick.
- Shabtai is the eighth member of this year's team whose career bests for scoring and rebounding have come in the same game (von Schlegell, Dibb, Preston, Swedlund, Sullivan, Waytahsek, Winch).

Return to Nonconference
- After opening the Valley slate this past Sunday against UIC, Valpo returns to nonconference play for its final three nonconference games over a six-day span.
- It is the first time the Beacons have played a nonconference game after starting conference play since the 2022-23 season, when they traveled to Wisconsin for a Jan. 25 game - a rescheduled matchup due to a weather postponement.
- Prior to that, you have to go back to the 2008-09 season, which featured a Feb. 17 game against Chicago State in the midst of Horizon League action.

Home Sweet Home
- After playing their first three games of the year and seven of their first eight away from home, the Beacons will enjoy their beds at home this month.
- Four of Valpo's five games in December are at the ARC, with its lone road game being a mere short trip to Kalamazoo to play at Western Michigan.
- Valpo will play its first two MVC games at home as part of this stretch, the first time it opens conference play with two home games since the 2020-21 season.

Winning on the Glass
- Over their three games at the CSU Invitational, the Beacons were a +5 in rebounding margin, including besting their opponent in a pair of games.
- Valpo held a 46-40 edge on the glass in the opener against Radford, and followed two days later by out-boarding Cleveland State, 41-37.
- The +6 edge against Radford was the program's best margin against a D-I opponent since finishing +10 on the glass at Bradley Feb. 15, 2024.
- It was also the first time Valpo has won the rebounding battle in consecutive games since that aforementioned Bradley game, which followed a positive effort on the glass against Evansville.

Career Bests
- Three Valpo players set D-I career highs in the scoring department over the Beacons' time at the CSU Invitational.
- In the tournament opener against Radford, Fiona Connolly dropped a game-high 21 points - the third time this season she has bested her career high.
- In that same game, Kennedy Sproule - who scored just three points over her first three games at Valpo - scored 11 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting, including 3-of-6 from behind the 3-point line.
- In the Beacons' finale against St. Bonaventure, Kylie Waytashek easily passed her previous career best with an 18-point effort, hitting 8-of-11 from the floor. She outdid her previous high of 14, set last year against Trinity Christian, and more than doubled her previous high against a D-I opponent of seven, from earlier this season at DePaul.

All-Tournament Honoree
- Fiona Connolly represented Valpo on the All-Tournament Team at the CSU Invitational, as she averaged 14.7 points and 6.3 rebounds per game over the Beacons' trio of games in Cleveland.
- Connolly opened with her career-high 21 points and also tied for game-high honors with eight rebounds against Radford.
- She tied for game-high honors with 14 points versus Cleveland State, and closed the tournament with nine points and seven boards against St. Bonaventure.

The Tall and the Short
- This year's Valpo roster features recent extremes on both ends of the height spectrum.
- Mor Shabtai and Mikayla Huffine both are listed at 5-4, making them the shortest Valpo players since 5-3 Rashida Ray (2007-11).
- On the flip side, Kamryn Winch and Milana Nenadic both check in at 6-3, making them the tallest Valpo players since 6-5 Nicole Johanson (2018-19).

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).