Valparaiso (0-11, 0-1 MVC)
Game #12 - December 17, 2025 - 6 p.m.
Central Michigan (5-4, 0-0 MAC)
Athletics-Recreation Center (5,000) - Valparaiso, Ind.

Next Up in Valpo Basketball: The Valpo women's basketball team closes out the nonconference schedule on Wednesday evening at the ARC, as the Beacons welcome Central Michigan to town.

Previously: The Beacons got off to a strong start Sunday afternoon in their final nonconference road game of the season, taking a double-figure lead over Western Michigan in the opening quarter, but the hosts battled back for a 58-48 win. Freshman Allia von Schlegell tied her career high in scoring for a second straight game with 18 points.

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Links for live coverage: Available via ValpoAthletics.com

Head Coach Courtney Boyd (0-11 at Valpo, 1st season; 190-79 [.706] 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: Central Michigan holds a 5-3 advantage in the all-time series over Valpo - the Chippewas had won five in a row before the Beacons claimed the last meeting, a 71-64 victory at CMU on Nov. 7, 2022. Leah Earnest went 8-of-11 from the field for a then-career high 20 points to go with 10 rebounds to lead Valpo, while Katie Beyer and Olivia Brown scored 11 points apiece and Ali Saunders chipped in 10 points.

@ValpoWBB...
...at Western Michigan
- Western Michigan knocked down a 3-pointer on its first possession, but the Beacon defense kept the Broncos off the board for the next eight-plus minutes.
- Meanwhile, Valpo was off to a scorching start from deep on the offensive end. Fiona Connolly knocked down two early triples, followed by a Mikayla Huffine 3-pointer, and when Allia von Schlegell hit from downtown nearing the halfway mark of the opening quarter, WMU was forced to use a timeout with Valpo leading 12-3.
- The Beacons got their lead to double figures with 1:18 to play in the period on a midrange jumper from Milana Nenadic before the Broncos scored the final four of the quarter to slice Valpo's advantage to 14-7.
- von Schlegell carried the Valpo offense in the first half of the second quarter, scoring the Beacons' first seven points of the quarter as the lead remained seven points at the halfway mark.
- A 7-2 spurt for WMU late in the quarter cut Valpo's lead to two points, but the Beacons kept hold of the lead and were up 31-28 at halftime.
- WMU opened the second half on a 6-1 run to take its first lead since the game's opening minute, forcing a Valpo timeout two minutes into the half trailing 34-32.
- The score stayed at 34-32 for over four minutes until a pull-up jumper from Autumn Dibb tied the game. A 3-pointer from Mor Shabtai put the Beacons in front with 2:13 to play in the third quarter, but the Broncos scored eight points on their final three possessions of the period to lead 42-39 with 10 minutes to play.
- von Schlegell brought Valpo back within one with a pair of free throws just nine seconds into the fourth quarter before WMU went on a 9-0 run over the next three-plus minutes to extend its lead to double figures at 51-41.
- Another strong stretch for the Beacon defense kept WMU from putting a point on the board for over four minutes, but the Beacons scored just four points of their own over that stretch and got no closer than six in the late stages.
- For the second time in less than 48 hours, von Schlegell matched her career high and led all players, scoring 18 points. The freshman hit a trio of 3-pointers and went 7-of-8 from the foul line in her fifth double-digit scoring effort of the season.
- Connolly scored in double figures for the eighth time this year, finishing with 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting.
- Nenadic set a career high with 10 rebounds, while Dibb posted a career-best four assists.
- The 58 points WMU scored marked a season low by a Valpo opponent. The Broncos hit just 35.1% from the floor and were 5-of-19 from 3-point range.
- The Beacons finished the afternoon 14-of-47 (29.8%) from the field. After starting the game 4-for-4 from deep, Valpo hit just three of its last 20 3-point attempts.

...versus SIUE
- The Beacons found themselves in an early hole, as the Cougars opened the game on a 10-2 run over the first four minutes.
- Valpo responded with an 11-2 run featuring points from five different players, and when Milana Nenadic hit a jumper with 2:18 to play in the opening period, the Beacons led 13-12.
- SIUE held a 15-13 edge when the clock expired on the first quarter.
- The Cougars' lead was six approaching the midway point of the second period before Allia von Schlegell and Kennedy Sproule hit 3-pointers on consecutive possessions, forcing SIUE to call a timeout with the score tied at 21 and 5:19 remaining in the half.
- Out of the stoppage, SIUE went on a 10-2 run over the next three-plus minutes to regain control. The Cougars' lead was 36-30 at halftime.
- The story of the third quarter was close but no cigar for the Beacons. Six separate times, Valpo cut the SIUE advantage to a one-possession game, but was never able to tie or take the lead.
- A 3-point play from Autumn Dibb and a pair of free throws from von Schlegell brought Valpo within 51-50 with 1:59 to play in the third period, but SIUE scored the final four points of the quarter to lead 55-50 with 10 minutes to play.
- Back-to-back triples for the Cougars blew a five-point lead up to 11, forcing a Valpo timeout with 6:02 remaining in the game. The Beacons battled back from as much as a 12-point deficit to get to within five late, but were unable to get any closer.
- von Schlegell finished with a game-high 18 points, outdoing her previous best of 15 from earlier this season at Milwaukee. It was her fourth double-figure scoring effort of the season.
- Fiona Connolly joined her in double figures with 13 points, hitting double digits for the seventh time this year. Connolly also dished out a team-best four assists while not committing a turnover.
- Valpo did a lot of its offensive damage at the foul line Friday, where it was a +14 over SIUE. The Beacons hit 20-of-24 from the stripe, their first time hitting at least 20 free throws while shooting at least 80% since doing so last December against Southern Illinois.
- The Beacons held the edge in the rebounding department for the third time in their last five games, finishing with a 38-33 advantage. A balanced team effort on the glass was led by six boards from Dibb.
- Valpo finished with a season-low 12 turnovers.

...looking ahead
- Valpo has 12 days between games, returning to action Monday, Dec. 29 to kick off the heart of the MVC slate against UNI at the ARC.
- The Beacons then face the Indiana road swing, traveling to Indiana State and Evansville.
- The heart of the MVC slate kicks off Monday, Dec. 29 as the Beacons host UNI.

...at the ARC
- Wednesday's game is the fourth of 13 home games this season for the Beacons, as Valpo will host three nonconference games and 10 MVC games.
- The Beacons are currently 0-3 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.

@CMUWBBall
- Central Michigan enters Wednesday's game with a 5-4 record, but has dropped its last two games at nationally-ranked Michigan and Kentucky squads.
- The Chippewas were picked to finish fifth in the MAC preseason poll.
- Reigning MAC Freshman of the Year Madi Morson leads CMU, averaging 14.7 points/game, while preseason Second Team All-MAC selection Ayanna-Sarai Darrington averages 12.6 points and a team-best 6.3 rebounds per game.

Defensive Improvement
- Valpo limited Western Michigan to 58 points last time out, a season low for a Valpo opponent.
- That continues the recent trend of improved defense from the Beacons: after not holding a team to under 70 points in the season's first five games, Valpo has done so three times in the last six games.
- Other improvements defensively in the last six as compared to the first five include:
 - Scoring defense improved by 13.1 points/game
 - Rebounding margin improved by 7.9 rebounds/game
 - Opponents' field goal percentage down 23 points
 - Opponents' turnovers up 1.6/game
 - Opponents' free throw attempts down 4.1/game

All For Allia
- After entering last week with a career best of 15 points, freshman Allia von Schlegell scored 18 points twice in less than 48 hours last weekend, doing so at home on Friday against SIUE and at Western Michigan on Sunday.
- In both instances, von Schlegell led all players in scoring.
- von Schlegell has scored in double figures five times already this season, matching the most double-digit scoring outputs in nonconference play by a Valpo freshman since 2015-16:
 - Meredith Hamlet, 2015-16, 8
 - Allia von Schlegell, 2025-26, 5
 - Ali Saunders, 2022-23, 5
 - Saniya Jackson, 2023-24, 4
 - Shay Frederick, 2018-19, 4
- Notably, three of the other four on that list went on to earn All-Freshman Team honors.

Shifting Starters
- Valpo used its fifth different starting lineup of the season last time out at Western Michigan, as Autumn Dibb earned the first start of her collegiate career.
- It was the Beacons' smallest starting lineup of the year, with Dibb at 5-10 being the tallest starter.
- Eight different players have been a part of at least one starting five this year, with three of those - Fiona Connolly, Mor Shabtai and Mikayla Huffine - starting every game.

Gimme Mor
- Sophomore guard Mor Shabtai had a career performance in the Beacons' MVC opener last 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.

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 Sunday's 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.

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).