The Valpo women's basketball team used another strong defensive effort to complete its road sweep of its MVC in-state foes, taking the lead for good as it held Evansville to three second-quarter points en route to a 66-54 victory. Leah Earnest (Stevens Point, Wis./SPASH) posted 22 points, 12 rebounds and five assists, in the process moving up to fourth place in program history in career scoring, while Nevaeh Jackson (Fort Wayne, Ind./Northrop) added 18 points as well.
 
Inside the Game

• It was a slow start offensively for the Beacons Saturday, who connected on just two shots from the field in the opening quarter.
• Valpo had a stretch where it didn't score for over six minutes, during which time Evansville went on a 9-0 run on its way to a 14-10 lead after the opening 10 minutes.
• The Beacons tightened the screws on the defensive end in the second quarter, allowing the Purple Aces to go just 1-for-10 from the field and forcing eight turnovers. A 3-pointer three minutes into the period accounted for Evansville's lone points of the quarter.
• While Valpo scored just 11 points itself in the second period, that proved enough to take the lead. Earnest converted inside with 3:59 to play in the opening half to give the Beacons the lead for good, and a 3-pointer from Maci Rhoades (Beavercreek, Ohio/Beavercreek [Radford]) with 1:16 remaining pushed Valpo's edge to 21-17 at intermission.
• The plot flipped in the third quarter, as both teams shot better than 50% from the floor and outscored their respective point totals from the first half.
• Valpo's lead got down to one point twice in the third period, but both times the Beacons held the Purple Aces from gaining the advantage. When the dust settled, both teams had put 22 points on the board for the quarter and Valpo's lead was 43-39 with 10 minutes to play.
• A bucket from Katie Beyer (McHenry, Ill./McHenry) and a 3-pointer from Layla Gold (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral) accounted for a mini 5-0 spurt which pushed Valpo's lead to nine points — its largest of the game to that point. Evansville countered immediately with a 3-pointer, but Rhoades answered on Valpo's next trip with a triple of her own to make it 53-44 with 5:53 to play.
• Evansville was within seven as the clock ticked under three minutes before Jackson hit from deep to push the Beacons' lead to double digits. Two possessions later, Earnest drilled a dagger 3-pointer to secure the win.

 
Inside the Game

• Valpo swept the Indiana State/Evansville road trip for the fourth time since joining the MVC, having previously done so in 2019-20, 2021-22 and 2022-23.
• The Beacons improved to 8-0 this year when holding its opponent under 60 points, limiting the Purple Aces to 54 points on Saturday.
• Valpo forced 28 Evansville turnovers, one shy of a season high for a Valpo opponent, and was a +13 in the turnover margin department. 15 of those miscues were Beacon steals, tying a season high and the 11^th time this year they have racked up at least 10 steals. All five of Valpo's starters recorded at least two thefts.
• The Beacons also did a great job keeping UE off the foul line, as the Purple Aces were just 4-for-4 at the charity stripe versus Valpo's 17-for-21 mark. The four free throw attempts were the fewest by a Valpo opponent since Miami (Ohio) attempted four free throws Nov. 10, 2021.
• The highlight of the defensive performance was the second quarter, when Valpo limited Evansville to just three points. It was the lowest-scoring quarter by a Valpo opponent since it held Indiana State scoreless in the second period Feb. 8, 2020.
• Earnest battled through a rough shooting night to score 22 points, her ninth 20-point game of the season. She secured her sixth double-double of the year with a game-high 12 rebounds and also led all players with five assists.
• With free throws late in the fourth quarter, Earnest passed Jeanette Gray for fourth on Valpo's career scoring chart. She ended the night with 1,462 career points, just 36 points away from Sarrah Stricklett in third position.
• Per HerHoopStats.com, there have been only four games in the last 15 years where a Valpo player has totaled at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and five assists — Earnest owns two of those, as Saturday's effort joins her performance against Bradley at home last season.
• Jackson matched her high-scoring performance in MVC play to date this year as she tallied 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting.
• Rhoades scored in double figures for the second straight game with a 10-point effort, while Gold came up just short with nine points — including her key fourth-quarter 3-pointer.
• While she didn't impact the scoring column, Mor Shabtai (Tel Aviv, Israel/Tichonet) had a strong line with four assists, four steals and no turnovers. Gold posted a similar stat line earlier this season in the win over Western Michigan, but only two other Valpo players have done so in the last 15 years.

 
Next Up
Valpo (8-13, 4-6 MVC) opens up the second half of MVC play at home Friday evening as the Beacons welcome Belmont to the ARC for a 6 p.m. tip.