Valparaiso (8-15, 4-8 MVC)
Game #24 - February 13, 2025 - 6 p.m.
UIC (9-12, 6-6 MVC)
Athletics-Recreation Center (5,000) - Valparaiso, Ind.

Next Up in Valpo Basketball: The Valpo women's basketball team closes out a three-game homestand at the ARC Thursday evening when it welcomes travel partner UIC to town. Leah Earnest enters the game nine points away from becoming just the third player in program history to reach 1,500 career points.

Previously: It was a stellar start for Valpo Sunday as the Beacons hosted their Play4Kay game at the ARC against Murray State, as Valpo led 17-3 more than eight minutes into the contest. But once the Racers got going, the Beacons found them hard to slow down, as Murray State scored 69 points over the final three quarters, pulling away for a 77-57 victory. Leah Earnest paced Valpo with 21 points and six rebounds.

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Head Coach Mary Evans: Mary Evans is in her seventh year at the helm of the program in 2024-25 and owns a record of 68-131. Evans' first six seasons at the helm have seen Valpo's six of the top-eight single-season 3-pointers made marks, including each of the top five, while defensively, her teams have racked up steals at a high rate, averaging at least 7.7 steals/game in five of her six seasons. Under her guidance, Valpo players have earned an MVC Sixth Player of the Year honor, five All-Conference accolades, three All-Freshman/Newcomer Team awards and three All-Defensive Team honors.

Series Notes: Valpo renews acquaintances with the most common opponent in program history on Sunday night, as the Beacons match up with UIC for the 58th time - the Flames hold a 32-25 edge in the series, including a 6-1 lead since UIC joined the Valley. The MVC marks the fourth different conference the two programs have shared affiliation in, as Valpo and UIC were both previously together in the North Star Conference (1988-92), the Mid-Continent Conference (1992-94) and the Horizon League (2007-17). Last month, UIC took the first meeting of the season by a 60-45 final in Chicago - Nevaeh Jackson had 14 points and Leah Earnest 12 in that matchup.

@ValpoWBB...
...and @ValleyHoops
- Valpo was picked to finish in eighth place in the MVC preseason poll, totaling 193 points to edge out Indiana State.
- The eighth-place projection is two spots ahead of the Beacons' regular-season finish last year.
- Valpo is in its eighth season as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference.
- The Valley was ranked 13th in conference NET last season. In Valpo's time in the MVC, the conference has been ranked as high as seventh in NET (2020-21).

...looking back at last year
- Valpo finished last season with a 5-25 overall record and finished at 4-16 in MVC play, good for 10th in the Valley standings.
- Leah Earnest was a Second Team All-MVC honoree. 
- Valpo won three consecutive road games in Valley play, the second straight year the Beacons have accomplished that - prior to that, the program had last accomplished that feat against three different opponents since 2007.

...versus Murray State
- Valpo kept the nation's third-highest scoring offense off the board for nearly seven minutes to start the game, as the Racers began 0-for-8 from the field with five turnovers.
- After a 9-0 start, the lead became a double-figure advantage at 13-3 on a Nevaeh Jackson basket with 2:18 to play in the period, and less than a minute later, consecutive buckets by Katie Beyer pushed the lead to 17-3.
- The Racers scored the final five points of the first quarter to make it 17-8 10 minutes in, and continued their run spanning the periods with the first five points of the second quarter.
- MSU came back to tie the game at 24-24 just prior to the midway point of the period.
- Leah Earnest answered with six consecutive points to restore the lead to the Beacons. Valpo led for the remainder of the half and carried a 37-34 lead into the locker room.
- The Beacons went cold to start the second half, as they went just 1-for-12 from the field and committed eight turnovers in a five-point third quarter.
- Murray State took the lead for good 43 seconds into the second half and ended the third quarter with a 52-42 lead.
- Earnest connected on a pair of free throws on the first possession of the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to eight, but the Racers went on a 14-0 run over the next five minutes to pull away.
- Valpo held Murray State, which entered the game third nationally averaging 87.9 points/game, to just 77 points — only UIC has limited the Racers to fewer points within MVC play.
- The Beacons shot 44.4% from the field Sunday, but it was a tale of two halves, as after connecting on 14-of-24 (58.3%) over the opening 20 minutes, they were just 6-of-21 (28.6%) from the floor in the final 20 minutes.
- Valpo ended the game just 2-for-12 from 3-point range. The 12 3-point attempts were the program's fewest since attempting just 12 triples Dec. 19, 2021 at Morehead State. Meanwhile, MSU went 12-for-35 from deep.
- The Beacons did enjoy the free throw line Sunday, posting a season-best free throw percentage of 88.2% (15-for-17). Valpo has hit 70% or more of its free throws in each of the last eight games, four times eclipsing 80%.
- Turnovers were a bugaboo for the Beacons, as they coughed the ball up 28 times versus 18 miscues from the Racers. MSU held a 33-6 advantage in points off turnovers.
- Earnest finished with a game-high 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field and 7-of-7 from the charity stripe while also pacing Valpo with six rebounds. She was the only Beacon in double figures in scoring, however, as Beyer checked in next with eight points.

...versus Belmont
- Belmont led 10-6 just past the halfway mark of the opening period before the Beacons held the Bruins scoreless for nearly four minutes. Baskets by Katie Beyer, Leah Earnest and Nevaeh Jackson during that stretch gave Valpo a 12-10 advantage.
- The Bruins hit a pair of 3-pointers in the final minute of the first quarter to lead 16-12 10 minutes in.
- Belmont's lead reached double figures for the first time halfway through the second quarter and the Bruins held a 34-25 lead at halftime.
- Belmont scored the first six points of the third quarter to pull out to a 15-point lead. Five points from Fiona Connolly brought Valpo back to within 42-32 with 4:20 to play in the quarter, but the Bruins went on a 12-3 spurt to end the period and lead 54-35 with 10 minutes to play.
- The Beacons were able to connect on just one field goal in the fourth quarter as Belmont pulled away for the final margin.
- Valpo's 41 points were a season low. The Beacons shot just 26.9% from the field, were just 4-for-25 from 3-point range and committed 21 turnovers which Belmont turned into 23 points.
- Beyer and Earnest tied for team-high honors with eight points. It marks the first time in Beyer's career she has held or shared the team scoring lead.
- No Beacon reached double figures in the scoring column for the first time since Dec. 19, 2023 against Bethune-Cookman.
- Connolly finished with seven points and five rebounds, one off her career best.

...looking ahead
- Valpo hits the road, making the long journey to Springfield, Mo. for a conference game for the final time as it visits Missouri State on Sunday.
- The Beacons return home to the ARC next weekend to take on Evansville and Indiana State.

...at the ARC
- Sunday's game is the 11th of 15 home games this season for the Beacons, as Valpo hosted five nonconference games in addition to its 10 MVC home games.
- Valpo is 5-5 at the ARC this season.

@UIC_WBB
- UIC comes into Thursday's game with a 9-12 overall record and a 6-6 mark in MVC play.
- The Flames had won four in a row, including a victory over Murray State, before falling to Belmont last time out.
- UIC is an extremely balanced team - within MVC play, nine different players are averaging at least 18.6 minutes/game, with no player playing more than 25.3 minutes/game. In the scoring department, Makiyah Williams leads the way in Valley action with 9.3 points/game - one of six Flames averaging at least 6.7 points/game.

Wrapping the Homestand
- For the first and only time this year, Valpo is in the midst of three consecutive games at home, as they played Belmont last Friday and Murray State Sunday before facing UIC on Thursday.
- In all, the Beacons are in the middle of a stretch where they play five out of six games at the ARC, and they close the season with seven of their final 10 games at home.
- This comes after a stretch during which Valpo was on the road for four out of five weekends.

Looking to the Rim
- While the 3-point shot is still a big part of the Beacons' offensive attack, the numbers show Valpo has been more intentional about getting shots at the basket this season.
- Through their first 12 MVC games, the Beacons have attempted 21.3 3-pointers per game, which accounts for just 40.9% of their field goal attempts.
- Both marks are on pace to be the lowest within MVC play in Mary Evans' seven seasons at the helm - the 2022-23 team attempted 22.5 3-pointers/game in conference, while the 2019-20 team had 44.6% of its attempts from deep in Valley play.
- Notably, this year's team is also on pace to be the first under Evans to attempt fewer 3-pointers than its opponents in conference - in fact, Valpo has not attempted more triples than its opponent since the Illinois State game Jan. 17.
- Last time out against Murray State, Valpo took a season-low 12 3-point attempts - the program's fewest 3-point attempts in a single game since attempting just 12 triples Dec. 19, 2021 at Morehead State.

20 Or More For 22
- Leah Earnest reached the 20-point mark yet again on Sunday, finishing with a game-high 21 points against Murray State (7-12 FG; 7-7 FT).
- It was the 10th time this year Earnest has tallied at least 20 points in a game, and the third time in the last four games.
- Notably, Earnest did not hit the 20-point mark in any of the first seven games this year, meaning she has 10 20-point efforts in the last 16 games.
- Highlights include a 29-point effort at Lehigh - the second-highest scoring game of her career - and a 27-point game on 10-of-16 shooting in the win over Bradley.
- Earnest scored 20+ in four consecutive games Dec. 21-Jan. 4, the first Valpo player to do so in at least 15 years - the last time a Valpo player had scored 20+ in even three straight games was Shay Frederick in the 2020-21 campaign.
- Earnest has the most 20-point games by a Valpo player in a single season since Michelle Russell has at least 12 in the 1993-94 season.

Others With 20/20 Vision
- Earnest is far from the only Beacon to hit the 20-point mark this season, however.
- In all, four Valpo players have combined for 16 games with 20 or more points - compare that to last year, when only two players broke the 20-point barrier in a combined nine games.
- Layla Gold joined Earnest in crossing the 20-point mark versus UDM, finishing with 21 points on 6-of-10 shooting. Earlier this year, Gold more than doubled her previous career best of 11 points with a 23-point night - which included five 3-pointers - at Milwaukee.
- Nevaeh Jackson raced past her previous career high with 26 points at Saint Louis; this coming after 20-point performances earlier in the season in the win over Goshen and against Purdue Fort Wayne.
- Against Trinity Christian, Kayla Preston smashed her previous best, going for 20 points on 7-10 FG and 6-8 FT.

An Eye on the Record Book
- As Leah Earnest's career winds down, she is making an impact all over the program's career records, and with the season she is having, she'll look for spots on the team's single-season charts as well.
Career
- Games played - 2nd, 136 (Caitlin Morrison, 1st, 141)
- Points - 4th, 1,491 (Sarrah Stricklett, 3rd, 1,498; Dani Franklin, 2nd, 1,721)
- Rebounds - 2nd, 806 (Tamra Braun, 1st, 870)
- Field goals made - 4th, 534 (Jeanette Gray, 3rd, 595)
- Free throws made - 4th, 329 (Betsy Rietema, 3rd, 341)- Points per game - 11.0 (Jasmyn Walker, 10th, 11.1)
- Rebounds/game - t-8th, 5.9
- Field goal percentage - 9th, .467
Single-Season
- Points - 392 (10th, 456)
- Rebounds - 165 (10th, 244)
- Field goals made - 131 (10th, 165)
- Free throws made - 106 (10th, 109)
- Points/game - 7th, 17.0
- Free throw percentage - 10th, .841

Winning With Defense
- Strong defensive efforts have been a common thread in the Beacons' victories this season, and their last three wins over Bradley, Indiana State and Evansville have been no different.
- Valpo limited both Bradley and Evansville to 17 first-half points apiece in those victories - the lowest mark by a Valpo D-I opponent at halftime since the Beacons went on the road and limited South Dakota to 17 first-half points on Dec. 10, 2021.
- The Braves scored in single digits in each of the first two quarters, while the Purple Aces hit just one field goal in a three-point second quarter - the lowest-scoring quarter by a Valpo opponent since it held Indiana State scoreless in the second period Feb. 8, 2020.
- Valpo allowed Bradley to shoot just 30.5% from the field - the lowest mark by a Valpo D-I opponent this year and the second lowest by a D-I opponent over the last three seasons.
- Valpo wasn't too far off either of those marks in the win at Indiana State, as the Beacons held the Sycamores to 21 first-half points and ISU shot just 33.3% for the game.
- It's actually been quite simple if you look at it: when the Beacons have held their opponent under 60 points this year, they are 8-0; when Valpo's opponent scores at least 60 points, the Beacons are 0-15.

Forcing Miscues
- The Beacons rank as the MVC's best at forcing miscues, averaging 19.8 turnovers forced/game.
- The Beacons have forced more turnovers than they've committed in 14 of 23 games.
- Valpo also leads the MVC with 9.8 steals/game and has tallied double-figure steals in 12 games this year.
- Valpo has forced at least 20 turnovers in nine games so far, highlighted by 29 forced turnovers against Detroit Mercy and 28 in the win at Evansville.
- The Beacons have racked up a season-best 15 steals in three of their victories, reaching the mark in wins over Goshen, Western Michigan and Evansville.
- In the win over North Dakota, Valpo turned the Fighting Hawks' 26 turnovers into 33 points and held a massive 33-9 edge in points off turnovers. It was the program's greatest number of points off turnovers and the highest edge in the category since a Feb. 22, 2020 win at Loyola, when Valpo forced 31 turnovers and owns a 38-4 advantage in points off turnovers.

No Sophomore Slump
- After ranking fourth on the team in scoring (7.2 points/game) as a rookie, sophomore Nevaeh Jackson has cemented herself as a consistent second scorer this season.
- Jackson has nearly doubled her scoring average, entering Thursday's game second on the team with 12.5 points/game.
- Jackson has scored in double figures in 15 of 23 games, highlighted by her 26-point effort at Saint Louis.

Career Highs
- Five of Valpo's seven returnees have set career bests in the scoring column this season - the only returnees who haven't are Saniya Jackson, who is out for the season, and Earnest.
- Joining the trio who had their first career 20-point efforts are senior Katie Beyer and sophomore Raeven Raye-Redmond.
- Raye-Redmond smashed past her previous best of nine with a 15-point night on 6-of-9 shooting at Milwaukee.
- Beyer hit three 3-pointers on her way to a 14-point game in the season opener versus Liberty, and then against North Dakota, surpassed that again with a 16-point effort.

All-Tournament Honors
- Valpo had a pair of players recognized as All-Tournament Team honorees following the conclusion of the Christmas City Classic.
- Leah Earnest averaged 23.5 points, 10 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game over the Beacons' two contests.
- Katie Beyer earned her selection by virtue of a strong 16-point performance, surpassing her career high, in the win over North Dakota.

Missing Pieces
- Valpo is down two starters for the remainder of the season due to injury.
- Saniya Jackson did not see any game action this year, undergoing successful knee surgery in early November.
- Raeven Raye-Redmond suffered a lower leg injury late in regulation Dec. 21 against Detroit Mercy and will miss the rest of the year as well.