Valparaiso (11-16, 7-9 MVC)
Game #28 - February 27, 2025 - 6 p.m.
at Bradley (11-16, 5-11 MVC)
Renaissance Coliseum (4,200) - Peoria, Ill.

Next Up in Valpo Basketball: Winners of its last two games, the Valpo women's basketball team looks to make it a winning streak on Thursday evening as the Beacons start off the central Illinois road trip with a visit to Bradley.

Previously: It wasn't always pretty, but Valpo found a way to take care of business Sunday afternoon at the ARC, grinding out a 73-68 victory over Indiana State — its third win in the last four games. Prior to the game, the Beacons celebrated Senior Day, honoring Katie Beyer and Leah Earnest as their collegiate careers start to wind down.

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

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 71-132. 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: Bradley leads the all-time series between the two programs by a 12-10 mark, but it has been Valpo coming away with the victory in each of the last seven meetings, sweeping the season series each of the last three seasons and winning the first matchup this year at the ARC. In that 59-52 home win this season, the Beacons got 27 points and eight rebounds from Leah Earnest, while Nevaeh Jackson added 11 points and a career-high 11 rebounds.

@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 Indiana State
- Indiana State led 19-14 at the end of the first, but Valpo used an 11-2 run midway through the second quarter to take the lead and led 32-30 at halftime.
- The Beacons led by as many as eight in the third quarter, but the advantage was just 47-45 with 10 minutes to play.
- Valpo pushed its lead to six twice in the fourth quarter, but both times ISU scored on each of its next two trips, the latter making it a 65-63 game with 41 seconds to play.
- After Mor Shabtai split a pair from the foul line, the Beacons forced an ISU miss and got possession on a rebound out of bounds.
- Leah Earnest and Nevaeh Jackson put the game away from the charity stripe over the final 27 seconds, combining to go 7-for-8 to keep the Sycamores from ever getting the ball back with a chance to tie.
- The Beacons secured a winning record at the ARC with Sunday's win, as they sit at 8-5 in home games with two home games to play.
- When talking about grinding out the win, it's finding a way to win when struggling to shoot the ball. Valpo finished hitting at just a 32.9% clip from the field Sunday — its lowest shooting percentage in a win since Jan. 5, 2018 — and was just 8-of-30 from 3-point range.
- The Beacons did give themselves more opportunities with a season-best 13 offensive rebounds, leading to 70 field goal attempts — the most by a Valpo team in head coach Mary Evans' tenure. Valpo collected 46 total rebounds, also the most in Evans' tenure.
- Valpo matched its season high for a second straight game with 16 steals and forced 20 total Indiana State turnovers. The Beacons were a +4 in the turnover margin department and were a +9 (20-11) in points off turnovers.
- Six of those steals were recorded by Maci Rhoades, surpassing his previous career best of five, set against Clemson when she played for Radford.
- Despite struggling shooting the ball from the field, Earnest made plenty of plays to make sure her Senior Day would be a happy one. Earnest finished with a game-high 21 points, including a 10-of-12 mark from the foul line, and a team-best 11 rebounds. It was her 12th game with 20-plus points this year and her eighth double-double.

...versus Evansville
- An 8-0 run midway through the first quarter helped Valpo to a 24-14 lead at the end of the opening period.
- Valpo put together another spurt to open the second quarter, as Katie Beyer finished a 3-point play and Leah Earnest and Maci Rhoades both had driving finishes to force another Evansville timeout, as the lead was up to 31-14 with 7:18 to play in the half.
- The Beacons' advantage grew as large as 19 points on a pair of free throws by Earnest with 3:04 to play in the half before the Purple Aces closed the stanza on an 8-2 run to close to within 40-27 at intermission.
- Valpo's lead was 15 with 6:04 to play in the third quarter, but a 10-1 Evansville run brought it to back within single digits. The Beacons held a 53-47 lead with 10 minutes to play.
- A triple by Nevaeh Jackson on Valpo's first possession of the fourth quarter gave the Beacons a little more breathing room, and after a stretch of over two minutes without a point from either team, Earnest connected from deep to push the lead into double figures.
- Evansville came back with a 3-pointer on its next possession, but Earnest answered immediately with another trifecta. The next two times down the court, it was Valpo's other senior making plays, as Beyer had first an old-fashioned 3-point play and then a 3-pointer. A fast-break layup from Rhoades forced another timeout from the Purple Aces, as the lead ballooned to 70-50 with under five minutes to play thanks to an 11-0 run.
- Valpo was a +12 in the turnover department, forcing 26 UE turnovers while coughing it up just 14 times, and held a 22-8 advantage in points off turnovers.
- Valpo hit 11 3-pointers in the win, its second straight game with double-digit triples and its sixth of the season.
- Valpo finished with four players in double digits in scoring for the first time since its Nov. 30 win against North Dakota.
- Earnest led the way with 21 points, including three 3-pointers, and tied for team-high honors with seven rebounds. She is now just nine points away from cracking the program's single-season top-10 for scoring.
- Jackson connected on five 3-pointers Friday, her second-best total of the year, and finished with 18 points. The sophomore also tied her career best, handing out five assists.
- Beyer came off the bench with a 5-of-7 effort from the field to score 14 points and share the team rebounding high with Earnest with seven boards, matching her career best.
- Rhoades was the fourth Beacon in double figures in the scoring department, setting a career high with her 13 points. The junior also set a season best with three steals.

...looking ahead
- Valpo plays its final road game of the regular season Saturday afternoon when it heads over to Normal to face off with Illinois State.
- The Beacons close the regular season at home next weekend with games against Drake and UNI.

...on the road
- Thursday's game is Valpo's 15th contest of the year away from home.
- The Beacons sit at 2-10 in true road games.
- Valpo is also 1-1 in neutral site games.

@BradleyWBB
- Bradley enters Thursday's game at 11-16 overall and 5-11 in MVC play.
- The Braves are coming off a win over Illinois State last time out, their second in the last three games.
- Reigning MVC Newcomer of the Week Soleil Barnes scored 30 points in the win over Illinois State and is averaging a team-best 15.5 points/game thie season.

A One-Sided Series
- Over the last four seasons, the series between these two programs has been all Valpo.
- Valpo has reeled off seven consecutive wins over the Braves, with Bradley's last win coming at Valpo Feb. 5, 2021.
- Five of the seven wins have come by single digits, including the seven-point win by the Beacons last month at the ARC.
- The seven-game winning streak is Valpo's longest active streak against a single opponent. It is also the program's longest winning streak against a conference foe since defeating Centenary in all eight meetings as Mid-Continent Conference opponents in the mid-2000's.

Hoosier State Crown
- After sweeping the road trip to Indiana State and Evansville earlier this season, Valpo claimed the unofficial Hoosier State crown among the Valley's three Indiana-based schools last weekend by earning two more wins at home.
- This is the third time since Valpo joined the MVC that it has posted the best record against its in-state foes, also doing so in 2019-20 (4-0) and 2021-22 (3-1).
- Indiana State has finished with the best record three times (2017-18, 4-0; 2018-19, 3-1; 2023-24, 4-0) and Evansville once (2022-23, 3-1), while all three teams went .500 against the other two in 2020-21.

Finally, Some Drama
- Sunday's win over the Sycamores went right down to the wire, something that hasn't happened much at all this season for Valpo.
- Prior to the five-point win, Valpo's closest game of the year had been a seven-point home win over Bradley. The Beacons did play a double overtime game against Detroit Mercy, which ended up being an eight-point final margin.
- Were the season to end today, it would be the first time since 2014-15 that Valpo didn't have a single game end within three points or less.

Looking to the Tournament
- While there's still two weeks to play in the regular season, it's never too early to start looking ahead to the first edition of the Credit Union 1 MVC Women's Basketball Tournament to be contested at the Ford Center in Evansville.
- Valpo's pair of wins last weekend means that the Beacons cannot fall below ninth in the final regular season standings.
- Meanwhile, Valpo is currently two games back of a tie for sixth and seventh, but both squads in that spot (UIC and UNI) currently have significantly better NET ratings than the Beacons.
- Should Valpo end up in that 8/9 game, it would tip off the tournament at noon on Thursday, March 13, and with a win, would advance to play the regular season champion the next day at noon as well.

Quite the Turnaround
- Valpo's nine-point win over UIC was notable given the result when the two squads played in January in Chicago.
- That game ended 60-45 in UIC's favor, meaning that the Beacons flipped the scoring margin 24 points from one matchup to the next.
- That marks the program's largest shift from the first meeting of the season to the second meeting since the 2021-22 team fell to Indiana State by 20 the first time out before winning by five the second time around.

22x1,500
- Leah Earnest became just the third player in program history to hit 1,500 career points with a basket midway through the third quarter against UIC.
- The basket also moved Earnest past Sarrah Stricklett for third on the Beacons' career scoring chart.
- Earnest became the fifth active MVC player with 1,500 career points at the D-I level, joining Katelyn Young (MUR), Katie Dinnebier (DRA), Maya McDermott (UNI) and Jaida McCloud (UIC).
- Currently sitting on 1,567 career points, a jump to second on the program's career chart night be a tough ask for Earnest, as Dani Franklin currently occupies that position with 1,721 points.

20 Or More For 22
- Leah Earnest reached the 20-point mark for the 12th time this season last time out with a team-high 21 points in the win over Indiana State.
- Notably, Earnest did not hit the 20-point mark in any of the first seven games this year, meaning she has 12 20-point efforts in the last 20 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 had 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.
- In all, four Valpo players have combined for 18 games with 21 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, 140 (Caitlin Morrison, 1st, 141)
- Points - 3rd, 1,567 (Dani Franklin, 2nd, 1,721)
- Rebounds - 2nd, 845 (Tamra Braun, 1st, 870)
- Field goals made - 4th, 561 (Jeanette Gray, 3rd, 595)
- Free throws made - 3rd, 345 (Sarrah Stricklett, 2nd, 494)
- Points per game - t-9th, 11.2
- Rebounds/game - t-7th, 6.0
- Field goal percentage - 9th, .466
Single-Season
- Points - 9th, 468 (Debbie Bolen 1990-91, 8th, 469; Tabitha Gerardot 2012-13, 7th, 481; Dani Franklin 2017-18, 6th, 485; Leah Earnest 2023-24, 5th, 494)
- Rebounds - 204 (10th, 244)
- Field goals made - 158 (10th, 165)
- Free throws made - 6th, 122 (Sarrah Stricklett 1999-2000, 5th, 124; Sarrah Stricklett 1996-97, 4th, 125)
- Points/game - 7th, 17.3

Winning With Defense
- Strong defensive efforts have been a common thread in the Beacons' victories this season, and their most recent wins have been no different.
- Valpo limited both Bradley (home) and Evansville (road) 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.
- 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 10-0; when Valpo's opponent scores at least 60 points, the Beacons are 1-15.
- Yes, 1-15 - the win over Indiana State last time out was the team's "worst" defensive effort in a win this year based on points allowed. But while the Sycamores scored 68 points, they shot just 36.4% from the field, were just 4-for-24 from 3-point range and committed 20 turnovers.

Forcing Miscues
- The Beacons rank as the MVC's best at forcing miscues, averaging 20.0 turnovers forced/game.
- The Beacons have forced more turnovers than they've committed in 17 of 27 games.
- Valpo also leads the MVC with 10.2 steals/game and has tallied double-figure steals in 15 games this year.
- Valpo has forced at least 20 turnovers in 11 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 16 steals in each of their last two games, while they tallied 15 steals apiece in wins over Goshen, Western Michigan and Evansville (road).
- 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 13.1 points/game.
- Jackson has scored in double figures in 19 of 27 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.