Valparaiso (12-16, 8-9 MVC)
Game #29 - March 1, 2025 - 4 p.m.
at Illinois State (18-10, 12-5 MVC)
CEFCU Arena (10,000) - Normal, Ill.

Next Up in Valpo Basketball: Coming off a dramatic last-second victory Thursday evening at Bradley, the Valpo women's basketball team takes aim at a fourth straight win Saturday afternoon when the Beacons play their final regular season road game at Illinois State.

Previously: For most of Thursday night's game at Bradley, it didn't look like Valpo would need late heroics to come out victorious. But when the contest shifted in that direction, Leah Earnest came up with the biggest shot of the night, hitting a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 6.4 seconds to play to lift the Beacons over the Braves, 66-64. Nevaeh Jackson scored a game-high 25 points as Valpo won its third game in a row and its eighth consecutive matchup against Bradley.

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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 72-132. 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: Illinois State leads the all-time series over Valpo, 14-4, including wins in each of the last seven matchups. The Redbirds won the first meeting of the year at the ARC, 79-65 - Valpo placed three players in double figures in scoring in that game, led by 13 points from Layla Gold.

@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.

...at Bradley
- Valpo led by 16 entering the fourth quarter before the Braves put together a 14-5 run over the opening half of the period to close to within 58-51.
- Nevaeh Jackson had an acrobatic 3-point play to briefly restore the double-digit lead, but Bradley split a pair of free throws on its next possession and proceeded to hit 3-pointers on each of its next three possessions to tie the game at 61-61 with 1:38 remaining.
- Maci Rhoades split a pair of free throws to give Valpo the lead back with 1:24 to play. The Beacons came up with a subsequent steal on the defensive end, but following a timeout, an inbounding violation returned possession to Bradley and the Braves took advantage, hitting yet another triple with 42 seconds left to take a 64-62 lead.
- Jackson was fouled on the floor while Valpo was in the bonus on the offensive end and split her free throws to halve the deficit, but with the shot clock off, the Beacons were forced to foul on the other end and did so with 21 seconds to play. 
- Bradley missed both its free throws and Leah Earnest secured the rebound off the second miss, setting up her game-winning 3-pointer with 6.4 seconds to play. Bradley's last-second heave from 35 feet was off the mark, allowing the Beacons to leave Peoria victorious.
- Until the fourth quarter, the game was all Valpo. The Beacons jumped out to a 21-12 lead after the opening 10 minutes, hitting 9-of-13 from the field in the first quarter.
- Valpo led by as many as 16 points late in the second quarter and went into halftime with a 35-22 lead after holding the Braves to just 2-of-13 shooting from the field for the period.
- An 8-0 run midway through the third quarter gave the Beacons their largest lead of the game at 53-32. Bradley scored the final five points of the quarter to make it a 16-point game entering the fourth period.
- Thursday's win was the program's eighth straight over Bradley over the last four seasons. That is Valpo's longest active streak against a single opponent, and 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.
- While Earnest had the final shot, the performance of Jackson set the Beacons up for Thursday's win. The sophomore was one point off her career high with her fourth 20-point game of the year, finishing with a game-high 25 points on 9-of-14 shooting from the field, including 4-of-5 from 3-point range.
- Earnest battled through a tough shooting night to finish with 13 points and lead the Beacons with eight rebounds while also tallying three steals.
- Valpo limited the Braves to 30% shooting from the field through the game's first three quarters before Bradley hit 8-of-10 from the field — including five 3-pointers — over the final 10 minutes.

...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.
- 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.

...looking ahead
- The Beacons close the regular season at home next weekend with games against Drake and UNI.

...on the road
- Saturday's game is Valpo's 16th contest of the year away from home.
- The Beacons sit at 3-10 in true road games, with those three wins coming in their last four true road games.
- Valpo is also 1-1 in neutral site games.

@RedbirdWBB
- Illinois State enters Saturday's game with an 18-10 overall record and is 12-5 in MVC play, sitting in a tie for fourth.
- The Redbirds edged UIC on Thursday evening, 65-64, after falling at Bradley in their previous game to snap a three-game winning streak.
- Four ISU starters average at least 11.8 points/game, led by 15.6 points/game from Shannon Dowell.

Beating the Buzzer
- Leah Earnest knocked down her second game-winning shot inside the final 10 seconds in as many seasons with her triple at Bradley with 6.4 seconds to play last time out.
- Earnest previously connected on a game-winning layup at the buzzer last season in a one-point win at UIC.
- Prior to Earnest's shot last season, Valpo's last game-winning shot in the final seconds came back in 2016, a Meredith Hamlet layup at the buzzer at Chicago State.

A Winning Streak
- Valpo's win over Bradley Thursday evening was the third straight for the Beacons, following home wins last weekend over Evansville and Indiana State.
- It is the Beacons' first three-game winning streak since Feb. 17-23, 2023.
- Valpo has won four of its last five contests for the first time since a four-game winning streak Feb. 20-28, 2021.

Finally, Some Drama
- While most of Valpo's season has lacked for late-game drama, the Beacons seem to be making up for it over the last week.
- Valpo held off Indiana State for a five-point win on Sunday, hitting its free throws over the final 30 seconds to make sure the Sycamores didn't have a late chance to tie or take the lead.
- Last time out, the Beacons had to overcome a two-point deficit as the clock ticked inside 30 seconds in an eventual two-point win - Valpo's first one-possession finish of the season.
- Prior to the win over Indiana State, 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.

Looking to the Tournament
- While there's still three games 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.
- The win over Bradley guarantees that Valpo will be donning its home jersey on the first day of the Credit Union 1 MVC Women's Basketball Tournament, as the Beacons can finish no worse than a tie for eighth place in the final regular season standings. Valpo has the tiebreaker by virtue of the season sweep over Bradley if that is the case.
- Meanwhile, Valpo is currently one game back of UIC in seventh and two games back of UNI in sixth, but both squads directly ahead of Valpo 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.

About to Stand Alone
- When Leah Earnest takes to the court at Illinois State on Saturday, she will stand alone in the Valpo record books as the program's career leader in games played.
- Earnest donned the Brown and Gold for the 141st time Thursday night at Bradley, moving into a tie for first place with Caitlin Morrison in career games played.
- Another major program standard is within Earnest's reach as well, as she enters Saturday's game against the Redbirds with 853 career rebounds, just 17 away from Tamra Braun's career record in that department.

Nevaeh Knocks Them Down
- Following a 4-for-5 performance from 3-point range last time out at Bradley, sophomore Nevaeh Jackson finds herself on the verge of cracking Valpo's single-season chart.
- Jackson has connected on 63 3-pointers this year, just three shy of the top-10 in a single season in program history.
- Notably, despite the 3-point shooting prowess of Coach Evans' teams in her seven years at the helm, the last player to crack that top-10 chart was Meredith Hamlet in 2015-16.

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 1,580 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 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 21 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 19 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.
- Nevaeh Jackson raced past her previous career high with 26 points at Saint Louis, and narrowly missed matching that mark with 25 points last time out in the win at Bradley; this coming after 20-point performances earlier in the season in the win over Goshen and against Purdue Fort Wayne.
- 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.
- 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 - t-1st, 141 (Caitlin Morrison)
- Points - 3rd, 1,580 (Dani Franklin, 2nd, 1,721)
- Rebounds - 2nd, 853 (Tamra Braun, 1st, 870)
- Field goals made - 4th, 566 (Jeanette Gray, 3rd, 595)
- Free throws made - 3rd, 347 (Sarrah Stricklett, 2nd, 494)
- Points per game - t-9th, 11.2
- Rebounds/game - t-7th, 6.0
- Field goal percentage - 9th, .461
Single-Season
- Points - t-7th, 481 (Tabitha Gerardot 2012-13; Dani Franklin 2017-18, 6th, 485; Leah Earnest 2023-24, 5th, 494; Michelle Russell 1993-94, 4th, 506)
- Rebounds - 212 (10th, 244)
- Field goals made - 163 (10th, 165)
- Free throws made - t-5th, 124 (Sarrah Stricklett 1999-2000; Sarrah Stricklett 1996-97, 4th, 125)
- Points/game - 7th, 17.2

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 2-15.

Forcing Miscues
- The Beacons rank as the MVC's best at forcing miscues, averaging 19.9 turnovers forced/game.
- The Beacons have forced more turnovers than they've committed in 18 of 28 games.
- Valpo also leads the MVC with 10.2 steals/game and has tallied double-figure steals in 16 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 racked up a season-best 16 steals in their home wins over Evansville and Indiana State, 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 Saturday's game second on the team with 13.6 points/game.
- Jackson has scored in double figures in 20 of 28 games, highlighted by her 26-point effort at Saint Louis.

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.

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.

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.