Playing in front of 500 enthusiastic fifth-graders from Valparaiso Community Schools Thursday in the second annual Kids Day game at the ARC, the Valpo women's basketball team battled visiting Indiana State before falling to the Sycamores, 77-63. Three Beacons finished in double figures in the scoring column, led by 19 points from Milana Nenadic (Kitchener, Ontario/Cameron Heights [Idaho State/Maine]).
 
How It Happened

• The Beacons got off to a slow start Thursday, as they trailed 15-4 halfway through the opening quarter.
• Valpo bounced back with a 9-0 run over a three-minute stretch to eliminate much of the deficit, with Nenadic contributing six points during that spurt. The Beacons were within 18-13 at the end of the first period.
• Indiana State scored eight points in three possessions to push its lead out to 12 points with 6:28 to play in the second quarter.
• Valpo responded with an 11-3 run over the course of three and a half minutes — a run which included triples from Mor Shabtai (Tel Aviv, Israel/Tichonet), Allia von Schlegell (Downers Grove, Ill./Nazareth Academy) and Nenadic, the last of which brought the Beacons with 33-29 with 1:37 to play in the half.
• The Sycamores scored seven points over their last three possessions to take a 40-29 lead into halftime.
• Indiana State extended its lead to begin the third quarter, opening with a 13-2 run over the first six minutes of the half to push its lead to its apex at 22.
• Valpo immediately battled back out of a timeout, going on an 11-0 run — including six points from von Schlegell — to erase half the deficit and move within 11 with 1:55 to play in the period.
• The Sycamores led 57-42 with 10 minutes to play.
• Indiana State's lead remained near that 15-point mark for much of the fourth quarter. Valpo made a late push, getting to within 68-57 with 3:51 to play on a triple by Mikayla Huffine (Rockford, Ill./Rockford Lutheran [Quincy/Iowa Western C.C.]) and shrinking its deficit to single digits for the first time in the second half when Kayla Sullivan (St. Louis, Mo./Lutheran North [State Fair C.C.]) hit two free throws to make it 70-61 with 1:55 to play, but the Beacons were unable to get any closer.

 
Inside the Game

• Nenadic paced the Beacons for the fourth straight game in the scoring department as she scored a game-high 19 points. The redshirt junior also recorded her first career double-double, pacing all players with a career-best 12 rebounds.
• Outside of Leah Earnest — who had five such games in the Valpo uniform — Nenadic is the first Valpo player with at least 19 points and 12 boards in a game since Dani Franklin finished with 19 points and 16 rebounds at Wright State in February of 2017.
• von Schlegell finished the afternoon with 15 points, including three 3-pointers. The Valley's third-leading freshman scorer and the MVC's leader in triples by a freshman, von Schlegell hit the 15-point mark for the eighth time this year and hit at least three triples for the eighth time as well.
• Sullivan rounded out the trio of Beacons in double figures with 12 points, her second-highest scoring game of the season — notably, Sullivan's highest-scoring game was also against the Sycamores. The junior also tied for game-high honors with a season-best three steals.
• Autumn Dibb (Muskego, Wis./Muskego) came off the bench to tie her season high with seven rebounds and four assists, while Kamryn Winch (Bonne Terre, Mo./North County [Maryville]) was 3-of-4 from the floor in a six-point, seven-rebound effort.
• The Beacons shot 30.6% from the floor and were 8-of-28 from 3-point range, while Indiana State hit at a 43.5% clip from the field and was 7-of-20 from deep.
• Valpo's strong free throw shooting carried over from last game, as it finished 17-of-22 (77.3%) Thursday from the charity stripe. The 17 made free throws are the Beacons' second-best total in MVC play, while they shot better than 75% from the foul line for the sixth time this year.
• Valpo narrowly missed winning the rebounding battle, as the Sycamores held a 44-42 advantage on the glass. The 42 rebounds are the Beacons' most in Valley play this season, while they also tied their best mark in MVC action with 11 offensive boards.
• The Beacons finished with a positive assist/turnover ratio Thursday, notching 16 assists against just 12 turnovers. The 16 assists are the team's third-highest total this year, while the 12 turnovers are tied for its second-lowest mark in that department.

Post-Game Press Conference - Head coach Courtney Boyd, Allia von Schlegell, Autumn Dibb 

Next Up
Valpo (0-21, 0-10 MVC) faces a quick turnaround — although not as quick as it would have been with a more typical Thursday game time — as it makes the short trip to the Windy City on Saturday to face UIC at 1 p.m.