Valparaiso (0-15, 0-4 MVC)
Game #16 - January 8, 2026 - 6 p.m.
Bradley (8-6, 1-2 MVC)
Athletics-Recreation Center (5,000) - Valparaiso, Ind.

Next Up in Valpo Basketball: The Valpo women's basketball team continues Missouri Valley Conference play on Thursday evening with its lone home game in a five-game stretch, taking on Bradley at the ARC.

Previously: The Beacons completed their weekend swing through the state of Indiana with a 66-46 loss at Evansville Saturday afternoon. Freshman Allia von Schlegell surpassed her previous career best with 19 points.

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

Head Coach Courtney Boyd (0-15 at Valpo, 1st season; 190-83 [.696] overall, 9th season): Courtney Boyd was named the ninth head coach of the Valparaiso University women's basketball program on April 4, 2025. A national championship-winning head coach and player, an NAIA National Coach of the Year, and a two-time conference Coach of the Year, Boyd has won 20 or more games in seven of her first eight seasons as a head coach. She spent the last two seasons at the helm of the Quincy University program after six seasons as head coach at Clarke University, leading the latter program to the NAIA national title in 2022-23.

Series Notes: Bradley leads the all-time series between the two programs by a 13-11 mark, but Valpo has the 10-7 edge since joining the MVC. The Beacons had won eight straight in the series, including a 59-52 home win and a 66-64 road win last season, before the Braves claimed a 64-58 victory in the opening round of the MVC Women's Basketball Tournament.

@ValpoWBB...
...at Evansville
- Valpo took the lead inside the first minute on a triple from Allia von Schlegell before Evansville scored 10 in a row to force a timeout from the Beacons 3:39 into the game.
- The Beacons came out of the stoppage with seven of the next nine points, capped by a 3-pointer by Fiona Connolly to bring Valpo within 12-10 with 3:32 to play in the quarter.
- After the teams traded points, the Purple Aces scored the final seven points of the quarter to extend their lead to 21-12 at the end of the period.
- Evansville matched that spurt to start the second quarter, pushing its edge to 28-12 and forcing a Valpo timeout 90 seconds into the period.
- The Beacons held the Purple Aces to just five points over the next eight minutes, while von Schlegell had eight points and Connolly four during the same stretch to get back to within nine points.
- Evansville scored a pair of baskets in the final 30 seconds of the half to lead 37-24 at halftime.
- Valpo's deficit fluctuated between 12 and 15 points for most of the third quarter before the Purple Aces went on a 9-0 run to end the period with a 52-31 lead.
- von Schlegell surpassed her career high with a 19-point afternoon, a mark which included a Valpo season-best five made 3-pointers. It was the freshman's eighth double-digit scoring effort of the season.
- Connolly added 11 points to score in double figures for the 11th time this year.
- One game after dishing out a Valpo season-high seven assists, Mikayla Huffine followed with a game-high five assists on Saturday.
- The Beacons hit just 27.1% from the floor and were just 7-of-29 from 3-point range. The defense did hold Evansville to 37.5% shooting, including just 6-of-27 from 3-point range, and also forced 18 turnovers by the Purple Aces, a season high for its opposition.

...at Indiana State
- The Beacons got off to a quick start offensively, scoring on each of their first three possessions, and pulled out to a 9-4 edge just over two minutes in on a triple from Allia von Schlegell.
- An 8-0 ISU run over a two-minute stretch mid-quarter turned a five-point Valpo lead into a three-point edge for the Sycamores.
- The teams traded the lead over the last few minutes of the period. A 3-pointer by Kayla Preston had Valpo up 22-21 with 20 seconds to play in the quarter, but the Sycamores got a midrange jumper right before the horn to lead 23-22 10 minutes in.
- It was a one-possession game for the first half of the second quarter, with a free throw from Autumn Dibb tying things up at 30-30 with 5:23 remaining in the half. ISU outscored the Beacons 17-5 over the second half of the period to claim a 47-35 lead at halftime.
- A late-quarter run in favor of the hosts proved vital in the third quarter as well, as after the Beacons had kept the deficit right around that 12-point mark from intermission for most of the period, ISU went on a 12-2 run over three minutes to push out to a 21-point lead – a lead which was 79-58 with 10 minutes to play.
- After giving up 79 points over the first three quarters, Valpo limited ISU to just nine points in the fourth quarter, holding the Sycamores to 3-of-18 shooting, in an attempt to rally. The Beacons got to within 10 late on a 3-pointer from Mikayla Huffine, but were unable to get any closer.
- The 78 points marked a season high for the Beacons, whose previous best this season was a 69-point effort against SIUE.
- The Beacons connected on a season-high 11 3-pointers and hit at a 40.7% clip from the 3-point line, also a season best.
- Valpo was strong at the foul line as well, going 23-for-29 (79.3%) at the charity stripe — also a season best for free throws made.
- For the third straight game, Kayla Sullivan posted a season best in the scoring column, finishing with 14 points. The junior, who made her first start of the season, also matched her season high with six rebounds.
- Fiona Connolly led all players with 21 points, tying her career high set earlier this season against Radford. The senior went 5-of-7 from the floor, including a career-best three 3-pointers, and shattered her career best by making eight free throws (8-for-11).
- von Schlegell finished one off her season high with 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting, a mark which included three triples to match her season best.
- Huffine filled out the stat sheet with seven points, six rebounds and seven assists — the six rebounds matched her career best, while the seven assists were the second-highest output of her career in that category.

...looking ahead
- It's a quick turnaround for the Beacons, who return to the road for a Saturday afternoon game at Southern Illinois.
- Another road game follows next Thursday, as Valpo travels to take on Illinois State.

...at the ARC
- Thursday's game is the sixth of 13 home games this season for the Beacons, as Valpo hosts three nonconference games and 10 MVC games.
- The Beacons are currently 0-5 at the ARC this year.
- Valpo posted a 9-6 record at the ARC last season, the program's first winning record at home since the 2019-20 season.

....and @ValleyHoops
- Valpo is in its ninth season as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference.
- Valpo was picked outside the top-four of the MVC preseason poll, as the Valley released only the top four selections.
- The Valley finished last season ranked seventh in the NET, matching the conference's highest NET/RPI ranking in Valpo's time as an MVC member (2020-21).

...looking back at last year
- Valpo finished last season with a 13-19 overall record and went 9-11 in MVC play to finish in eighth place.
- Among the Beacons' 13 victories were a thrilling rally from a 20-point deficit for a home win over Drake which entered the game ranked 69th in NET, the program's highest-ranked win since a win over #54 UNI in 2021-22.
- Leah Earnest was tabbed a First Team All-MVC honoree as she concluded a decorated career that saw her finish first in program history in career rebounds and third in career scoring.
- The 2024-25 Beacons hit 245 3-pointers, third-most in a single season in program history, and tallied 314 steals, seventh on the program's single-season chart and the most since 2001-02.

@BradleyWBB
- Bradley enters Thursday's game with an 8-6 overall record on the season and sits at 1-2 in MVC play, following a double-overtime defeat at Murray State last time out.
- The Braves also fell at Belmont last weekend after getting in the win column in MVC play against Southern Illinois.
- Kaylen Nelson averages a team-best 17.1 points/game and hits at a 40.7% clip from the 3-point line, while Maya Foz adds 14.0 points/game.

Fiona Leads the Way
- Senior Fiona Connolly returned from missing the CMU game due to injury to lead the Beacons in scoring in each of the next two games - 10 points versus UNI, and a game-high 21 points at Indiana State to tie her career high.
- Connolly - who dropped in 11 points last time out at Evansville - has been a consistent offensive presence for Valpo this season, scoring in double figures in 11 of her 14 appearances and being held under eight points just once.
- Connolly is averaging a team-best 12.7 points/game this season, over triple her scoring average of 3.5 points/game last year.
- She has also nearly doubled her production on the boards, averaging 3.9 rebounds/game this season after posting 2.2 boards/game last year.

Allia Heats Up
- Freshman Allia von Schlegell has been on a tear in the scoring department recently.
- She has scored in double figures five times in Valpo's last six games, averaging 15.5 points/game over that stretch.
- That comes after opening her career with just three double-digit games in her first nine, averaging just 5.8 points/game over that stretch.
- Included in the recent run is a 17-point effort at Indiana State; back-to-back 18-point games versus SIUE and at Western Michigan; and most recently, a game-high and season-best 19 points at Evansville.
- von Schlegell currently ranks third among MVC freshmen in scoring (9.7 points/game) and first in 3-pointers made (27).

Nonconference Scoring
- von Schlegell scored in double figures six times in nonconference action, among the best in program history in terms of double-digit scoring outputs by a freshman in nonconference games since Valpo joined the North Star Conference for the 1987-88 season:
Dani Franklin, 2014-15, 11
Meredith Hamlet, 2015-16, 8
Tabitha Gerardot, 2010-11, 8
Sarrah Stricklett, 1996-97, at least 7 (2 boxes unavailable)
Debbie Bolen, 1989-90, at least 7 (1 box unavailable)
Jeanette Gray, 1999-2000, 7
Allia von Schlegell, 2025-26, 6
Stephanie Greer, 1987-88, 6
Amy Cole, 1987-88, 6
Linda Batz, 1987-88, 6
Ali Saunders, 2022-23, 5
Jamie Gutowski, 2002-03, 5
- Notably, the six players ahead of von Schlegell on that list all went on to earn All-Freshman/Newcomer Team honors and closed their time at Valpo among the top-12 in program history in career scoring.

Huffine's Helping Hand
- Senior Mikayla Huffine led all players in the assist department in both of Valpo's games last weekend with two of the best efforts of her career.
- Huffine dished out seven assists in the game at Indiana State, the most by a Valpo player in a single contest since Ava Interrante recorded seven assists at UNI Feb. 29, 2024.
- Huffine followed with a five-assist effort at Evansville on Saturday.
- She became the first Valpo player with back-to-back games of at least five assists since Shay Frederick totaled at least six assists in five straight games in February 2022.
- Huffine tallied five assists four times in her two years at Quincy and surpassed that mark just once - a nine-assist game Feb. 24, 2024 at Truman State.

Notables from Indiana State
- The 78 points were not only a season high for the Beacons, but it was Valpo's highest-scoring game since scoring 79 at Milwaukee Nov. 14, 2024.
- It was the program's highest-scoring game in Valley play since scoring 79 versus Bradley Jan. 21, 2024.
- Fiona Connolly became the first Valpo player to score at least 21 points with no more than seven field goal attempts (5-7) since Grace White scored 23 points on seven field goal attempts against Xavier Dec. 16, 2020.
- Mikayla Huffine filled out the stat sheet with seven points, six rebounds and seven assists — the first Valpo player to hit those three marks in the same game since Shay Frederick posted 11 points, seven rebounds and seven assists at Loyola Feb. 25, 2022.
- Kayla Sullivan went 8-for-8 from the foul line — the first Valpo player to shoot 100% from the stripe with at least eight attempts since Leah Earnest went 12-for-12 at Lehigh Dec. 1, 2024.

Shifting Starters
- With Mor Shabtai missing last weekend's games due to injury, Valpo used its seventh different starting lineup of the season, as Kayla Sullivan earned her first starts as a Beacon and Kamryn Winch also returned to the starting five.
- Shabtai had started 34 consecutive games dating back to last season prior to missing out at Indiana State.
- Nine different players have been a part of at least one starting five this year, with only one - Mikayla Huffine - starting every game.

All-Tournament Honoree
- Fiona Connolly represented Valpo on the All-Tournament Team at the CSU Invitational, as she averaged 14.7 points and 6.3 rebounds per game over the Beacons' trio of games in Cleveland.
- Connolly opened with her career-high 21 points and also tied for game-high honors with eight rebounds against Radford.
- She tied for game-high honors with 14 points versus Cleveland State, and closed the tournament with nine points and seven boards against St. Bonaventure.

The Tall and the Short
- This year's Valpo roster features recent extremes on both ends of the height spectrum.
- Mor Shabtai and Mikayla Huffine both are listed at 5-4, making them the shortest Valpo players since 5-3 Rashida Ray (2007-11).
- On the flip side, Kamryn Winch and Milana Nenadic both check in at 6-3, making them the tallest Valpo players since 6-5 Nicole Johanson (2018-19).

International Flavor
- Valpo has a trio of international players on its 2025-26 roster: sophomore Mor Shabtai (Israel) and transfers Milana Nenadic (Ontario, Canada) and Kennedy Sproule (Manitoba, Canada).
- Prior to Shabtai's arrival last year, the Valpo program hadn't had an international player since Sharon Karungi (Uganda) roamed the paint from 2013-15.

Sister Act
- For the third straight season, the Beacons have a pair of sisters on their roster, as freshman Nuala Connolly joins senior sister Fiona on this year's squad.
- The last two years featured identical twins Nevaeh and Saniya Jackson.
- Before that, the last set of sisters to suit up together in the Brown and Gold were the trio of Hamlet sisters: Annemarie (2013-16) overlapped with both older sister Elizabeth (2013-14) and younger sister Meredith (2015-19).