Playing in front of a raucous crowd of fifth-graders from Valparaiso Community Schools on the program's third annual Education Day, the Valpo women's basketball team gave the youngsters plenty to cheer about, as the Beacons earned their first win of the season with an 89-47 victory over Culver-Stockton Tuesday.
How It Happened
- Valpo was strong right out of the gate Tuesday, opening the game on a 10-0 run in the first three minutes — a stretch capped by back-to-back 3-pointers from Maci Rhoades (Beavercreek, Ohio/Beavercreek [Radford]) and Allia von Schlegell (Downers Grove, Ill./Nazareth Academy).
- Later in the opening period, the Beacons put together an 11-0 run in a span of just over three minutes. Maddie Vejsicky (New Concord, Ohio/Newark [Akron]) opened the spurt with a 3-pointer and Jana Nogués (Barcelona, Spain/Escola Sant Gervasi a Mollet del Valles) had four points during the run, a run which boosted Valpo's lead temporarily to 19 points as it eventually led 24-9 at the end of the first quarter.
- Valpo's defense held Culver-Stockton without a point for a stretch of nearly five minutes in the middle of the second quarter, in the process pushing its advantage to 24 points. The Beacons entered halftime with a 42-19 lead.
- The Beacons' offense scored points on each of their first six possessions of the second half, capped by consecutive 3-pointers from Dani Guedet (Washington, Ill./Washington) to increase the lead into the 30s for the first time. Valpo ended the third quarter ahead 67-34, reaching 67 points on a triple from von Schlegell with 34 seconds to play in the period and sending the children into hysterics.
- Valpo held the Wildcats off the scoreboard for over four minutes to start the fourth quarter as the Beacons' lead reached the 40s en route to closing out the win.
Inside the Game
- The win was the first at the helm of the Valpo program for head coach Courtney Boyd.
- The Beacons' 42-point margin of victory marks their largest win since a 95-49 triumph over Chicago State Dec. 28, 2019.
- It was a balanced team effort in the win, as all 12 active players played at least five minutes, with 10 of the 12 playing at least 15 minutes and nobody playing more than 24 minutes.
- All 12 active players scored at least two points as well, including Nuala Connolly (South Burlington, Vt./Western Reserve Academy), who was making her collegiate debut after missing last season due to injury and connected on a pair of free throws in the fourth quarter.
- Five of those players scored at least 10 points, the first time a Valpo team has placed a quintet in double digits since Dec. 20, 2020 at Wisconsin.
- While four of the Beacons' five starters scored in double figures, their leading scorer came off the bench, as Guedet connected on 4-of-7 from 3-point range as part of a 15-point, five-rebound, three-steal day.
- Guedet is one of only two Valpo freshmen in the Her Hoop Stats era (starting with the 2009-10 season) to hit at least four 3-pointers in a game off the bench — Shay Frederick did so three times in her rookie year in 2018-19.
- von Schlegell scored 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field, while Osadebamwen Igbinedion Omoruyi (Madrid, Spain/IES Ciudad de los Angeles [UTEP]) and Nogués chipped in 11 apiece.
- Rounding out the group of five in double figures was Denza Allen (Sunbury, Ohio/Big Walnut), who posted the first double-double of her collegiate career with 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting and 13 rebounds, seven of which came on the offensive end.
- Allen pulled down 10 of her boards in the first half alone, becoming the first Valpo player since Grace White at Drake Feb. 4, 2022 to enter halftime with at least 10 rebounds.
- Allen's seven offensive boards are the most by a Valpo player in a single game since Amber Lindfors grabbed seven on the offensive end against Youngstown State March 3, 2017.
- Led by Allen's efforts on the offensive glass, the Beacons tallied 23 offensive rebounds Tuesday, their most in a single game since tallying 27 at UIC Jan. 28, 2017. Valpo converted its 23 offensive boards into 28 second-chance points.
- Valpo finished with an offensive rebounding rate above 50% for the first since Jan. 26, 2018 at Evansville, and in the Her Hoop Stats era, Tuesday's 57.5% rate was its second-best single-game rate, trailing only a 61.1% clip in the aforementioned Youngstown State game.
- The Beacons dished out 21 assists against only nine turnovers and racked up 15 steals among the 27 turnovers they forced from Culver-Stockton, outscoring the visitors 26-7 in points off turnovers.
- Constanza Aravena (Concepcion, Chile/Academy of Central Florida [Miami Dade College]) handed out a team-high six assists, becoming the first Valpo player with six or more assists as a reserve since Grace White recorded seven assists off the bench at Evansville Feb. 18, 2022.
- Valpo also dominated the paint Tuesday, finishing the game with a 44-12 advantage in points in the paint.
Post-Game Press Conference – Courtney Boyd, Maci Rhoades, Denza Allen, Dani Guedet
Next Up
Valpo (1-2) continues nonconference action with a second straight morning tip-off, as the Beacons head to Purdue Fort Wayne Friday for a 10 a.m. CT/11 a.m. ET game.
