The Valpo women's basketball team held a six-point lead with just over four minutes to play Saturday afternoon in its home opener at the ARC, but visiting Detroit Mercy outscored the Beacons 15-5 down the stretch to emerge 67-63 victors.
How It Happened
- The opening quarter was played almost entirely within one possession either way, until the Titans scored six points in their last three possessions to take a 14-10 lead 10 minutes in.
- UDM scored early in the second quarter to push out to a six-point edge, but the Beacons kept the Titans from pulling any further away. Hillary Offing (Irmo, S.C./Dutch Fork [Purdue Fort Wayne]) and Constanza Aravena (Concepcion, Chile/Academy of Central Florida [Miami Dade College]) had four points apiece in an 8-0 spurt which flipped the advantage and gave Valpo a 25-20 lead just past the halfway mark of the period, forcing a UDM timeout.
- The Beacons grew the lead to six late in the second quarter, and while the Titans scored seven points in their last three possessions of the period, Offing made sure Valpo went into the locker room leading 30-29 as she beat the halftime buzzer with a turnaround jumper.
- The Titans scored the first basket of the second half before Valpo scored seven in a row to take a 37-31 lead. The Beacons' edge was still six at 44-38 with 3:49 to play in the period, but UDM scored six in a row over the next two minutes to tie things up, and the Titans got a last-second basket to hold a 48-47 lead entering the fourth quarter.
- A little 6-0 stretch midway through the final period — containing baskets from Osadebamwen Igbinedion Omoruyi (Madrid, Spain/IES Ciudad de los Angeles [UTEP]) and Dani Guedet (Washington, Ill./Washington) and a pair of free throws from Offing — gave Valpo some breathing room, pushing its lead to five. The Titans connected from the floor a minute later, but Maci Rhoades (Beavercreek, Ohio/Beavercreek [Radford]) answered with a big triple to make it 58-52 Valpo with 4:18 to play.
- Valpo was limited to just one point on its next five possessions, and the Titans' Paula Lopez connected on 3-pointers on consecutive trips to kick off an 11-1 run which turned it into a 63-59 UDM lead with 1:35 to play.
- Jana Nogués (Barcelona, Spain/Escola Sant Gervasi a Mollet del Vallés) converted a driving layup with 1:20 to play to cut the deficit to two, but UDM answered with a basket of its own, and while Igbinedion finished inside with 31 seconds remaining to again make it a two-point game, the Titans hit the key free throws late.
Inside the Game
- Offing came off the bench to lead the Beacons with 17 points, her second-highest effort at the D-I level. She also set her high as a D-I player with three steals.
- Offing was one of four Beacons to score in double figures, something Valpo accomplished just twice last season. The other three double-digit efforts were all 11-point performances out of the starting lineup.
- Playing her first home game since March 2025, Rhoades finished with 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting and led Valpo with a career-high eight rebounds.
- Igbinedion scored in double figures for the first time in her collegiate career, posting 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting.
- Denza Allen (Sunbury, Ohio/Big Walnut) rounded out the quartet in double figures, hitting 5-of-8 from the field for 11 points while also grabbing six rebounds and leading Valpo in the +/- department with a +12.
- While both teams shot nearly identical percentages from the field — UDM 36.8% and Valpo 37.3% — the Titans were 5-for-14 from 3-point range versus the Beacons' 4-for-22 effort from deep. The Titans also hit 20-of-28 at the foul line, while Valpo was just 9-of-21 at the stripe.
- Led by Offing's three steals, the Beacons tallied 10 total steals Saturday, a mark which matched the season high from last year.
- Offing had four offensive rebounds and Igbinedion three to lead the way as Valpo totaled 16 offensive rebounds, leading to 18 second-chance points. The 18 second-chance points and Valpo's +11 advantage in that category are both program highs since at least the start of the 2019-20 season.
- The Beacons scored 40 points in the paint and has a 12-point edge there over the Titans — the +12 advantage in the paint was the program's largest since playing at Bradley Feb. 27, 2025, while the 40 points in the paint was its highest since garnering 40 against Illinois State Jan. 17, 2025.
- Raeven Raye-Redmond (Trotwood, Ohio/Trotwood Madison) appeared in a game for the first time in 686 days when she came off the bench Saturday.
Next Up
Valpo (0-2) will host its annual Education Day game against Culver-Stockton Tuesday morning at 11 a.m.
