The Valpo women's basketball team was within striking distance of MVC-leading Murray State at halftime Friday evening in Murray, Ky. before the host Racers used a big third quarter to pull away for a 95-69 victory. Freshman Allia von Schlegell (Downers Grove, Ill./Nazareth Academy) surpassed the 20-point mark for the second straight game, finishing with a team-high 22 points.
 
How It Happened

• Murray State held a pair of early five-point leads, but coming out of the first quarter media timeout, Valpo reeled off six in a row on a von Schlegell basket and a pair of drives to the bucket by Fiona Connolly (South Burlington, Vt./Brewster Academy [La Salle]) to go ahead 12-11 with 2:39 to play in the period.
• After the teams traded baskets, Murray State scored eight of the next ten to pull ahead by five points again. von Schlegell responded with a 3-pointer on Valpo's final possession of the first quarter to bring it within 21-19 at period's end.
• The Beacons limited the Racers to just four points over the first three-plus minutes of the second quarter, but on the offensive end, a von Schlegell triple accounted for the only points on Valpo's side of the board.
• Murray State went on an 11-2 run to pull out to a 36-24 lead with 2:10 to play in the half. Another 3-pointer by von Schlegell made it a single-digit game, and after the Racers scored with 30 seconds to play, Milana Nenadic (Kitchener, Ontario/Cameron Heights [Idaho State/Maine]) converted a hook shot in the final seconds to make it a 38-29 game at halftime.
• It was the freshman von Schlegell connecting again from deep less than a minute into the second half, shrinking the deficit to eight points at 40-32.
• Murray State scored on each of its next nine possessions, outscoring the Beacons 25-7 in that stretch, to lead 65-39.
• The Racers' advantage was 78-47 at the end of the third quarter, and while they led by as many as 38 points in the final period, Valpo battled back to cut the deficit to the final margin.

 
Inside the Game

• von Schlegell led the Beacons with 22 points on 9-of-16 shooting, including 4-of-7 from 3-point range. It was her 15^th double-figure scoring game of the season and the 12^th time she has dropped at least 15 points.
• von Schlegell is now tied with Dani Franklin's 2014-15 campaign for the most games with 15 or more points by a Valpo freshman since 2009-10.
• Connolly scored in double figures for the 13^th time this season, finishing with 13 points on 6-of-12 shooting.
• Nenadic hit double digits for the ninth time with a 10-point evening and also paced Valpo on the glass with six rebounds.
• A pair of bench players delivered efficient performances. Kayla Preston (Omaha, Neb./Millard North) hit 3-of-4 from the floor for seven points while also tallying two steals, while Kamryn Winch (Bonne Terre, Mo./North County [Maryville]) matched Preston by going 3-of-4 from the field for seven points and also blocked a pair of shots.
• Valpo hit at a 43.5% clip from the field Friday and was 7-of-24 from 3-point range, while the Racers shot 47.4% from the floor and were 11-of-29 from 3-point range.
• Valpo enjoyed its highest 2-point percentage of the year, hitting 51.1% from inside the arc. The Beacons' top two 2-point percentages of the season have come in their last two games, as they hit 50% from 2-point range last Saturday against SIU.
• The Beacons were limited to three free throw attempts Friday, going 2-of-3 from the stripe, while Murray State was 12-of-19.

 
Next Up
Valpo (0-25, 0-14 MVC) closes out the road trip Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. at Belmont.