The Valpo women's basketball team was within seven points of host UNI in the second half of Thursday's meeting in Cedar Falls, Iowa before the Panthers pulled away for a 92-54 victory. Fiona Connolly (South Burlington, Vt./Brewster Academy [La Salle]) paced the Beacons with 20 points.
 
How It Happened

• Connolly and Allia von Schlegell (Downers Grove, Ill./Nazareth Academy) combined for six early points to give Valpo a quick 5-1 lead.
• The Beacons were still tied with the Panthers at 8-8 with 5:39 remaining in the first quarter before UNI went on a 14-2 run to close the period — including an 8-0 spurt in the final 1:14 — as it led 22-10 10 minutes in.
• Valpo limited UNI to just 11 points on 2-of-11 shooting from the floor in the second quarter, but the Beacons scored just 11 points of their own on 2-of-9 shooting for the period.
• Valpo scored the first five points of the quarter to close to within seven, but that was as close as it would get in the period and the Panthers eventually led 33-21 at halftime.
• After the offensive struggles of the first half, the Beacons exploded for 25 points in the third quarter on 10-of-17 shooting, including 4-for-4 from 3-point range. But that coincided with a similar offensive surge for UNI, which scored 31 points in the quarter on the same shooting numbers while adding 7-of-8 from the foul line.
• Valpo got to within 39-32 on the second of two consecutive 3-pointers from von Schlegell with 7:41 to play in the quarter, and still trailed by just 10 with 5:41 remaining in the period before UNI scored seven points in a span of 55 seconds to extend its lead.
• The Panthers held a 64-46 lead at the end of the third quarter and were able to pull away in the final period.

 
Inside the Game

• Connolly led all players with 20 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field and a perfect 7-for-7 mark from the foul line, her fifth 20-point effort of the season.
• The senior scored those 20 points while playing just 19:09 due to foul trouble, becoming the second Beacon this year to score 20 points in fewer than 20 minutes — Milana Nenadic (Kitchener, Ontario/Cameron Heights [Idaho State/Maine]) accomplished the feat in nonconference play at Iowa State.
• von Schlegell hit three 3-pointers as part of a 13-point night. The rookie pushed her season scoring total to 325 points, seventh-most by a Valpo freshman in program history.
• Kayla Preston (Omaha, Neb./Millard North) tied her career best with a team-high six rebounds.
• Valpo finished the night shooting 34% from the field, including 5-of-16 from 3-point range, while UNI hit at a 44.6% clip and was 13-of-25 from the 3-point line.
• The Beacons did enjoy a strong evening at the foul line, hitting 15-of-19 from the charity stripe.

 
Next Up
Valpo (0-28, 0-17 MVC) faces a quick turnaround to return home for a Saturday afternoon game against Illinois State. Tipoff is slated for 1 p.m. on Senior Day at the ARC, with the Beacons recognizing Fiona Connolly, Bella Swedlund and Mikayla Huffine prior to the game.