Fiona Connolly (South Burlington, Vt./Brewster Academy [La Salle]) and Allia von Schlegell (Downers Grove, Ill./Nazareth Academy) both finished with career highs in the scoring column on Saturday, the latter leading a furious fourth-quarter rally that came up just short as the Valpo women's basketball team dropped an 82-73 decision to Southern Illinois.
 
How It Happened

• After SIU scored the game's first four points, Valpo reeled off 10 in a row — four of which came from Connolly, with von Schlegell and Milana Nenadic (Kitchener, Ontario/Cameron Heights [Idaho State/Maine]) hitting a 3-point apiece as well — to take an early 10-4 lead.
• Valpo extended its edge to 15-6 on a Connolly 3-pointer with 4:03 to play in the opening period and held a 17-11 lead at the end of the first quarter.
• The Salukis scored the first 11 points of the second period over a span of 3:43 to take a 22-17 lead. The Beacons battled back to tie the game at 26-26 with 3:58 to play in the half before SIU scored 10 of the final 14 points of the half to lead 36-30 at intermission.
• Valpo had its highest-scoring quarter of the season as it dropped 24 points in the third quarter, but the Salukis scored 33 in the same 10-minute span.
• The Beacons fought back to tie the game at 39-39 on a pair of Connolly free throws with 7:46 to play in the period, but SIU went on a 15-2 run over the next four-plus minutes. The Salukis eventually led 69-54 with 10 minutes to play.
• SIU pushed its lead to its apex at 73-55 with 8:59 remaining before a 9-2 run from Valpo — featuring seven points from von Schlegell — forced a Saluki timeout with 7:25 to play and their lead down to 75-64.
• The deficit stayed at 11 as a singular free throw each way accounted for the only scoring over the next three-plus minutes until a driving layup from von Schlegell with 4:15 to play made it a single-digit game.
• The freshman converted a 3-point play with 2:58 to play and then sunk a 3-pointer with 2:28 remaining to make it a one-possession game, 76-73 — completing an 18-3 run over a span of 6:31.
• SIU made a pair of free throws on its next trip down the court to push its lead back to five points, and Valpo was unable to convert on any of its last five offensive possessions.

 
Inside the Game

• von Schlegell and Connolly both established career highs in the scoring column with 29 and 22 points, respectively.
• von Schlegell's 29 points, which bested her previous best by 10 points, came on 9-of-14 shooting from the floor, including 5-of-10 from 3-point range, and 6-of-7 from the foul line. The freshman established a career high for field goals made and matched her career best for 3-pointers made.
• von Schlegell scored the most points by a Valpo freshman since Ali Saunders scored 32 against UAB Nov. 21, 2022. It also matched the most points by an MVC freshman this season.
• 15 of von Schlegell's points came in the fourth quarter alone as she outscored SIU in the final period. It is the most points in a single period by a Valpo player this season.
• Even more impressively, von Schlegell scored those 29 points while not committing a single turnover in 35 minutes of action. She is only the fifth D-I freshman this year with a game with 29 or more points and no turnovers.
• Connolly edged past her previous career high of 21 points, accomplished twice this season, with her 22-point effort Saturday. The senior also handed out five assists to match her best effort in the Valpo uniform.
• It marked the first time two Valpo players scored 20+ points in the same game since Leah Earnest tallied 24 points and Layla Gold 21 versus Detroit Mercy Dec. 21, 2024.
• Nenadic added 11 points and tied her career high with 12 rebounds to finish with the second double-double of her career — both of which have come within the last four games.
• Valpo shot 41.4% from the floor Saturday and was 7-of-24 from 3-point range, while SIU hit at a 42.9% clip from the field and was 5-of-12 from deep.
• The Beacons also hit 18-for-25 from the foul line — the 18 free throws made their second-highest total in MVC play.
• Valpo committed just 12 turnovers against the Salukis, tying their second-fewest in that department this season. Going along with 13 assists, it is the third time in the last seven games the Beacons have had a positive assist/turnover ratio.

 
Next Up
Valpo (0-24, 0-13 MVC) plays its next four on the road, starting Friday evening, Feb. 13 at Murray State. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.