Beacons Score Season High in Thursday Loss at Indiana State
The Valpo women’s basketball team scored a season-high 78 points on Thursday, its highest scoring output in MVC play in nearly two full years, but it was not enough to overcome host Indiana State as the Sycamores earned an 88-78 New Year’s Day win.
How It Happened
– The Beacons got off to a quick start offensively, scoring on each of their first three possessions, and pulled out to a 9-4 edge just over two minutes in on a triple from Allia von Schlegell (Downers Grove, Ill./Nazareth Academy).
– An 8-0 ISU run over a two-minute stretch mid-quarter turned a five-point Valpo lead into a three-point edge for the Sycamores.
– The teams traded the lead over the last few minutes of the period. A 3-pointer by Kayla Preston (Omaha, Neb./Millard North) had Valpo up 22-21 with 20 seconds to play in the quarter, but the Sycamores got a midrange jumper right before the horn to lead 23-22 10 minutes in.
– It was a one-possession game for the first half of the second quarter, with a free throw from Autumn Dibb (Muskego, Wis./Muskego) tying things up at 30-30 with 5:23 remaining in the half. ISU outscored the Beacons 17-5 over the second half of the period to claim a 47-35 lead at halftime.
– A late-quarter run in favor of the hosts proved vital in the third quarter as well, as after the Beacons had kept the deficit right around that 12-point mark from intermission for most of the period, ISU went on a 12-2 run over three minutes to push out to a 21-point lead – a lead which was 79-58 with 10 minutes to play.
– After giving up 79 points over the first three quarters, Valpo limited ISU to just nine points in the fourth quarter, holding the Sycamores to 3-of-18 shooting, in an attempt to rally. The Beacons got to within 10 late on a 3-pointer from Mikayla Huffine (Rockford, Ill./Rockford Lutheran [Quincy/Iowa Western C.C.]), but were unable to get any closer.
Inside the Game
– The 78 points marked a season high for the Beacons, whose previous best this season was a 69-point effort against SIUE.
– It was Valpo’s highest-scoring game since scoring 79 at Milwaukee Nov. 14, 2024, and the program’s highest-scoring game in Valley play since scoring 79 versus Bradley Jan. 21, 2024.
– The Beacons connected on a season-high 11 3-pointers and hit at a 40.7% clip from the 3-point line, also a season best.
– Valpo was strong at the foul line as well, going 23-for-29 (79.3%) at the charity stripe — also a season best for free throws made.
– Kayla Sullivan (St. Louis, Mo./Lutheran North [State Fair C.C.]) led the way at the free throw line, going a perfect 8-for-8 — the first Valpo player to shoot 100% from the stripe with at least eight attempts since Leah Earnest went 12-for-12 at Lehigh Dec. 1, 2024.
– For the third straight game, Sullivan posted a season best in the scoring column, finishing with 14 points. The junior, who made her first start of the season Thursday, also matched her season high with six rebounds.
– Fiona Connolly (South Burlington, Vt./Brewster Academy [La Salle]) led all players with 21 points, tying her career high set earlier this season against Radford. The senior went 5-of-7 from the floor, including a career-best three 3-pointers, and shattered her career best by making eight free throws (8-for-11).
– Connolly is the first Valpo player to score at least 21 points with no more than seven field goal attempts since Grace White scored 23 points on seven field goal attempts against Xavier Dec. 16, 2020.
– Connolly also surpassed her career best by coming up with four steals.
– von Schlegell finished one off her season high with 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting, a mark which included three triples to match her season best.
– Huffine filled out the stat sheet with seven points, six rebounds and seven assists Thursday — the six rebounds matched her career best, while the seven assists were the second-highest output of her career in that category.
– Huffine is the first Valpo player to hit those three marks in the same game since Shay Frederick posted 11 points, seven rebounds and seven assists at Loyola Feb. 25, 2022.
– Making her first start since Nov. 28 at Cleveland State, Kamryn Winch (Bonne Terre, Mo./North County [Maryville]) tallied seven points on 3-of-5 shooting and paced the Beacons with nine rebounds.
– Valpo played Thursday without the services of Mor Shabtai (Tel Aviv, Israel/Tichonet), who had started 34 straight games dating back to last season.
Next Up
Valpo (0-14, 0-3 MVC) completes the Indiana road swing with a Saturday afternoon game at Evansville. Tip is slated for 3 p.m.
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