von Schlegell, Winch Match Career Highs in Defeat at UIC
Valpo women’s basketball freshman Allia von Schlegell (Downers Grove, Ill./Nazareth Academy) matched her career high with a team-best 19 points and redshirt junior Kamryn Winch (Bonne Terre, Mo./North County [Maryville]) led all players and tied her career best with 12 rebounds as the Beacons suffered a 76-57 defeat at UIC Saturday afternoon.
How It Happened
– A slow start led to UIC taking an early 12-3 lead, prompting a timeout from head coach Courtney Boyd just 3:27 into the contest.
– Valpo scored seven straight out of the stoppage, including a 3-point play by Fiona Connolly (South Burlington, Vt./Brewster Academy [La Salle]) and a great find on a fast break by Mor Shabtai (Tel Aviv, Israel/Tichonet) to Kayla Preston (Omaha, Neb./Millard North), to pull within 12-10 with 3:42 to play in the opening period.
– The Flames held a 20-14 lead at the end of the first.
– UIC scored the first six points of the second quarter to extend its lead to double digits for the first time, but the Beacons pushed back, closing to within seven on a Milana Nenadic (Kitchener, Ontario/Cameron Heights [Idaho State/Maine]) basket with 6:17 to play in the period.
– The Flames out-scored Valpo 17-4 over the remainder of the half, including seven second-chance points in the last 90 seconds of the half, to take a 43-23 lead into halftime.
– A quick 9-2 spurt over the opening 1:43 of the third quarter, including two triples by von Schlegell, brought the Beacons within 45-32.
– They were unable to get any closer than 13 points in the second half, however. UIC held a 53-37 lead at the end of the third quarter and maintained at least a 15-point lead throughout the final period.
Inside the Game
– von Schlegell went 4-of-7 from behind the 3-point line as part of her team-best 19-point effort, matching her career high set earlier this season at Evansville.
– The freshman is averaging 15.3 points/game over Valpo’s six MVC road games to date.
– von Schlegell has now scored 15 or more points nine times this season. That is the most such efforts by a Valpo freshman since Dani Franklin hit the 15-point mark 12 times and Jasmyn Walker nine times in the 2014-15 season.
– No other Beacon reached double figures in the scoring column on Saturday, as Winch was Valpo’s next-highest scorer, tallying nine points on 3-of-5 shooting from the field and 3-of-3 from the foul line.
– Winch also led all players with 12 rebounds, tying her career best set earlier this year in the overtime game against Milwaukee.
– What makes Winch’s performance even more impressive is that it came while playing just 13:10 — it is the second-fewest minutes played by a D-I player who recorded 12 rebounds this season (USC’s Yakiya Milton, Nov. 18 versus Portland, 12:01).
– Winch is the first D-I player to register at least nine points and 12 rebounds while playing fewer than 14 minutes since Charlotte O’Keefe did so for UTRGV Nov. 23, 2024.
– Kayla Sullivan (St. Louis, Mo./Lutheran North [State Fair C.C.]) continued her strong recent work on the glass with six boards Saturday.
– Led by Winch and Sullivan, Valpo held a 41-36 advantage over the Flames in rebounds — the fifth time this season the Beacons have held the edge in that department.
– Valpo shot 36.4% from the floor Saturday and hit 5-of-15 from the 3-point line — a season low in terms of 3-point attempts. UIC ended the game at 44.6% overall and 7-of-17 from deep.
– The Beacons were 12-of-16 at the foul line, hitting at least 75% of their free throw attempts for a third straight game.
– The turnover column hurt Valpo, as the Beacons committed 23 miscues — their highest total in MVC play — while forcing just 10 UIC turnovers. The Flames held a 31-7 advantage in points off turnovers.
Next Up
Valpo (0-22, 0-11 MVC) returns to the ARC for a pair of games next week, kicking things off by hosting Evansville on Thursday evening at 6 p.m. That game will be the program’s annual Girls & Women in Sports game, with a poster giveaway.