Valpo WBB Falls on Road at Illinois State Thursday

A second-quarter run by host Illinois State proved to be too much for the Valpo women’s basketball team to overcome Thursday night in Normal, Ill., as the Beacons saw their two-game winning streak come to an end with a 65-49 loss.

How It Happened
– Valpo jumped on top quickly, as Shay Frederick (Greenville, Wis./Hortonville) hit Leah Earnest (Stevens Point, Wis./SPASH) for a fast-break layup off a rebound on an ISU miss on its first possession.
– The Redbirds scored the next seven points, but Valpo countered with an 8-2 stretch which featured five points from Olivia Brown (East Grand Rapids, Mich./East Grand Rapids [St. Bonaventure]) and a 3-point play by Grace White (Redby, Minn./Red Lake [Denver]) to lead 10-9 at the media timeout of the first quarter.
– Illinois State scored the next five before White connected on a 3-pointer in the final minute to bring Valpo within 14-13 at the end of the first.
– The Beacons scored the first four points of the second quarter to lead 17-14 with 8:18 to play in the first half, but would be held scoreless for the next five-plus minutes as Illinois State went on a 13-0 run.
– Frederick snapped the scoreless drought with a 3-pointer with 2:56 to go in the half, a basket which proved to be the lone points for Valpo in the final 8:18 of the half. Illinois State went into the locker room with a 31-20 lead at intermission.
– The Beacons got no closer than the halftime deficit in the second half, as the Redbirds scored the first six points of the second half and led 55-32 at the end of the third period.

Inside the Game
– White’s 16 points off the bench paced Valpo on Thursday, while she also tied for team-high honors with seven rebounds.
– Frederick scored 15 points, knocking down three 3-pointers, and matched White with seven boards. She also handed out three assists, and with 420 career assists, is just four away from third place in program history.
– Earnest notched seven rebounds as well to go with six points, while Brown finished with eight points and a pair of steals.
– Valpo committed a season-high 26 turnovers on the offensive end. In addition, the Beacons hit just 32.6% from the floor — their second-worst percentage of the year — and went just 7-of-25 from 3-point range.
– Valpo won the rebounding battle for the second time this season, owning a 38-26 advantage on the glass. The +12 margin on the boards was the program’s highest edge in the rebounding department since a +12 in a win at Loyola on Feb. 11, 2018.
– The Beacons were 14-of-15 from the foul line, their second-best effort of the year at the charity stripe.
– Illinois State, which improved to 4-0 in MVC play this year, hit 10-of-25 from the 3-point line — a season high for 3-pointers allowed by Valpo, which entered the game allowing opponents to hit just 18.8% from deep in conference action.

Next Up
Valpo (4-12, 2-3 MVC) looks to split the weekend series as it heads to Bradley for a Saturday afternoon matinee. The game will tip off at 2 p.m. and can be seen live on ESPN+.