by Another weekend, another first for the Valpo women’s basketball team, as the Beacons built up a 14-point lead and held off a Bradley rally down the stretch — thanks in large part to two key 3-pointers late from Caitlin Morrison (Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South) — to earn a 68-61 victory Saturday afternoon. The victory was the first in program history on the road over the Braves.
How It Happened
- A second-chance basket from Leah Earnest (Stevens Point, Wis./SPASH) and a 3-pointer by Shay Frederick (Greenville, Wis./Hortonville) gave Valpo a 5-0 lead in the game’s first two minutes before Bradley scored the next five to tie things up.
- Valpo answered with nine points in a row over the next three minutes, with four different Beacons finding the scoresheet during that stretch to make it 14-5 Valpo. The Beacons ended the opening period with a 20-15 advantage.
- Valpo maintained a two-possession advantage for most of the second quarter, and pushed its lead to eight points with 1:50 to play in the half on a 3-pointer by Ilysse Pitts (Aurora, Ill./Montini Catholic).
- The Braves responded immediately with 3-pointers on their next two possessions to get to within two points. Morrison knocked down a triple with just seconds remaining in the opening half to seemingly make it a five-point game at intermission, but Bradley raced the ball down and got a 30-footer from Tatum Koenig at the buzzer to cut Valpo’s edge to 35-33 at the break.
- Both teams struggled to find the basket in the opening minutes of the second half. Bradley connected on a 3-pointer 2:44 into the third quarter for the first points for either side, putting the Braves in front 36-35 — their first lead of the game.
- Valpo came back on their next trip with a 3-pointer by Morrison which sparked a 18-5 stretch to close the quarter. Five different players scored for the Beacons in the run, including five points apiece from Olivia Brown (East Grand Rapids, Mich./East Grand Rapids [St. Bonaventure]) and Frederick. The latter’s 3-pointer capped the scoring for the period and gave Valpo a 53-41 lead with 10 minutes to play.
- Grace White (Ojibwe/Sioux) recorded a steal and layup within the first 30 seconds of the fourth quarter to push Valpo’s lead to its peak at 14 points. The Beacons’ edge was still 14 inside of eight minutes remaining to play, and was still 13 points approaching the halfway mark of the fourth quarter.
- A quick spurt from the Braves brought them back into contention in the last few minutes, however. Bradley scored 10 points in a four-possession stretch while holding Valpo without a point in that same span to close to within 58-55 with 3:09 to play.
- Morrison connected on a huge 3-pointer on Valpo’s next possession to push the lead back to six points, allowing the Beacons to absorb back-to-back scoreless trips while Bradley scored on two of its next three possessions to close to within 61-59 with 1:32 remaining.
- Maya Dunson (Dayton, Ohio/Wayne [Loyola]) came up with a big bucket the next time down the floor, driving for a layup at the rim — her first field goal of the game — to again make it a two-possession game with 1:11 to go.
- It was White with the key defensive play on the ensuing Bradley trip, blocking a 3-point attempt with less than a minute to play. And Valpo converted it into points on the other end, as Frederick found Morrison for her fifth 3-pointer of the contest to put the game away.
Inside the Game
- Saturday’s win was Valpo’s first-ever victory at Bradley. The Braves had won all six previous meetings between the two programs in Peoria.
- Morrison led four players in double figures with 15 points as she connected on 5-of-8 from the 3-point line. It was Morrison’s second time hitting at least five triples in Valpo’s last three games.
- Frederick and White scored 12 points apiece in the win. White also came up with three assists and a game-high six steals, setting a career best in the category.
