by It might have looked completely different than Saturday’s victory, but the end result was the same Sunday for the Valpo women’s basketball team. Junior Shay Frederick (Greenville, Wis./Hortonville) tied the game at Southern Illinois with 11.7 seconds to play and Valpo out-scored the Salukis in the extra session 13-6 to earn a 70-63 win in Carbondale, Ill. and complete a road sweep of SIU. The win extended Valpo’s winning streak to four straight games, its longest within conference play since joining the MVC.
How It Happened
- The seemingly Sisyphean task of completely overcoming what was once an 11-point SIU lead finally came to a close with a basket from Frederick with 4:44 to play in regulation, capping a 11-2 run to tie the game at 49-all.
- SIU scored the next four points from the free throw line over the next two minutes before senior Grace White (Ojibwe/Sioux./Red Lake [Denver]) came up with an inside basket to make it a 53-51 game with 2:27 remaining.
- Two more SIU free throws again pushed its advantage to two possession before a huge 3-pointer from senior Caitlin Morrison (Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South) with 1:16 remaining in regulation cut the deficit to one point.
- SIU got a basket on its next possession and Frederick split a pair of free throws to make it a two-point game before a steal from White gave Valpo the ball with the shot clock off.
- In what was a near carbon copy of her game-winner at Loyola on Wednesday, Frederick got the ball at the top of the key on the ensuing possession and drove the right side of the lane, finishing a layup at the rim with 11.7 seconds remaining to tie the game at 57-all.
- Strong defense from Valpo on SIU’s final possession forced a contested 18-footer that came up well short, sending the game into overtime.
- Valpo took the lead for good on its first trip to the offensive end in overtime as freshman Lauren Gunn (Fishers, Ind./Lawrence North) drained a 3-pointer 49 seconds into the extra period.
- After a defensive stop, junior Carie Weinman (Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South [Denver]) converted a 3-point play to push the lead to six points just 1:27 into overtime.
- SIU scored on its next trip, and after the teams traded empty possessions, Frederick drove and finished while being fouled with 1:51 to play. She missed the free throw, but despite no Valpo players being lined up on the lane, Frederick was able to get her own rebound and the extra possession resulted in a pair of free throws from Weinman to make it an eight-point game. SIU never got closer than six points the rest of the way.
- In what looked early like a repeat of its Saturday performance, Valpo connected on a pair of early 3-pointers to jump out to an 8-0 lead less than three minutes in on Sunday. But the Salukis went on a 20-2 run, and only a basket from Frederick inside the final minute of the opening quarter cut the deficit to 20-12 at the end of the first.
- SIU pushed its lead to its apex at 11 points early in the second quarter, and still led by 10 with 3:44 to play in the first half before a 9-0 spurt from Valpo which included two baskets from White. SIU scored the final bucket of the half and led 31-27 at halftime.
- Valpo pulled within one point on multiple occasions in the third quarter, the latest on a basket from White with 5:41 to play in the period. But the Brown and Gold did not score for the remainder of the quarter as SIU led 46-38 with 10 minutes to play.
- SIU pushed its lead to nine points on a free throw with 8:13 to play in regulation before Valpo scored 11 of the next 13, including two baskets from freshman Leah Earnest (Stevens Point, Wis./SPASH) and capped by the aforementioned tying basket from Frederick.
Inside the Game
- The win extended Valpo’s winning streak to four consecutive games, its longest winning streak within conference play since joining the MVC.
- White finished with 13 points, nine rebounds and four assists, while Weinman tallied 13 points as well.
