Valparaiso Beacons take on the Illinois State Redbirds on 4-game slide

Illinois State Redbirds (9-7, 3-2 MVC) at Valparaiso Beacons (4-11, 1-4 MVC)

Valparaiso, Indiana; Friday, 7 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Valparaiso will try to break its four-game slide when the Beacons take on Illinois State.

The Beacons are 3-2 on their home court.

The Redbirds are 3-2 in MVC play. Illinois State ranks third in the MVC with 15.6 assists per game led by Maya Wong averaging 4.1.

Valparaiso scores 64.0 points per game, 4.9 fewer points than the 68.9 Illinois State allows. Illinois State has shot at a 48.3% rate from the field this season, 4.7 percentage points greater than the 43.6% shooting opponents of Valparaiso have averaged.

The matchup Friday is the first meeting of the season between the two teams in conference play.

TOP PERFORMERS: Leah Earnest is scoring 17.5 points per game with 7.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists for the Beacons.

Shannon Dowell is scoring 16.1 points per game and averaging 4.8 rebounds for the Redbirds.

LAST 10 GAMES: Beacons: 3-7, averaging 63.3 points, 24.1 rebounds, 10.6 assists, 9.6 steals and 3.2 blocks per game while shooting 40.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 71.1 points per game.

Redbirds: 6-4, averaging 79.4 points, 36.4 rebounds, 16.6 assists, 5.5 steals and 3.6 blocks per game while shooting 48.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 69.3 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

Copyright © 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

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