Valparaiso Beacons (4-7, 1-0 MVC) at Northern Iowa Panthers (6-6, 1-0 MVC)
Cedar Falls, Iowa; Thursday, 7 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Valparaiso plays Northern Iowa after Leah Earnest scored 22 points in Valparaiso’s 69-51 win against the Southern Illinois Salukis.
The Panthers are 3-2 in home games. Northern Iowa is fifth in the MVC with 32.0 points per game in the paint led by Maya McDermott averaging 10.0.
The Beacons are 1-0 against MVC opponents.
Northern Iowa scores 76.4 points, 9.4 more per game than the 67.0 Valparaiso allows. Valparaiso has shot at a 43.6% clip from the field this season, 0.9 percentage points higher than the 42.7% shooting opponents of Northern Iowa have averaged.
The Panthers and Beacons face off Thursday for the first time in conference play this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: McDermott is scoring 22.2 points per game and averaging 2.8 rebounds for the Panthers.
Earnest is scoring 18.4 points per game with 8.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists for the Beacons.
LAST 10 GAMES: Panthers: 4-6, averaging 74.7 points, 28.6 rebounds, 13.9 assists, 8.7 steals and 3.4 blocks per game while shooting 43.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 72.5 points per game.
Beacons: 4-6, averaging 67.0 points, 26.2 rebounds, 12.5 assists, 10.4 steals and 3.3 blocks per game while shooting 44.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 66.0 points.
___
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 This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.