VU hits century mark, ends seven-game skid
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: VU 109, PUC 81
VALPARAISO — The streak ended in a big way Tuesday night.
Valparaiso hit the century mark for the first time since January 14, 1997, en route to a 109-81 win over Purdue Calumet at home ending its seven-game losing streak.
The Crusaders were led by freshman Dani Franklin (career-high 25 points, 7 rebounds), Jasmyn Walker (20 points), Haylee Thompson (15 points, 11 rebounds), Abby Dean (14 points, 5 rebounds), and Jessica Carr (12 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists).
The Peregrines’ Jada Buggs had a game-high 30 points, while Cassidy Deno added 16 points and six rebounds.
Valpo jumped out to a commanding 18-2 lead in the early going but Purdue Cal (11-2) brought it back to a nine-point game midway through the first half. The Crusaders led 54-35 at halftime.
The Peregrines fought back cutting the deficit down to seven points (73-66) with 10:19 to go in the game on a Buggs’ three-pointer but Valparaiso was too strong inside the paint (outscored PUC 58-32) pounding the ball inside to put the game away.
“It feels so good (to get the win),” VU coach Tracey Dorow said. “We’re working hard and we’ve made strides and then we had some setbacks. (Tuesday), we started to attack them and I thought we did a good job moving the ball and getting it inside.”
Franklin and Walker took the biggest advantage on the inside; Franklin shot 10-for-18 for the game, while Walker was 7-for-8.
Annemarie Hamlet, who finished with 10 points, 12 rebounds and five assists, said the team wanted to attack the inside.
“Our goal was getting it to the paint,” she said. “When you get it into the paint, good things happen.”
VU (4-8) finishes the nonconference part of its schedule with a home game against Stetson at 1:35 p.m. on Saturday.
The Crusaders are hoping to start the new year with a win heading into the Horizon League opener against Cleveland State on Jan. 8.
“It’s nice to have some positive momentum moving forward,” Dorow said. “There’s nothing on (the stat sheet) that says, ‘Oh, that hurts.’ The offensive rebounds (18) were good. We also ran and got transition points.”
On the injury front, senior Sharon Karungi missed her fifth straight game due to a high ankle sprain. She is going to see the doctor on Saturday to get an evaluation.
“It’s something that happened against IU and we’ve tried to get her out there a couple times but then the Achilles was bothering her,” Dorow said. “So we decided to shut her down.
“It’s been a good experience for the younger kids. They played minutes they wouldn’t have gotten with Sharon out there. Hopefully, she’ll be back soon.”