Crusaders Receive Balanced Scoring Effort in Rout of IU Kokomo
The Valparaiso University women’s basketball started the home portion of the season on the right foot with a 102-47 whitewash of Indiana University Kokomo on Monday night at the Athletics-Recreation Center. The Crusaders received a game-high 24 points from Dani Franklin (Cedar Rapids, Iowa / George Washington), Amber Lindfors (Elk Grove Village, Ill. / Elk Grove) turned in a double-double and Haylee Thompson (Hailey, Idaho / Wood River [Utah State]) also reached double figures to help the Crusaders improve to 2-2 on the season.
How It Happened
- The Crusaders built an 18-1 lead out of the gate. The Cougars didn’t make their first field goal of the game until nearly seven minutes in. Franklin had seven points during the early burst.
- The Cougars scored just six points in the first quarter. Valpo held a 47-20 edge at halftime.
- IU Kokomo struggled from beyond the arc, particularly in the first half. The Crusaders limited the Cougars to 2-for-11 (18.2 percent) from 3 in the opening half, and 6-of-20 (20 percent) from the floor.
- The Crusaders heated up from long range in the third quarter, compiling an 18-0 run to turn a 49-25 advantage into a 67-25 lead. Valpo connected on four 3-pointers during that stretch, with Franklin swishing a pair and sophomore Hannah Schaub (Brooklyn Park, Minn. / Park Center) and freshman Caitlin Morrison (Glenview, Ill. / Glenbrook South) each knocking down one.
- The Crusaders had their most productive offensive quarter in the fourth, scoring 28 points. The Cougars didn’t score more than 14 in any one period.
Inside the Game
- Lindfors pulled down a career-high 12 rebounds, outdoing her previous best of 11 also set against the Cougars last season. She also scored 13 points, becoming the first Valpo played to notch a double-double this season.
- Franklin’s 24 points came on 9-of-14 shooting and 3-of-4 from beyond the arc.
- Thompson matched a career-high with 16 points, a mark she last reached on Dec. 7, 2015 against Cardinal Stritch. She went 6-of-8 from the floor on Monday.
- Valpo received balance up and down the roster, as 12 players scored in the game.
- The Crusaders outrebounded the Cougars 48-33 and won the turnover battle 18-9.
- The Crusaders racked up 23 assists on 37 made field goals. Schaub led the way with six assists, while Georgi Donchetz (Savage, Minn. / Burnsville) contributed four.
- Donchetz, Addison Stoller (Cissna Park, Ill. / Cissna Park) and Imani Scott-Thompson (Akron, Ohio / Firestone [Dakota College at Bottineau) scored seven points apiece.
- Valpo reached triple digits for the first time since Dec. 30, 2014, a 109-81 victory over Purdue Calumet.
Thoughts from Head Coach Tracey Dorow
- On the home opener: “It was great to be home. I thought the crowd was pretty excited about what we did and the way we played. I’m proud of the effort we had. We had a lot of moments where we made the extra pass and got the easy buckets.
- On building confidence: “The biggest key was to give our defense a sense of confidence in what we’re doing. Amber had some blocks early. It’s extremely important, but we wanted to gain confidence and momentum going into the next game against Liberty.”
- On Haylee Thompson: “I thought she battled for position. We moved the ball to get her the ball. She worked hard for it. Those are things we’ve been working on in practice a lot.
- On passing: “We made it a focal point to make the extra pass. We did a really good job of not trying to thread the needle every single time.”
- “The biggest factor is that nobody cared who got the credit today. It didn’t matter who did what. They just moved the ball, and whatever happened happened.”
Next Up
The Crusaders (2-2) will seek to continue their winning ways on Friday at 5 p.m. as they welcome Liberty to the Athletics-Recreation Center. The contest will tip off at 5 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN3, WatchESPN and the ESPN app. Links to live video and stats can be found on ValpoAthletics.com.
