KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- The Western Michigan University women's basketball team begins its first homestand of the season on Sunday afternoon.

LAST TIME OUT
The Broncos team picked up their second win of the season on Sunday afternoon in a 58-45 victory over the Loyola Ramblers. Sophomore guard Alli Harness had a breakout game for  WMU on Sunday in the Windy City against Loyola. Harness set a new career-high in scoring, leading the Brown and Gold with 13 points on the floor.

For the fifth straight game, sophomore guard Kailey Starks ended the afternoon in double digits with 10 points. On defense Western Michigan relied on redshirt senior forward De'Ahna Richardson who matched her career-high under the glass with nine board on her birthday.

BENCH BALANCE
Western Michigan got major contributions from its bench in the team's win over Loyola on December 7. The Broncos were led by sophomore guard Alli Harness at Gentile Arena as Harness set a new career-high in scoring with 13 points. WMU also outscored the Ramblers on the bench as the Brown and Gold had almost 30% of their points come from their non-starters. 

CHICAGO CAREER GAMES
Harness had a career game in the Windy City, setting multiple scoring highs. Not only did the sophomore have her best overall scoring game, Harness also set career highs in field goals made (5) and three-pointers made (3).

Two other Western Michigan players also set new career scoring highs at Loyola on Sunday. Freshman guard Olivia Flynn made the first bucket of her collegiate career with a three pointer in the second quarter. While senior forward Mary Clare Brusek in her first basketball game with the Broncos split her free throw chances for her first point of 2025-26. 

SERIES HISTORY
Sunday will be the 17th meeting in the series between the Brown and Gold and Valparaiso. Western Michigan leads the series 11-5 but dropped the last meeting between the two in 2024. At University Arena, the Broncos have a 5-1 record along with a win at Lawson Arena back in 1993. 

In the series meeting last year, WMU dropped its Wednesday evening matchup at Valpo 67-54. In the loss, junior Marina Asensio scored a team-high 14 points, while Alli Carlson and Alli Harness combined for 22 points offensively. On the glass, redshirt freshman Evyn Carrier grabbed a career-high 9 rebounds to lead the Brown and Gold. 

SCOUTING THE BEACONS
The Beacons are entering a new era under first year Head Coach Courtney Boyd. Valparaiso is still searching for its first win of the season after dropping the first 10 of the 2025-26 season. On Friday night the Beacons dropped a close contest to the SIUE Cougars at home. Valpo was led by freshman guard Allia von Schlegell against the Cougars with a career-high 18 points to lead all scorers as five Beacons scored at least eight points in the 76-69 loss.

Senior guard Fiona Connolly is Valparaiso's leading scorer through non-conference play, averaging 12.5 points and 4.6 rebounds a game. Connolly is the only Beacon averaging double digits through 10 games this season. Under the glass Valpo's defensive leader is redshirt junior center Kamryn Winch, who averages 6.0 boards in only 15.1 minutes a game.