The crowd erupted late Wednesday night at the Credit Union 1 Arena when the Flames women's basketball team defeated the Valparaiso Beacons (2-11, 0-5) on a three-point buzzer beater from Josie Filer, 50-51.

Filer led the Flames offensively throughout the night, scoring 21 points and a team-leading eight rebounds. Kristian Young scored 12 points and had five assists.

The Flames improve their record to 10-6 overall and 2-3 in Missouri Valley Conference play.

Right from tip-off the Flames began the game strong. Shooting 45 % in the field, the Flames led 13-8 at the end of the first quarter. Then in the second quarter, both teams struggled to gain offensive momentum. Each team had less than 20% success shooting from the field, but the Flames remained with the lead at halftime, 20-18.

The Beacons entered the second half red hot, outscoring the Flames 8-2 in the first part of the third quarter. The Beacons had their strongest quarter of the game, scoring 18 points in the quarter and taking the lead to begin the fourth quarter, 36-34.

The Beacons held their lead for majority of the fourth quarter, but the Flames continued to remain close. After trading free-throws with ten seconds remaining, the Flames fouled Valparaiso's Olivia Brown to take her to the free-throw line down 49-48. After missing her first one, Brown sank her second free-throw to give the Beacons a two-point lead.

Less than 8 seconds remaining and no time-outs, Young brought the ball up to the top of the key where she was met by multiple defenders, Young turned back and saw Filer open from beyond the arc. Landing her third three-pointer of the night, Filer gave the Flames their first lead in the quarter and the Beacons no time to respond when the final buzzer sounded.


The Flames went 7-for-20 from beyond the arc on the night, landing 35% of their attempts. This is the second-most made threes by the Flames, and the most since their season-high 11 back on Nov. 22 against Davidson.

Shooting 39% from the field on the night, this is the Flames best shooting performance since shooting 46% in their loss to SEMO back on Dec. 20.

The Flames had a relatively quiet night from their bench, being outscored by the Beacons, 21-6. That is only the second time that has happened this season, the first time being their win against Milwaukee on Nov. 16, 10-9.

Now at 10 wins, the Flames have reached double-digits in wins for the first time since their 2015-2016 campaign when they went 12-18.

The Flames conclude their home stand this Saturday, January 14^th when they take on the Southern Illinois Salukis (6-8, 3-2), tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.