ITTA BENA, Miss. – The Devilettes of Mississippi Valley State cruised to a 3-0 win over Mississippi University for Women in the team's penultimate tune-up match before the start of conference play.
 
Laadi Issaka scored twice in the first half of the match to bring her season total to eight goals this season. She also had one of the assists on Stephany Adomako's second half goal.
 
Senior goalkeeper Sydney Newport picked up her first win of the season in goal, making three saves en route to the victory – all in the first half. She was not tested in the second half, as Valley finished the match with a 13-3 advantage in shots on goal.
 
MUW simply had no answer for Issaka, who seemed to move through the USCAA side's defense at will. Though she fired eight shots on MUW goalkeeper Sarah Gilliland, Issaka benefitted from a stroke of luck on her first goal, which she shot from approximately 30 yards out. The shot hit the left crossbar before rolling into the right side of the goal and giving Valley the lead in the 11th minute.
 
In the 42nd minute, Issaka took advantage of an MUW turnover in its own penalty area, taking the ball from an Owl defender before firing home a five-yard strike.
 
With only 13 players available for Friday's contest, the "Iron Devilettes" opted to protect their advantage in the second half, but still found chances for the team's frontline players. In the 82nd minute, Issaka was leading a charge to the goal, when she found teammate Ananda Pritchett in the penalty area. Pritchett then sent a one-touch pass to Adomako at the top of the box, who sent a perfect strike into the top right-hand corner of the goal.
 
Pritchett finished with two assists, as she also sent Issaka the pass to set up the first goal of the match.
 
The Devilettes, led by its starting defense of Adomako, Adrienne Baker, Erika Smith and Karenth Zabala-Terrazas, held MUW to only eight total shots; Valley fired 30 shots in the direction of the net.
 
Valley returns to action Sunday for the team's final non-conference match, a home contest against Millsaps. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. at the MVSU Soccer Complex.