Braves Close Home Stand Sunday Against Missouri St.

Duane Zehr

Women's Basketball 1/13/2018 12:26:00 PM

PEORIA, Ill. – Bradley Women's Basketball looks to rebound from its first Missouri Valley Conference loss of the season Sunday when the Braves host Missouri State in a 2 p.m. contest at Renaissance Coliseum to conclude a brief two-game home stand.

Friday's 63-62 loss to Southern Illinois, which featured six ties and eight lead changes in the fourth quarter, snapped a four-game Bradley (9-6 overall, 3-1 MVC) win streak and dropped the Braves into fourth in the MVC standings behind Sunday's opponent Missouri State (8-8 overall, 4-1 MVC) and the Salukis which are tied for second at 4-1 in league play.

Sunday's game will be available on ESPN3 as part of the MVC media rights agreement with ESPN. The Valley On ESPN3 can be viewed through WatchESPN.com and the WatchESPN app. In addition, Ed Hammond will handle the radio broadcast on WIRL 1290 AM with links to the audio stream available at BradleyBraves.com

Bradley swept the regular-season series with Missouri State last year and the teams have split the last 12 meetings in Peoria. The last three matchups between the Braves and Bears have been decided by six points or less and seven of the last 11 in the series have had a final margin of six points or fewer.

Bradley has made a habit of coming back from double digit deficits in 2017-18 and Friday's MVC opener against Southern Illinois was no different with the Braves erasing a 15-point deficit to take a lead in the final minute. In fact, BU has trailed by at least 14 points in each of its last three home games only to pull within one point in the final minute or win the contest. In four of the six losses this season Bradley has come back from 14 points down to either own a lead in the final two minutes (at SEMO & vs. SIU) or cut it to a one-possession contest in the final six minutes (at Illinois & vs. Cleveland State). The lone exceptions have been at then 21^st-ranked Green Bay and at Northern Illinois. Last season, Bradley rallied from 12 points down in the overtime victory at Missouri State.
While Bradley suffered its first MVC loss of the season, the Braves are still off to one of the best conference starts in program history at 3-1. In fact, Bradley is 3-1 or better to start league play for just the sixth time in history and the Braves are looking for just their fifth 4-1 start to conference action. Second-year Bradley head coach has been involved in three of the four previous 4-1 league starts, with her freshman (1988-89), sophomore (1989-90) and junior (1990-91) teams on The Hilltop each opening the Gateway Conference schedule with 4-1 marks. In fact, both the 1988-89 and 1989-90 teams suffered losses to Southern Illinois in their only setback in the first games. A win Sunday against Missouri State would give Bradley its first 4-1 open to league play since 2008-09 and match the best five-game start in program history.
After a scoreless MVC opener in which she played just 11 minutes due to foul trouble, junior Vanessa Markert has averaged 14.3 points per game over the last three outings on 51.4 percent shooting (19-for-37). Renaissance Coliseum has been kind to Markert, who has averaged 12.0 points per game in the facility this season on 52.6 percent shooting. She has scored 10 or more points in four of six home games this year.
Bradley has committed 10 or fewer turnovers in three consecutive games, averaging 9.0 per outing during that span and have committed just an average of 11.0 turnovers per contest in MVC play. The Braves have committed 10 or less turnovers in three consecutive games for the first time since at least the 1978-79 season and first time at the NCAA Division I level. BU is third in the MVC in turnovers per game (14.9) and has averaged 13.2 turnovers per outing at Renaissance Coliseum. Bradley is 7-2 on the year when turnovers are tied or BU has an advantage and 11-3 over the last 14 such games dating back to last season with two of the losses against Southern Illinois. Under head coach Andrea Gorski the Braves are 12-6 when at least matching the opponents' turnover total.
Freshman Gabi Haack has continued her hot shooting, making 3-of-5 three-point attempts Friday against Southern Illinois and has hit at least one three-pointer in seven consecutive games. The only player to rank among the top 15 in the MVC in rebounding (12^th – 5.5 per game) and top 10 in three-point field goal percentage (6^th – 39.7 percent), Haack has started the last five games and settled into her new role. As a starter, she is averaging 12.6 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game, while shooting 50 percent from the field and 15-for-30 (50 percent) from three-point range. Haack's 27 three-pointers rank fifth among Bradley freshman marks and she needs seven triples for the third-best freshman total in school history.
Senior Anneke Schlueter helped lead Bradley's comeback attempt in Friday's outing vs. Southern Illinois with 14 points and three steals off the bench. Schlueter hit a pair of three-pointers against the Salukis and now has the most career three-pointers (70) in Renaissance Coliseum, breaking a tie with Katie Yohn. Schlueter enters Sunday's matchup with Missouri State 13 points from 900 in her career and is 19 points from passing former teammate Leti Lerma for 23^rd on Bradley's career scoring list. Schlueter is also closing in on becoming the all-time leading scorer in Renaissance Coliseum history, needing 27 points to break Lerma's facility record of 480 points.

Bradley will follow up Sunday's home game by hitting the road for a game at Indiana State Friday, Jan. 19. The Braves and Sycamores will tip things off in Terre Haute, Ind., at 6 p.m. (CST).

Print Friendly Version