photo via Scout Archives
The 2016-2017 Bradley women’s basketball season tipped off this weekend as the Braves won their only exhibition game on the schedule over the University of Missouri-St. Louis, 62-45.
For Bradley, it was Andrea Gorski’s debut as the head coach for the Braves, and it started off on the right foot. The defense held UMSL to 26.3 percent shooting from the field, while only giving up four fast break points.
“I thought for the most part our transition defense was pretty solid, so we didn’t give up any easy layups,” Gorski said. “We had some good help-side defense where we were able to slide over and take a charge. So I think when you do that against an offense, it slows them down and makes them second-guess a bit. We still gave a lot of open shots that they just missed, so I think we have to get stingier on defense.”
Bradley’s one big problem was limiting turnovers. Although it didn’t come back to bite them this game, the Braves turned the ball over 19 times. Gorski said she wants her players to push the tempo, which she realizes will lead to a few extra turnovers. It’s the ones in the half-court that she said she knows needs to be cut down.
“It’s the unforced ones that we need to avoid,” Gorski said. “The ones where our spacing isn’t great. We’re trying to cram the ball in somewhere where there’s just not enough room. I thought most of those were spacing turnovers, and we just have to do a better job of spacing the floor, especially in transition.”
As far as the offensive side of the ball is concerned, senior Leti Lerma had a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Lerma is the only senior on the roster and will be expected to carry a lot of offensive weight this year. The role Lerma will play on the team this season will be a significant one as far as getting the ball out in transition and feeding the ball down low.
“[Lerma] is perfect for our style of play,” Gorski said. “She can run rim-to-rim real hard, so if the 3s, 4s and 5s aren’t getting back on defense, then she’s going to make them pay. She’s not as big as other posts, but she’s quicker … We like to go inside a lot, so obviously our post game is really important. That’s going to suit her well because she’s aggressive.”
The Braves open their regular season this weekend at Kent State tonight and at Butler Sunday afternoon.
“We just have to cut down on the turnovers,” Gorski said. “We’re anticipating a defensive battle this weekend. We have to make shots on the road, and something that we’ve been pressing on [the players] is rebounding … I think it’s just following the game plan and not having nerves because it’s our first game. We’re looking forward to it.”
