Renaissance Coliseum opened its doors on Friday night for Bradley women’s basketball for the first time this regular season, sending fans home happy with a win.
It was a complete performance for the Braves against Northern Illinois, winning 71-65, outrebounding the Huskies 41-37 and holding them to one-for-19 from the arc.
“I was determined we were not walking out of here with an L today,” Bradley head coach Chaia Meier said. “We had a quick turnaround and had to scout them pretty quick. It was going to be a challenge, but I liked that my team had to adjust so quickly.”
Bradley finished the game with three double-digit scorers: freshman guard Alice Veilleux with 19, graduate forward Charia Smith with 15 and junior guard Inia Jones with 15.
The team fed off the loud RenCo environment they had looked forward to since the start of the offseason.
“Obviously, we were so excited to play on our home court after six months of training,” Veilleux said. “And we were really prepared for that game because we really wanted that win.”
Veilleux made the biggest impact on the game in the first quarter, racking up 10 points in the first 10 minutes. As a player who has been praised for her all-around defense, she’s proven to have a two-way side to her play.
“Honestly, I focus on defense, and I let offense come with it,” Veilleux said. “I get my steals, then I get my shots on offense. It always gives me energy and positive thoughts when I get a stop, and that gives me confidence for offense.”
Having watched Veilleux in practice for months, Coach Meier loves her defensive mindset, but she believes Friday was a massive step in the right direction for her aggressiveness on offense.
“We have been really pushing her to be aggressive,” Meier said. “She’s a natural scorer, a great one, and she takes great shots, but her heart is to be a playmaker first. So we’re just trying to push her out of that box, and I thought she let the game come to her today.”
By the time halftime rolled around, Bradley was up 34-23. The first seven minutes of the second quarter featured only nine points and a great defensive effort by both sides, but by the end, each team was significantly finding lanes to keep scoring.
“I really wanted us to ramp it up defensively,” Meier said. “I didn’t like our defensive energy to end the half, and I wanted them to get three stops in a row to start the half, because when we get stops, we can run, and we’re the best when we can run.”
The third quarter ended up being all about the new additions as Smith put up eight of her 15 while Veilleux added another six. Coach Meier praised the Marquette transfer on her debut at RenCo, knowing exactly what to expect out of Smith after coaching her for two years up in Wisconsin.
“I have a special relationship with her,” Meier said. “She’s one of the hardest workers I’ve ever coached, and it didn’t always translate to getting playing time at Marquette just because she played behind two All-Big East post players. So to see her thrive here, I’m excited to watch her grow.”
Northern Illinois launched comeback effort after comeback effort in the fourth quarter, but Bradley continued to put a stop to each one relatively quickly,
“I saw Coach had a little competitive side there [during our timeouts],” Veilleux said. “I think we really had to focus on our game plan and with them only scoring one three, we had to get back a little, give them space and make sure they didn’t go to the rim as much, and quit fouling because that really hurt us at one point.”
It’s right back into the flames for the Braves as they take on a Big Ten program for the second time this year in Indiana. Coach Meier believes it’s one of their toughest challenges yet, but she knows the team is ready to bring their all against the Hoosiers.
“We’ve played two different styles completely, and I think Indiana is going to be the best of the three teams we’ve played and we’re going to be doing it on some tired legs,” Meier said. “So I think my kids are going to have to bring their mind and we’re going to have to be resilient again. We’d love to win it, but I’d love to compete in it. They’ve done it so far, so maybe they’ll do it again.”
