Bradley women’s basketball ended its dream run to the NCAA Tournament with an 81-62 loss to No. 6 Texas on Monday night. Pride was the common theme after the end of a journey that saw the first Missouri Valley Conference tournament championship in program history.
“No one’s worked harder than us, both in the classroom and out on the floor,” Bradley head coach Andrea Gorski said. “I’m proud to be the coach of this team. I’m proud of our staff who’ve put so many hours into building this program.”
Lasha Petree led the MVC in scoring during the regular season and such was evident against the Longhorns, as the Braves junior poured in a season-high 33 points to lead all scorers.
“Every time we felt like we were coming back, they made big shots, and we couldn’t do it,” Petree said. “I feel like we fought hard though, we never gave up. At any point in the game. They’re a really good team. I’m really proud of my teammates and how they handled this.”
The Braves got out to a solid start and swapped baskets with the Longhorns for much of the matchup’s early stages. Just before the midway mark of the first quarter, Bradley had pulled out to a 7-6 advantage.
Early success for the Braves soon gave way to a run for Texas, one that would set the tone for the rest of the contest. The Longhorns took a 9-7 lead on an Audrey Warren three-pointer and never looked back, mounting a 24-4 stretch that built a 30-11 lead. The Braves chipped away throughout the game but the deficit proved to be insurmountable.
“We got off to a slow start on the offensive end, turned the ball over early,” Gorski said. “You know, the first quarter really hurt us … hats off to Texas, they made the open shots when they needed to … I think they got off to the start they needed to and just took us a little too long to settle down.”
Charli Collier, who the WNBA’s Dallas Wings will likely select with the first pick in next month’s draft, finished with 23 points to lead Texas. She missed the last four minutes of the first half and appeared to walk gingerly to the locker room at halftime, but returned to post a strong second half. Junior Audrey Warren was close behind with 19 points on 6-16 shooting.
Emotions were high leading up, during and after the game for the Braves. Especially so for Petree, who suited up alongside her sister Mahri Petree to bring family ties to the floor at the University Events Center.
“That’s literally what we’ve dreamed about doing since we were kids and our older sister and little brothers in the crowd watching, thank God. Our mom was there too. It was just a feeling that I can’t explain,” Petree said.
With the season now over, the future lies ahead.
“Once you get a taste of something, and you like it, you’re gonna work hard to get back there,” Gorski said. “I told them that you got a taste of it. And it’s now don’t let anyone deny you from coming back. Don’t let anyone deny you from winning a conference championship. Now you know what it takes.”
Texas will play the winner of UCLA and Wyoming on Wednesday.
