Bradley women’s basketball (11-16, 5-11 MVC) kicked off a four-game homestand over the weekend, taking on Murray State (18-7, 12-4 MVC) and rival Illinois State (17-10, 11-5 MVC).
It was a tale of two games at the Renaissance Coliseum, and the contests couldn’t have been more different.
No match for the Racers
The Braves’ game against the Racers on Thursday was the only regular-season meeting between the two teams this season. Last year, Murray State won all three games against Bradley, the first two in the regular season and the final game in the MVC tournament.
It was more of the same in this year’s matchup.
The Braves started the game with a 12-8 lead, but early cracks showed as the team struggled to control possession against the Racer’s full-court press.
Murray State’s offense, which led the conference entering the contest with 87.7 points per game, eventually took control and scored multiple runs, including a 19-0 run in the first half and an 8-0 run after halftime.
Bradley struggled to contain Racers senior forward Katelyn Young, who entered the game 14th in the country in scoring averaging 21 points per game. She scored 28 points in Murray State’s 81-55 victory, 17 of which came in the first half.
The Braves were led in scoring by senior guard-forward Tamia Perryman, who scored 16 points. She was Bradley’s only double-digit point scorer, with the next closest being junior forward Amy O’Hara with nine points. O’Hara also led the team with five rebounds.
“I told them after that we still have to trust the process,” head coach Kate Popovec-Goss said. “We need to continue to stay positive and continue to stay confident in who we are. We need to keep moving forward and getting better.”
Rival rematch
Entering Sunday’s matchup, the Braves had lost nine games in a row in the I-74 rivalry to Illinois State. That included a 74-58 loss to the Redbirds in Bloomington on Jan. 26.
This time, things were different for Bradley.
Illinois State began the game with a 9-0 run, forcing the Braves to take a timeout just 1:35 into the contest. The Redbirds eventually increased their lead to 12-3, and then the game took a turn.
Bradley began to score, and they scored fast. The Braves went on an 18-0 run to take the lead, and they eventually made that run 25-4 to end the quarter leading 28-16. It matched their highest point total in a quarter this season.
“It was our defense that made that run,” senior guard Soleil Barnes said. “We got defensive momentum, we started getting stops and we remained confident. We knew we could make the shots that we were getting, and we just hit them.”
Barnes had a career day against Illinois State. She scored 30 points, becoming the first Brave to reach that mark this season. She also contributed three rebounds and four assists.
“The biggest thing about Soleil [Barnes] is her toughness,” Popovec-Goss said. “She hasn’t had a particularly great stretch these past few games, but I told her that I’m still riding with her because I trust her, and I knew this kind of performance was coming.”
The Redbirds cut into the lead in the second quarter, entering halftime trailing by only six points. Coming into the second half though, Bradley held Illinois State to just eight points in the third quarter thanks to their stellar defense, which entered the game as the best in the MVC.
“We won on the heels of our defense,” Popovec-Goss said. “Everyone was playing great defense. Soleil specifically is someone who I don’t think gets a lot of credit for her defense. She was really good on Elyse Knudson, who is a really, really good playmaker and gave us a challenge in our first game against them.”
In the Braves’ first matchup against the Redbirds, Knudson scored 20 points and was the key leader to their victory.
On Sunday, Knudson was held to just 10 points. Despite being Bradley’s highest scorer, Barnes took the matchup.
“When I play good defense, my offense responds,” Barnes said. “It came down to just being that defensive team we’ve been all year. This was our biggest game, and we owed them.”
Snapping the streak
The fourth quarter saw some of Bradley’s most entertaining basketball this year. After extending their lead to 10, Illinois State went on a 9-0 run to cut the lead to just one. Freshman forward Ellie McDermid hit a clutch three-point shot for the Braves, and the team began trading buckets.
It felt like one major bucket would change the entire course of the game. That moment came after the Redbirds took a 59-58 lead, their first lead since the first quarter.
Senior guard Kaylen Nelson responded on the next possession with a clutch three-point shot to get the lead right back for Bradley, which they never surrendered.
“I was almost in tears for [Nelson],” Popovec-Goss said. “It’s been a little up and down this year coming off her ACL. She stayed steady, she stayed confident, and she deserved to make that shot. She wants the big moments, and she showed us that today.”
After a crucial rebound on the next possession from O’Hara, the game clock passed under 30 seconds, and Illinois State was forced to begin fouling. The Braves went nine-for-10 from the free throw line, closing the game out with a 70-65 victory. The win marks the first conference victory for Bradley against a team with a winning record in the Valley.
“A lot of the narrative around us is we’re right there,” Popovec-Goss said. “We’ve been a team that has really competed for the majority of the season. It felt really good to get this one, but it’s always a little extra special to win that battle on 74.”
The Braves will continue their homestand this weekend as they host Valparaiso on Thursday and Illinois-Chicago on Saturday, with the latter being the final home game for Bradley this season. The Braves are looking for redemption, as they lost to those two teams earlier in the season.
“We owe these next two teams,” Barnes said. “They’re here in our gym so we have to play confident and know that when you come to our gym, we’ll make it tough. Don’t count us out.”
Tip-off for Bradley’s matchup against the Beacons is at 6 p.m. from the Renaissance Coliseum.
