Bradley women’s basketball tipped off its regular season with a 70-32 victory over St. Francis on Thursday.
The Braves started slow on offense, scoring just 21 points in the first half. The team was able to create good looks but could not get them to fall. However, Bradley’s defense came to play. The Braves communicated well, closed out on shot attempts and ended possessions with rebounds.
The Braves stout defense held the Fighting Saints to 11 points.
“Our defense was incredible,” head coach Kate Popovec-Goss said. “If we defend like that, our offense will come along. So, for me, I was actually really pleased with the start of the game.”
After halftime, Bradley’s offense exploded, going on a 28-10 run in the third quarter. The defense remained strong by utilizing a full-court press to help create turnovers and win the ball back.
“She [Popovec-Goss] came into the locker room and said, ‘Guys, put it in the basket,” guard Soleil Barnes said. “We wanted to show her that we can play defense first. So that was our mindset, play good defense and also put it in the basket.”
Barnes led the team with 15 points while contributing five rebounds, five assists and four steals. Tamia Perryman was second on the team with 12 points, and Kaylen Nelson and Mariam Coulibaly each contributed eight points.
“We’re a brand new team offensively,” Popovec-Goss said. “I think our identity is going to come together. But I thought that Soleil Barnes’ experience really showed early because she’s been in these moments before and she was ready to go get a bucket, and you need that at times.”
“I didn’t think our offensive performance was coming from lack of effort,” Popovec-Goss added. “I think it was just coming from those first game jitters. Ollie Goss is one of my assistants. He calls our offense, and I think he drew up a really great play to generate some easy offense early in the second half and that really got things going.”
The Braves will be back in action on Tuesday when they travel to Lindenwood to take on the Lions in their first road game of the season. They’ll be looking to build on the momentum they gained in the second half as they head into a new environment.
“Just continue to play our game and continue to play at our pace,” Barnes said. “Let us dictate and know what our current goal is.”
Popovec-Goss knows she has players to lean on as they approach the challenge of playing away from home.
“That second half should give us a lot of confidence,” Popovec-Goss said. “Going on the road is never easy, especially with a new team. We do have some veterans who have been in these environments.”
“I trust Soleil, she’s been in really hostile road environments,” Popovec-Goss added. “Kaylen Nelson, I trust her experience. We saw in the second half from Ruba [Abo Hashesh] exactly who she is, a defensive menace. I’m excited to see what we can do.”
