It’s postseason time for women’s basketball in the Valley.
Bradley (13-18, 7-13 MVC) concluded their regular season over the weekend, splitting a road trip against Southern Illinois (4-25, 2-18 MVC) and Missouri State (24-7, 16-4 MVC).
The Braves played some of their best basketball of the season in their final two games despite facing some adversity, and have cause for optimism heading into the conference tournament.
Sweeping the Salukis
Bradley began its road trip at Southern Illinois. On Feb. 2, when the two sides met in Peoria, the Braves won 68-46, snapping a six-game losing streak.
Bradley got off to a quick start in the second matchup against the Salukis, beginning the game on a 9-0 run and led 21-11 after the first quarter.
“We’ve been talking about throwing the first punch in the first quarter, just trying to jump out and take the lead,” senior guard Kaylen Nelson said. “Showing the teams that we’re here and that we’re meant to stay. That’s going to be a very key factor going forward.”
A strong second quarter from Southern Illinois brought the game to within two points at halftime, and they even took the lead at one point in the third quarter. After a crucial three-pointer from senior guard Soleil Barnes, the Braves took over and led by eight going into the final quarter. The Salukis cut the deficit to as low as four, but in the end, Bradley was able to hold on for a 59-51 victory.
The Braves limited Southern Illinois on the boards, primarily due to a strong performance from junior forward Amy O’Hara, who had a career-high 13 rebounds going up against one of the best rebounders in the country in Salukis junior forward Gift Uchenna.
“That’s always something we look at in terms of what we want to do when we control a game,” head coach Kate Popovec-Goss said. “We’ve been rebounding really well in the season, and rebounding becomes even more important because teams typically aren’t as productive on the road. So controlling the controllables helped us a lot.”
Barnes led Bradley in scoring with a 20-point performance, the third time in her last four games that she reached that mark. Freshman forward Ellie McDermid scored ten points as the only other double-digit point scorer for the Braves.
Battle with the Bears
Heading into the game against Missouri State, Bradley had a chance to play spoiler. If the Braves could pull off the upset, Murray State would win the regular season conference title outright over the Bears. If Missouri State won, they would split the regular season title with the Racers.
It would be a challenge for Bradley though, as Barnes would miss this game with a lower back injury and battling illness in the locker room.
“There was every odds stacked against us,” Nelson said. “We just went in there and we said that we’re going to compete, we got nothing to lose. We might as well prove to everybody here that we’re meant to be here, we’re meant to be in this arena.”
Despite all the adversity against them, the Braves came out hot again, taking an early 7-1 lead. The Bears responded with an 8-0 run to regain the lead. The teams battled the rest of the quarter, with Missouri State leading by three at the end of the period.
The two teams continued to trade baskets in the second quarter, with the Bears entering halftime with a 33-29 lead.
Though Bradley ultimately could not get the lead in the second half, as Missouri State went on to secure a 64-54 win, there were a lot of positives the Braves can take going into the conference tournament. The lead never grew more than 10, and they were in the game until the end.
“I think we took care of the basketball and rebounded really well in that game,” Popovec-Goss said. “We just couldn’t score enough. We forced Missouri State to have to beat us, and I think that was a really important thing and our kids gained a lot of confidence not just from that game, but our overall performances these past three weeks. We’re starting to find our rhythm.”
Nelson was tied for the lead in scoring for Bradley with 11 points. Senior guard Tamia Perryman also had 11 points off the bench, and sophomore guard-forward Claire McDougall scored 10 points for the Braves.
Conference Tournament Preview
Bradley closes out the regular season with a 7-13 record in conference play, earning them the nine seed for the conference tournament. Their opponent for their first game will be the eighth-seeded Valparaiso, whom the Braves went 0-2 in the regular season.
Bradley ended the season with the top-ranked defense in the conference, allowing opponents just 59.6 points per game. The Beacons finished with the ninth ranked offense in the conference scoring 64.3 points per game.
