When a basketball program reaches over 20 losses for a third consecutive season in the second year of a rebuild, there would seem to be little cause for optimism.
With losses to Illinois State (18-8,11-5 MVC) and Indiana State (10-16, 6-10 MVC), the Bradley women’s basketball team has reached that mark again.
Despite the Braves’ struggles, there is still hope.
Halli hope
Throughout the chaos of losing their head coach for 10 games and five rotation players to injury, hope has come in the form of freshman guard Halli Poock.
After struggling against the Redbirds, Poock poured in 27 points on Sunday against the Sycamores. Poock has scored 25 or more points thrice this season and has already made her mark in Bradley’s record books. With four games left in the regular season, Poock ranks third in points for a first-year player and sixth in points and assists.
“She’s only a freshman, but she’s got a mentality where she’s not afraid,” head coach Kate Popovec-Goss said. “She’s fearless. She plays with moxie and is not afraid to take big shots. I think that’s what makes her a prolific player.”
Battle of I-74
The Braves (6-21, 2-14 MVC) faced Illinois State on Feb. 22 on PIA night. Bradley debuted their red PIA uniforms but continued the ongoing theme of slow starts versus the Redbirds. The Braves struggled to knock down shots and communicate on defense, which led to a 24-9 deficit after the first quarter.
“I think sometimes we don’t come out with the best intensity,” Poock said. “I feel like it starts with our defense. I think the biggest thing to limit that first-quarter lapse is locking in on the defensive side. We have to know our offense will come with increased defensive intensity.”
Bradley played a lot of zone against ISU to limit graduate student Deanna Wilson and force the Redbirds to knock down outside shots. In theory, that game plan is sound. Wilson scored 26 points against the Braves in the first matchup this season and is en route to another All-MVC team.
Unfortunately for Bradley, the Redbirds capitalized on open three-point looks and went 6-10 in the quarter.
“We had a lot of success with a zone in the first game,” Popovec-Goss said. “Playing zone was designed to try to protect the paint a little bit. Unfortunately, it’s tough to take out Deanna Wilson. I think she’ll be a top two or three contender for player of the year in the conference.”
The Braves couldn’t mount a comeback and lost the game 68-50. The slow start looks worse, considering how well the Braves played in the second and third frames. Bradley limited ISU to 32% from the field and they were outscored by just three points.
Senior forward Isis Fitch led the way for the Braves, finishing with 11 points and 10 rebounds on 5-10 shooting.
“The hardest thing right now for us is we’re really digging ourselves into holes in the first quarter,” Popovec-Goss said. “Our stat sheets show that we play teams relatively close throughout the next three quarters. That’s something we must continue navigating and figuring out.”
“Good teams at the top of the league like Illinois State are not going to let you mount huge comebacks,” Popovec-Goss added. “They won’t let you string together big enough runs. Overall, I was pleased with our team’s effort throughout the last three quarters.”
Alumni weekend
On Sunday, the Braves faced Indiana State in a much more competitive game in front of former program alumni. Indiana State dominated the first quarter, outscoring Bradley 17-9. All signs pointed to another blowout loss for the Braves, but in the second quarter, the tables turned.
After shooting 3-14 in the first frame, Bradley got hot and outscored the Sycamores 27-20 in the second. Poock dominated, scoring 14 of her 27 in the second period.
“I wasn’t shooting my best, but I felt the juices flowing,” Poock said. “I got amped up. Pop[ovec-Goss] was fired [up], so it got me fired up.”
“I think early in the game, they were trying to get into her,” Popovec-Goss added. “It made her mad. She was playing with a chip on her shoulder in the sense of, ‘You guys think that you can stop me, and I don’t think that you can’.”
Due to Poock’s explosion, Bradley went into halftime trailing by only one.
The third quarter was ultra-competitive. Both teams traded buckets until the Braves took their first lead, 45-44. However, the lead was short-lived, as Indiana State hit a three on the ensuing possession to regain control of the game. The Sycamores remained in control for the rest of the quarter and maintained a three-point lead going into the fourth quarter.
Down the stretch of the game, Bradley’s lack of experience showed.
The Braves turned the ball over four times in the first five minutes of the quarter, which resulted in eight points for Indiana State. The Sycamores lead ballooned to 12 with five minutes to go. Bradley made a late attempt to win the game, cutting the deficit to six, but it was in vain. Indiana State took the victory 76-74.
“We had untimely turnovers in the fourth quarter,” Popovec-Goss said. “The turnovers led to easy buckets for them. We have to have more offensive confidence. We lack offensive confidence and have to have more balanced scoring.”
“We couldn’t put the ball in the bucket down the stretch, and Indiana State could capitalize when we didn’t,” Popovec-Goss added.
“Part of it is just knowing we can win,” Poock said. “We’ve been in a lot of these situations where we haven’t won the games. Sometimes we are content with competing, but at the end of the day, we should be in games knowing that we can win.”
The Braves are back in action on the road today versus Missouri State.
