Coming off of an emphatic fourth-quarter comeback against Missouri Baptist, Bradley women’s basketball battled back against Kansas City Tuesday morning, eventually falling in overtime 71-68.
The Braves trailed for a majority of the first 3 quarters and entered the fourth quarter down 53-41. On the brink of another loss, the Braves rallied in the fourth quarter, forcing five turnovers and holding Kansas City to 3 of 14 shooting in the final period. In addition to the impressive defense, the Braves clicked on offense, shooting a blistering 61 percent from the field and outscoring the Roos 18-6. For the first time in the game, Bradley was able to win the rebound battle as well.
A layup with 28 seconds left from sophomore guard Alex Rouse tied the game 59 all and sent the Braves to their first overtime game in over three years.
The extra period left nothing to be desired, as both teams battled each other in relentless fashion. Kansas City’s Sanna’ St. Andre had her way for the Roos throughout OT, starting the period with a pull-up jumper and a hard drive to the basket to put the visitors up 63-59.
However, the Braves battled back, taking a 67-65 lead with 2:01 left after buckets from junior Isis Fitch and sophomore Caroline Waite. The Roos responded with a basket of their own to tie the game at 67. The Braves’ last bucket would be on a free throw from junior Ruba Abo Hashesh to take the lead 68-67 with under a minute to go.
Two free throws gave Kansas City the lead 69-68, which they never relinquished as they took the game 71-68.
“I was really proud of their fight. This game could’ve gone a lot of different directions,” head coach Popovec-Goss said. “At one point we were down 12, and we scratched and clawed and did everything we needed to do to get back into this game and force it to OT.”
Kansas City dominated the glass in the early going, which allowed them to get out to a 17-8 lead late in the first quarter. Consecutive jumpers from juniors Daijia Powell and Ruba Abo Hashesh allowed the Braves to trim the deficit to 17-13 after one period.
The Roos’ domination on the glass carried over into the second quarter, as eight of their 19 points came from second-chance points. The Braves’ failure to crash the boards led to a 36-26 deficit at the half.
“We had to find ways to rebound. I don’t feel like we did a great job of that,” Popovec-Goss said. “We’ve just got to find ways to scratch and claw and get them off the glass. It’s really deflating when you get a stop and you give up an offensive rebound.”
Popovec-Goss also used the break to notify her squad that their efforts on the defensive end would need to be strengthened in order to make a run in the second half.
“We talked a lot about our defensive intensity,” Popovec-Goss said. “The big focus of the scout was [E’lease Stafford] and [St. Andre]. They had 21 combined points at halftime.”
The third quarter was much more competitive and although the Braves continued to struggle on defense, they were able to get significant offensive production from Rouse and Abo Hashesh. Rouse poured in six points while Abo Hashesh added four assists in the quarter.
Even with the support on the offensive side, each time the Braves attempted to chip into the lead Kansas City countered with big shots. The Roos shot 53 percent from the field while also dominating the glass 10-5. Going into the fourth, the Roos already had three scorers in double figures and led 53-41.
Bradley finished with four players in double digits (Abo Hashesh, Rouse, Waite, Powell). Abo Hashesh led the quartet with 18 points and nine assists, which were career highs in both categories.
“My mentality was trying to help the team in any way possible, whether that’s scoring or setting my teammates up,” Abo Hashesh said.
Abo Hashesh started the season with 11 turnovers versus Missouri, but ever since the guard has hit her stride and Popovec-Goss has seen that growth.
“I was really proud of Ruba,” Popovec-Goss said. “She’s tremendously competitive and she’s a really versatile player. She’s a great defender, and offensively she can score in a lot of different ways. I think her confidence is growing.”
The Braves continue their season this Saturday, Dec. 3 against Loyola Chicago.
