The Bradley women’s basketball team split their two road games this past weekend, defeating Wichita State and falling to Missouri State.
Hampered by poor free throw shooting, the Braves were able to pull out a 55-50 win at Wichita State by executing in every other aspect down the stretch. Sophomore foward Tamya Sims had a double-double for Bradley, scoring 14 points and grabbing 10 rebounds, while the bench outscored the Shockers bench 22-5.
“For us it’s not just five people who can contribute,” head coach Michael Brooks said. “When we get advantages [off the bench], those are some big positive things that we’ve got to be able to grow on because it’s something that we were missing for part of the season.”
On Sunday, the Braves played at Missouri State and held a 15-point lead at the half, but struggled offensively in the second half.
After leading most of the way, the Braves went cold, going 0-for-6 with three turnovers in a stretch under the five minute mark that let the Bears cut the lead to just one. The teams traded free throws, but the Bears eventually grabbed a three point lead with five seconds left.
Braves forward Whitney Tinjum threw up a buzzer beater on the last play of the game, but it was just off the mark. The putback attempt was futile, and the Bears came out with the 59-56 win.
“We put ourselves in position to win,” Brooks said. “But we’ve got to be more disciplined when a team and a whole crowd get on a run like that in a big situation like that. We bailed them out, and that really hurt us.”
Bradley will return home this weekend for an important final homestand of the season to face Indiana State today and rival Illinois State on Sunday, both of whom enter this weekend just ahead of Bradley in the conference standings.
“These two final home games of the year are extremely important to our team,” Tinjum said. “If we win both of these games, it drastically increases our chances of moving up in the rankings and securing us a higher seed for conference playoffs.”
Tonight’s game against Indiana State also takes on a greater meaning because it’s the Play 4 Kay Game, which supports the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. Kay Yow was the former North Carolina women’s basketball coach who passed away in 2009 after a long battle with breast cancer. This charitable organization partners with the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association and is committed to raising funds to fight breast cancer.
“So many men and women have battled for their life against cancer,” Tinjum said. “Tonight we have the privilege of honoring their fight and memory while we play the game we love.”
The Braves will play their senior night game this Sunday against Illinois State at 2 p.m.
