Still seeking their first Missouri Valley Conference win, the Bradley Braves women’s basketball team (3-25, 0-17 MVC) battled back late against Valparaiso (7-19, 5-12 MVC) but could not pull out the win Thursday night despite a career night from senior captain Veronika Roberts.
After the 76-72 loss, Braves’ head coach Kate Popovec-Goss commented on how impactful Roberts has been throughout the season, despite limited playing time.
“I pulled [Veronika Roberts] into my office a few weeks ago and told her, ‘Hey Ronnie, we’re going to need you,’” Popovec-Goss said. “‘Always stay ready for your moment.’ What Ronnie does often doesn’t show up in the stat sheet. She plays her role, she’s happy to help her team, and she plays really hard. I thought tonight she was a tremendous spark of energy for us.”
When the moment came for the veteran to step up, she did not disappoint. The forward had arguably the best game of her career, finishing with a career-high in points (14), assists (3), and steals (3). Roberts did not miss a shot the entire game, shooting 6-6, and providing some much-needed leadership and energy off the bench.
Roberts is a captain for the Braves, and her teammates recognize her as a leader as so. Sophomore guard Alex Rouse spoke on her ability to galvanize the troops when the team was struggling.
“She really led us,” Rouse said. “Everybody was down, and she kept telling us to keep fighting.”
The first quarter can be described as nothing short of competitive. The frame saw eight lead changes and three ties. Both teams started the game with energy and effort. The Braves did a good job of contesting shots, forcing the Beacons (6th in the MVC in 3-point percentage) to go 1-6 from behind the arc.
The difference in the first quarter, and throughout the game was free-throw shooting. Bradley sent Valparaiso to the line five times in the first quarter, which allowed them to mitigate the effects of the bad shooting. The Beacons led after the first one 16-15.
In the second quarter, Bradley struggled on both ends which allowed the visitors to grow a sizable lead. Valparaiso did a great job moving the ball and finding holes in Popovec-Goss’s patented match defense. The Beacons struggles behind the arc didn’t translate over as they shot 4-8 in the second period.
On the offensive side of the ball, Bradley could not find much rhythm. The Braves settled for contested shots and did not look to the post where they had a noticeable size advantage.
After shooting 2-7 and committing four turnovers through seven minutes, Popovec-Goss made a lineup change.
Subbing in sophomore guards Katy Wade and Nika Dorsey, as well as Roberts, the new look created instant impact. Roberts picked up two steals and four quick points, including an and-1, that got the entire bench off their feet. The play from the bench unit allowed Bradley to cut the deficit to 10, trailing 33-23 as they entered the break.
“I felt like that group played with tremendous defensive energy,” Popovec-Goss said. “I thought they played really hard and gave us a spark when we needed it.”
Popovec-Goss stuck with the lineup to open the third quarter, and it worked to an extent. The Braves got good offensive production from the lineup, shooting 4-6 to start the frame, but gave up plenty of baskets on the defensive end. Time after time, the Beacons guards drove to the baseline and forced Bradley’s defenders to rotate to the paint. The Braves couldn’t rotate fast enough and left the weak side open for triples and layups.
“I think I should’ve adjusted what we were doing defensively a little bit earlier as a coach,” Popovec-Goss said. “I think we were a little worn down. We were not rotating to our coverages as quickly as we should’ve.”
Despite playing well on the offensive end, Bradley found themselves down 16 going into the final quarter.
The Braves mixed defensive intensity, with a focus on offense in an attempt to win their first conference game of the season. Sophomore guard, and reigning MVC Freshman of the year, Caroline Waite was able to get hot in the fourth after struggling for most of the game.
“I thought that she played really aggressively when we got her back in the game,” Popovec-Goss said. “I was really proud of her. It’s not easy to do when you see as many defensive schemes as Caroline does. To see her come in and play with resiliency and poise was great.”
Waite had eight points in the fourth, to help Bradley comeback, but the climb was a team effort. The Braves got production from everyone who stepped on the court and outscored the Beacons 34-25 in the fourth.
Valparaiso played on their heels for much of the quarter but had time on their side. Down the stretch, their best players stepped up and made tough buckets. With just 22 seconds left, junior forward Leah Earnest drove past junior forward Isis Fitch and completed a layup to effectively seal the game.
Despite the loss, Popovec-Goss was proud of her team’s effort and resilience, but continued to stress the need for four quarters of consistency.
“Down the stretch, we played great,” Popovec-Goss said. “Unfortunately we didn’t always play with that effort and intensity throughout the course of the game. That’s something we have to learn. We have to play that hard for 40 minutes. The one thing I love about our team is that we easily could’ve folded, but somehow they scratched and clawed. If that game was one minute longer I think the outcome would’ve been different.”
The Braves get another crack at it against Illinois-Chicago in Renaissance Coliseum today. Along with senior night honors for Roberts, the game is being tagged as the ‘Be Bold, Go Gold’ game in honor of pediatric cancer awareness.
