Sometimes, you need to take a step back to decide how to move forward.
That’s what Bradley women’s basketball (10-15, 4-10 MVC) learned as they concluded their four-game road trip over the weekend, traveling to Evansville (6-19, 2-12 MVC) and Indiana State (4-21, 2-12 MVC).
The Braves hosted the Purple Aces and Sycamores in early January, winning both games to kick off the new year. Traveling on the road, especially in the MVC, can present challenges to any team, which showed in Bradley’s matchup at Evansville on Thursday.
Turnovers haunt the Braves
The Braves entered halftime with a one-point lead after playing strong defense in the first half, but their offensive struggles hurt them severely after the break as they turned the ball over 27 times and only scored 21 points in the second half.
The Purple Aces scored 19 points in the fourth quarter alone, securing a 55-45 win in their second conference win of the season.
“You cannot turn the ball over 27 times in a collegiate basketball game and expect to win,” head coach Kate Popovec-Goss said. “Not only did they play well, but I think we gave them opportunities. In the first game, we struggled offensively a little but we were able to take care of the basketball and ride it out.”
Senior guard Soleil Barnes led Bradley with 16 points against Evansville. Freshman forward Ellie McDermid scored her second double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
“I think it was more of a lesson than a loss for us,” Barnes said. “I think we needed to come together as a team and evaluate some things, and I think our response to the last game was a good response from everybody.”
Get-right game
The Braves entered their final game of the road trip against Indiana State, looking to apply the lessons they learned and end what had become a three-game losing streak.
The game was back and forth from the start, as Bradley jumped out to a 6-1 lead before the Sycamores went on an 8-0 run to jump ahead. Trailing 18-13, the Braves went on a 9-0 run to retake the lead, only losing it twice for the remainder of the game.
“I think we bounced back really nicely at Indiana State,” Popovec-Goss said. “I don’t care who you’re playing, winning on the road is hard. And so for us to be able to rally after such a challenging loss, to be able to take some ownership and accountability and address the issues and fix them was great.”
“[Barnes] was absolutely correct in what she said, it was a lesson,” Popovec-Goss added. “We learned from it and now we just have to keep building on that.”
Though Barnes led the team again with 11 points, Bradley’s scoring against the Sycamores was very balanced. McDermid, sophomore guard-forward Claire McDougall and senior guard-forward Kaylen Nelson each scored nine points.
Senior guard Ruba Abo Hashesh led the team off the bench with eight points. Junior forward Amy O’Hara, in her first start since returning from injury, led the team with eight rebounds, four assists and three blocks, as well as providing six points.
The Braves will begin a four-game homestand on Thursday when they host Murray State in their only matchup against the Racers this season. Tip-off is at 6 p.m. at the Renaissance Coliseum as Bradley attempts to take down one of the top teams in the Valley.
