Deep in the heart of Texas, Kaboom! has a dance partner in Bevo as the Bradley women’s basketball team prepares to play in its first-ever NCAA Tournament game. The Braves are a No. 11 seed and will play the No. 6 Longhorns in San Marcos tonight at 7 p.m.
The Braves arrive fresh off the first Missouri Valley Conference championship in school history after weathering a wild ride at Hoops in the Heartland. A 78-70 win over Drake on March 14 sealed what wound up being the culmination of five seasons of improvement under head coach Andrea Gorski.
As the Braves finished a 17-11 campaign with a conference title, Texas wound down an 18-9 season with a loss to Baylor in the second round of the Big 12 tournament. Led by all-world talent, the Longhorns will be looking to avenge the loss to the Bears against the upstart Braves.
Keep an eye on Texas standout Charli Collier, who is the likely top selection in next month’s WNBA draft. A centerpiece of any scouting report, the junior enters the big dance averaging just north of 20 points per game and nearly 12 rebounds per game. Collier’s season high in points came against North Texas on Nov. 29 when she dropped 44 in the Longhorns’ second win of the season and she collected a season-high 20 rebounds against TCU on Jan. 20.
The 6-foot-5-inch forward is effective from everywhere on the court, having averaged a double-double over the course of the last two seasons. She has connected on 13 of 41 attempts from beyond the three-point line this season but is far more effective from inside. An adept contact creator, her efforts have led to an 80 percent success rate on 176 free throw attempts this season.
Junior Joanne Allen-Taylor and sophomore Celeste Taylor are also key for the Longhorns. They both average just over 12 points per game and are second and fourth on the team in three-pointers taken, respectively.
For Bradley, two all-Missouri Valley Conference honorees in and senior Gabi Haack junior Lasha Petree jump off the page.
Haack, noted for her consistent play, was named the MVC tournament’s most outstanding player after leading the Braves to their first-ever conference title last weekend. She enters the tournament with an average of 16.5 points per game and is the team’s leading rebounder with 6.8 boards per game.
Petree was the Valley’s leading scorer this season and has averaged 17.5 points per game. An explosive scorer, Petree can make it happen from the paint and from three and is known for her defensive efforts as well – her 58 blocks and 40 steals are easily good for the best on the team in both marks.
Against Collier, the Braves will need to control the low post. Bradley can cast a wide net in the low post with the likes of seniors Emily Marsh and Uche Ufochukwu, sophomore Veronika Roberts and freshmen Tete Danso and Isis Fitch all available as options down low. Of that quintet, Marsh, Danso and Ufochukwu have played the largest roles this season, with Marsh’s 5.3 rebounds per game and 23 blocks second on the team in both categories.
Bradley will also get post production from its guards. Haack is the team’s leading rebounder and won’t be afraid to attack against high-caliber opposition. Lasha Petree has showcased her ability to impact shots and senior Nyjah White can impact the post as well, entering with 5.2 rebounds per game and 37 steals.
Offensively, Bradley had success against Drake in the MVC title game from beyond the arc, finding fire quickly for seven first-half threes. If they can get back to that level output against Texas, they will certainly be in good shape.
But if they can’t? Moving the ball successfully to create open looks is paramount.
Ball movement was a point of contention for the Braves around the midpoint of MVC play; in a 66-54 loss to Illinois State in January, the Braves assisted on just four of 18 field goals. That performance stands as the exception and not the rule, and the duo of White and junior Tatum Koenig are adept at finding open teammates for quality looks.
White enters the NCAA tournament with 91 assists while Koenig is close behind with 86. Speaking of Koenig – who averages 7.6 points per game – she adds a dimension to the Bradley offense that may prove critical against the Horns as she is capable of attacking the basket and getting to the free throw line.
In a game as big as tonight’s, every trip to the charity stripe could be the deciding factor.
The Braves and Longhorns meet tonight at 7 p.m. on ESPN2. The winner will play the winner of the matchup between No. 3 UCLA and No. 14 Wyoming.
