It was a shootout from start to finish, but despite Bradley (4-17) fighting to win their second game in a row, they fell short on the road at Valparaiso (7-15) by a score of 86-84.
The game featured 23 made 3-pointers – 12 for Bradley and 11 for Valparaiso– but the hot shooting from the perimeter seemed to not be enough for the Braves to squeak one out on the road.
WHO:
Senior guards Tatum Koenig and Chloe Rice led the charge for the Braves, and both set new career highs in points with 27 and 14 respectively. Koenig’s 27 points led the Braves as a team, and her five assists were a team high as well.
Rice banked in two triples in the first quarter to score 11 right out of the gate, but would only score three more afterwards.
The Beacons were led by guard Grace White, whose 20 points before fouling out led the team, while guards Carie Weinman and Shay Frederick notched 19 and 17 points respectively.
WHAT:
The Braves showed positive signs from the team’s previous win versus Evansville, but struggled to keep up with the Beacons down the stretch in a game where points were aplenty.
Bradley shot 26-56 (46.4%) from the floor, including a 12-25 (48%) performance from the perimeter. While shots were falling for the Braves, an even bigger positive sign was the free throw shooting.
Entering the game, the Braves were ranked last in the Valley in free throw percentage but went 20-26 from the charity stripe this time around.
Additionally, Valparaiso shot 31-60 (51.7%) overall, with a clip of 11-30 (36.7%) from three. The switching and guard heavy lineup caused frantic decisions at times for the young Braves.
WHERE:
The Braves couldn’t continue their previous success against Valparaiso this time around. DespiteThursday’s loss, Bradley continues to lead the all-time series 12-5 with a 6-4 record on the road.
WHEN:
The Braves started out by doubling up the Beacons on some quick-trigger 3s from freshman Caroline Waite and Rice. That lead would shrink down gradually, but would cause the host Beacons to trail at halftime by a score of 46-44.
Starting the third quarter much like the first, the Braves sprayed some early shots from all over the court to increase their lead momentarily. Teams would trade shots on both ends until frustration began to visibly settle in on the visitor sideline after some high-pressure calls went the Beacons way.
WHY:
Koenig on the career highs for her and Rice: “Me and Chloe have been working hard at the gym and practice lately and just being leaders. I think tonight was a night where we really knew the game plan. I’m so proud of Chloe, she has been really working her tail off lately and she hit some big shots for us today.”
Koenig on the Evansville win leading to the good start tonight: “It definitely gave us some momentum to start this game, our confidence was high and I think that helped us hit shots and helped us bring our focus today. I think we played well and that we’re going to play well off of this.”
Head coach Andrea Gorski on the deciding factor tonight: “I think it was things that were outside our control tonight. I thought we deserved to win this game; we played hard enough. We could’ve moved our feet better with how the game was called. I’m really sad for the kids in the locker room because we deserved to win this game today.”
Gorski on knocking down twelve threes against the guard-heavy Beacons: “I’m shocked we got that many threes off of them because they switch and deny everything so usually the perimeter is always tough. This is the best offense we’ve ever ran against Valpo. Our kids really bought the game plan, and they penetrated and were aggressive, but they also paused a second and made a read.”
Gorski on the career highs from her seniors: “This is the time of the year where you really need your seniors to step up and play like seniors, and they have been. Chloe’s just playing with a lot more confidence right now, and Tatum’s just been playing out of her mind.”
