For the first time this season, Bradley women’s basketball took the team bus, facing IU Indy and Western Illinois on Saturday and Thursday, respectively.
Last season, the Braves hosted the Jaguars at Renaissance Coliseum and won 72-49. This time around, they had to face their opponents at their own stadium — The Jungle.
Both teams struggled to score for the first two minutes until fifth-year guard-forward Kaylen Nelson got the first bucket of the game. From there, the lead was exchanged a couple of times throughout the first quarter, but IU Indy mostly held it, and by the end of the first ten minutes, they were up by five.
Nelson led the charge for the Braves with seven points in the first and junior guard-forward Claire McDougall followed close behind with four points.
Bradley improved on their 13 points from the first, scoring 16, including another eight points from Nelson. Thanks to a couple of short runs, the Braves were only down two by the time the halftime buzzer sounded.
Unfortunately for Bradley, IU Indy had some more tricks up its sleeve.
Despite being able to keep it close during the third quarter, the Braves let up 22 points to the Jaguars. Meanwhile, Bradley had 19, but the consistency in IU Indy’s offense was too much for their defense to handle.
The fourth quarter was pretty much the game as Bradley lost it 22-19, therefore losing the game by eight, 75-67. Nelson ended the game with 21 points, freshman guard Maya Foz used an impressive nine-point fourth quarter to score 18 and McDougall rounded out the double-digit scorers by adding 12 points.
After suffering this loss, Bradley faced another formidable opponent in undefeated Western Illinois. The Leathernecks defeated the Braves by 19 last year as part of their 5-1 start to the regular season and entered 2025 as strong contenders in the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC).
Western Illinois took an early 7-2 lead, but Bradley went on an impressive 9-0 run as the game was tied at 11 with five minutes played. Back-and-forth play between both teams led to the Braves leading after the first quarter, 17-16.
Nelson continued to bring the scoring attack for the Braves, grabbing eight points in the first quarter alone. The team also went four-for-eight from the field during the first ten minutes.
Once again, Bradley outscored Western Illinois in the second quarter, leading to a 38-32 score at halftime. Nelson and sophomore forward Ellie McDermid scored six each, making up for more than half of the Braves’ points that quarter.
However, the Leathernecks put up one of their best quarters of the season so far, scoring 30 points, including a nine-point run less than two minutes into the third. Bradley scored 17, but this offensive outburst from Western Illinois gave them a seven-point lead with ten minutes to go.
This time, three Bradley players led the charge in the third, with McDougall, sophomore guard Mya Wardle and freshman forward Kali Fortson all putting up four. Nelson ended up with three and senior forward Amy O’Hara rounded out the scoring with two.
Bradley scored 22 in the fourth, the most they had in any quarter of that game, but Western Illinois also scored 22. Tied 77-77, the Leathernecks hit a crucial jump shot to take the lead, which forced the Braves to foul and give up five points on free throws.
Nelson finished the game with 26 points, her second-highest total of the season, while Wardle used a solid fourth quarter to her advantage, putting up 14 points for her highest point total as a Brave.
Next, the Braves will return to Renaissance Coliseum for their first home game in 11 days, facing ASUN program Bellarmine on Sunday. The game tips off at 2 p.m.
