Bradley’s previous four games included wins over Drake, Northern Iowa and Indiana State, with their only loss being a four-point overtime heartbreaker to Illinois State. Hoping to make it five out of six, they started the weekend with their first matchup of the season against Evansville.
In their game against the Purple Aces, which was closer than most people expected, the Braves came away with their third win in a row, due in large part to a strong defensive effort in the second half. The team was composed, confident, and ready to take on any challenge thrown their way.
The first quarter was a strong start for Bradley, leading 13-4 midway through the period. However, the Braves’ offense cooled down while Evansville’s heated up. They would cut Bradley’s lead down to 21-16 behind 50 percent shooting for the quarter.
Evansville’s shooting was even better in the second quarter, going 61.5 percent from the field while Bradley went 41.5 percent, including 2-for-9 from three. The Braves were still able to hang on to their lead, but it shrunk down to a single point, up 37-36 at halftime.
With Evansville ranking second to last in the conference, it seemed like momentum was trending the Purple Aces’ way and towards an embarrassing Bradley loss. They needed to find a way to slow down the Evansville offense.
Thankfully, they did.
The Braves came out playing much more tenacious defense coming out of the locker room and Evansville’s shooting dropped to 42.9 percent while Bradley’s had 61.5 percent shooting, including 100 percent from three.
The group of sophomore forward Ellie McDermid, freshman guard Maya Foz and fifth-year guard-forward Kaylen Nelson also scored seven, six and five points respectively, with most of the team’s offensive output started via defensive rebounds. This was enough to completely turn the game on its head and the Braves led by a much more comfortable 62-53 by quarter’s end.
The fourth quarter saw Bradley’s shooting fall to a dismal 23.5 percent, but the defense continued playing great as the Purple Aces struggled to get things going. It became evident throughout the quarter that the game was essentially over, with the Braves eventually taking it 79-68.
It was a great day for Nelson and Foz, who both recorded their first ever career double-doubles. The Braves controlled the boards all night, outrebounding Evansville 44 to 29. Sophomore Ellie McDermid capped things off with the most efficient performance, putting 20 points while going 7-for-13 from the field and 4-for-6 from three.
Bradley finished the three-game road trip on Sunday, traveling to Carbondale to take on Southern Illinois in their penultimate road game of the season.
The Braves started with a 6-2 lead, spearheaded by graduate guard-forward Tamia Perryman’s two makes from beyond the arc. But then, the Salukis went on an 8-0 run to take a four-point lead, forcing Bradley to heave up game-tying shots. Southern Illinois had the edge after the first ten minutes, 14-12.
Foz then produced a breakout quarter in the second, scoring eight of Bradley’s 12. The only issue was that every time the Braves made progress, the Salukis capitalized on the next few possessions. But with 20 minutes left to play, Bradley was only down by three.
Both teams shot a similar rate from the field in the first half, with the Braves shooting 10-for-31 and the Salukis going 12-for-33. Surprisingly, Bradley also got cold from the three-point line after Perryman’s first few buckets, ending the game 3-for-20.
It didn’t get much better in the third as the Braves allowed the first seven points of the quarter. Bradley mostly settled for layups and free throws to gain some ground, but Southern Illinois still outscored them by one to end the period with a four-point lead.
While the Salukis were the better team for 30 minutes, senior forward Amy O’Hara was quietly building her way to a solid performance. She would end the game with nine points and 10 rebounds, almost recording a double-double.
Once again, the Braves moved slow and methodically with their possessions, but this time, it worked. They caught Southern Illinois off-guard a number of times and improved their defensive output, and once Perryman hit the lead-taking layup with 3:51 to go, the Salukis could only get within one a couple times.
And on the final play, a missed three-point shot sealed their fate, giving Bradley a big 56-53 win.
Bradley finished the game with a slightly superior field goal percentage of 35.6 percent while Southern Illinois’s was 35.1 percent. Perryman and Foz finished the game with 16 points each and Nelson just reached the double-digit scoring mark. The rebounding game was dominated by O’Hara’s 10 along with Nelson, McDermid and sophomore guard Mya Wardle grabbing six boards.
The Braves will be back at home for the first time in two weeks to face the top two teams in the Missouri Valley record-wise, Murray State and Belmont. They will look to avenge their losses to both teams earlier in the year. The game against the Racers tips off on Friday at 6 p.m.
