The Bradley women’s basketball team is predicted to finish sixth in the Missouri Valley Conference for the second year in a row.
Last year, the Braves fell short with a 6-12 record against MVC foes for seventh place. This year, they hope to show their growth and competitive spirit on the court.
Head coach Andrea Gorski is not interested in what the the preseason poll says about how her team matches up with other Valley teams, but is excited about the Braves’ focus and determination to win.
“All I am worried about right now is how competitive we are,” Gorski said. “If you’re competitive, you are going to make sure you box out that last shot. If you’re competitive you will be sprinting in transition.”
The Braves were a relatively young team last season and lacked a true point guard, resulting in Bradley dropping six games by six or less points. On paper, the Braves are still young with nine underclassmen on the roster. Gorski believes that there will always be a good blend of experience on the floor.
“Some of the sophomores are already experienced,” Gorski said. “Gabi [Haack] and Nyjah [White] started a lot of games for us last year. Jailyn [Lawson] and Emily [Marsh] got some decent minutes too. [The coaching staff] doesn’t look at them as young players anymore.”
And rightfully so. Haack led the team in minutes, points per game, three point percentage and defensive rebounding. Gorski said she is proud of the way Haack performed her freshman year as she came within 10 points of the Bradley freshman scoring record of 337.
This season, however, she realizes Haack needs to further diversify her game as she will be highlighted on every scouting report due to her quick release and strength at the guard spot.
“She is not afraid to mix it up and is really good at understanding the defense, playing off the ball and getting open,” Gorski said. “She has added a midrange game and is getting to the basket more. She has turned herself into an all-around player and has a quicker first step.”
Haack thinks she learned a lot about the physical and mental toll of a full season and is looking to find other ways to score.
“I have been working a lot on countermoves and pull up jumpers and taking it more to the hoop because this year teams will know I am a shooter and really stick on me,” Haack said. “I need to be a leader for the younger girls and try to help them with the season.”
After losing two senior leaders in Anneke Schluter and Dani Brewer, a new leader must emerge and senior forward Vanessa Markert looks to do just that.
“No one worked harder than [Markert] this summer,” Gorski said. “She did extra weight lifting and workouts because last year she felt she got pushed around by some of the more physical posts in our conference. It’s really important to her that she leaves on a good note; a winning note.
Last season, Markert lead the team in blocks and scored at a 48 percent clip. She is the longest Bradley tenured player or coach in the program.
This year with her increased strength, Markert is looking to let the game come to her and work off her teammates.
“Last year I focused more on the fancy finishes and jump shots,” Markert said. “This year I want to make things simple and do more of the power game.”
The Braves have five returning post players: Markert, Marsh, White, Chelsea Brackman and Amber Bozeman. All bring different skillsets to the team, and so does the ultra athletic six-foot-two-inch freshman Asia Strong.
“I really feel good about our post play right now and if [we] need something there’s someone who does it,” Gorski said.
The Braves are deep with shooters and Gorski knows opposing teams will have less room for error because of it.
“It’s going to be real hard to lock up on Gabi,” Gorski said. “Shunseere is getting the three ball down at a pretty good clip right now. [Freshman] Aannah [Interrante] is a sharpshooter with a quick release. [Freshman] Lasha [Petree] will shoot it right past half court and not even think twice about it. Jailyn [Lawson] has stepped up her game and she can knock down the threes.”
The staff has brought in two true point guards for this season in junior college transfer Elisha Davis and freshman Tatum Koenig to bolster their point guard depth alongside sophomore Lawson and senior Kent.
“We are going to get better and better each day and be a much better team by the end of the season,” Gorski said. “We are playing a lot of different styles of teams [this season] which is great because they are athletic teams so our one-on-one defense needs to be on point. We are also playing some system teams where they run a lot of screen action. We need to be sure our screen play is good.”
Gorski says if Bradley focuses on putting in the necessary work, the Braves will be successful and make a statement this season.
“I like the mentality of this team, they are putting in the work on their own everyday,” Gorski said. “We have kids bothering us to watch film everyday and trying to figure things out. Those are things you don’t fake. I think we are at a better spot than a year ago right now and we are going to get better everyday.”
The Braves will host Quincy University, a Division II team, at 2:30 p.m. tomorrow at Renaissance Coliseum for an exhibition game. At 7 p.m. on Nov. 10 the Braves will open their non-conference schedule by hosting Southeast Missouri State.
