Detroit Mercy UDM 1-2

Bradley BRAD 1-2

Detroit Mercy UDM

1-2

Final

Nov. 18, 2016

Bradley BRAD

1-2

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	3	4	F
Detroit Mercy UDM	7	20	14	19	60
Bradley BRAD	14	11	20	25	70

Box Score

Duane Zehr, Bradley University ITPS

Lerma Helps Power Braves Past Detroit 70-60

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | 11/18/2016 1:53:00 PM

PEORIA, Ill. – Senior forward Leti Lerma (Muscatine, Iowa/Muscatine) matched a school-record with 12 offensive rebounds and collected 11 points, 22 boards, seven assists and one steal to help power Bradley Women's Basketball to a 70-60 victory over Detroit Mercy Friday afternoon at Renaissance Coliseum in the 2016-17 home opener for the Braves.

First-year Bradley head coach Andrea Gorski earned her first victory as head coach of the Braves in front of 1,619 fans on Field Trip Day, with the crowd ranking as the third largest in Renaissance Coliseum history.

Lerma paced four Bradley players in double figures in scoring and was one of five Braves with nine or more points on the afternoon. Junior Anneke Schlueter (Ulm, Germany/Max-Weber-Schule) scored 13 of her game-high 15 points in the second half, while junior Danielle Brewer (Coateville, Ind.) added 12 of her 14 points off the bench in the final 20 minutes.

The post combo of Vanessa Markert (Mt. Sterling, Ill./Brown County) and Chelsea Brackmann (New Berlin, Wis./Eisenhower) combined for 23 points and 12 boards. Markert scored 14 points in just 17 minutes of action and Brackmann finished just short of her first career double-double with nine points, nine rebounds and two blocks in a reserve role.

Bradley (1-2 overall) got off to a strong start, holding Detroit scoreless for a near five-minute stretch in the first quarter and led 14-7 after the first period. The Titans opened the second quarter with a 14-4 spurt and led 21-18 midway through the frame en route to a 27-25 halftime lead.

The teams traded baskets for much of the third quarter until a late Bradley surge to close the stanza. Lerma found Brackmann in the lane for a layup to give the Braves a 42-41 lead and Schlueter knocked down a three-pointer in the closing seconds on a pass from Brackmann as Bradley grabbed a 45-41 advantage through 30 minutes.

Schlueter and Brewer combined for 18 points in the fourth quarter to help the Braves put the game out of reach. Detroit chipped away at a nine-point Bradley lead to pull back within four at 57-53 at the five-minute mark. Lerma assisted a Brewer shot in the paint on the next trip down the floor. After a pair of defensive stops, Lerma dished to Schlueter for a three from the corner to push the lead back to nine (62-53) with 3:25 left.

A Detroit three-pointer with 42.9 seconds left cut the Bradley lead to 66-60, but Brewer was a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line in the closing seconds to close out the 70-60 victory.

Lerma's career-high 22 rebounds were the most by a player in the MVC since Illinois State's Kenyatta Shelton on Dec. 4, 2010 and tied for the 15th-best single game total in league history. Her 12 offensive boards tied the Bradley single game mark set by Eileen Yerkes on Feb. 4, 1992. In addition, her 22 rebounds tied for the second most by a Bradley player behind the school record of 24 (Tammy Hirstein vs. Indiana State - Feb. 25, 1984). Lerma helped the Braves to a dominating 60-41 advantage on the glass, as Bradley corralled the fifth most rebounds in school history (60).

After a 25-point first half, the Braves shot 50 percent in the second half.

Rosanna Reynolds led Detroit with 14 points and five steals. Kelsey Mitchell added 12 points and 16 rebounds off the bench for the Titans, while Brianne Cohen joined the pair in double figures with 11 points.

Bradley continues a five-game home stand Sunday with a 2 p.m. contest against Atlantic 10 Conference preseason favorite Saint Louis at Renaissance Coliseum.

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