PEORIA, Ill. -- Bradley women's basketball overcame a sluggish first half in its season opener against Omaha, shooting a blistering 68 percent over the final 20 minutes to pull away from the Mavericks for a 69-56 victory Friday at Renaissance Coliseum in the first game of the 2017-18 season for both squads.
Junior Vanessa Markert scored 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting in the second half in addition to pulling down four rebounds and blocking three shots after halftime as she finished with a team-high 19 points, seven boards and three blocks in 25 minutes to highlight the win for Bradley. Fellow junior Shunseere Kent turned in a strong effort in her Bradley debut with the junior college transfer collecting 17 points, six rebounds and one assist to join Markert in double figures.
Bradley (1-0) shot just 23.5 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes, but a solid defensive effort helped the Braves hold a 23-22 edge at the break. Omaha committed 15 first-half turnovers, which Bradley turned into 13 points.
The first two shots by the Braves to start the second half were off the mark before a Markert shot in the lane got things rolling for Bradley. The Braves were 1-for-4 from the field to start the second half when senior Madison Dellamuth found sophomore Chelsea Brackmann underneath for a layup. The Brackmann hoop was the first of four consecutive baskets for the Braves as Bradley went on to make 18-of-25 shots (72 percent) over the final 17-plus minutes.
Brackmann followed up the basket with a block, which led to a Kent breakaway layup and she found Markert out top for Bradley's first three-pointer of the contest to help highlight an 11-3 run by the Braves. Dellamuth hit a pull-up jumper in the lane and Kent added another fastbreak layup to cap the run as Bradley grabbed a 36-28 lead midway through the third quarter.
The teams traded baskets until a 12-2 BU spurt over the final 1:48 of the third and first 90 seconds of the fourth extended the Bradley lead to 54-37. Kent had the final basket of the third with a three-pointer and Markert knocked one down from long range on Bradley's first possession of the fourth. Senior Anneke Schlueter's driving layup with 8:34 left closed out the run.
Omaha got no closer than 11 points down the stretch as Bradley cruised to the 69-56 victory to open the season. The Mavericks shot 31.3 percent in the second half and just 35.2 percent for the game. Amber Vidal led Omaha with 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting.
Bradley committed just five turnovers in the second half and had 11 in the contest. After starting the game 0-for-9 from three-point range, the Braves hit four of their last seven from beyond the arc. Schlueter dished out a career-best six assists to go with nine points and two blocks in 31 minutes of action.
Brackmann came off the bench to tally nine points, seven rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals in just 20 minutes to help lead the Braves.
Bradley closes out a season-opening two-game home stand Wednesday with a 7 p.m. contest against Lincoln University (Mo.) at Renaissance Coliseum.