PEORIA, Ill. ? Eighth-year Bradley women's basketball head coach Paula Buscher and the Braves will hold their first practice of the season Friday afternoon at Robertson Memorial Field House. Bradley returns seven letterwinners and two starters from last year's team that finished 12-16 overall and advanced to the quarterfinals of the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference tournament.

Expected to lead the way for the Braves in 2007-08 is senior Devyn Flanagan (Riverton, Ill./Riverton). Flanagan is the Braves active career scoring leader with 753 points and ranked second on the team in 2006-07 in scoring (10.6 points per game), assists (90) and blocked shots (14).

Junior forward Kelly Krumwiede (Glen Ellyn, Ill./Glenbard West) will also play a major role for the Braves. She led the team in rebounding at 6.2 boards per game, joining Kim Harris, Val Wancket, Carrie Coffman and Dena Williams as the only sophomores to lead the Braves in rebounding. Krumwiede averaged 7.4 points per game and led the team in field goal percentage, shooting 46.7 percent from the field.

Despite having a roster that features eight juniors and seniors, there will be plenty of playing time to go around for the newcomers. Bradley returns just under 35 percent of its scoring and the seven returning players have combined for a total of 11 letters and 87 starts for the Braves.

"We are excited to get things under way," Buscher said. "We have a lot of new players, but we are more athletic and probably deeper at nearly every position than we have been. A big part of our success will be determined by how quickly the team comes together and learns their roles."

Buscher welcomes six newcomers to the squad, but a wealth of talent. The most notable arrival is junior forward Monica Rogers (Forsyth, Ill./St. Teresa/Hampton). Rogers sat out the 2006-07 season after transferring from Hampton following the 2005-06 season. She averaged 10.8 points and 8.2 rebounds per game as a sophomore and led the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference with nine double-doubles while shooting over 50 percent from the field.

Seniors Chasity Cotton (Little Rock, Ark./J.A. Fair Magnet/Arkansas-Ft. Smith), Rachel Merriman (Peoria, Ill./Notre Dame/Illinois Central) and Felicia Nekmouche (Uppsala, Sweden/Katedral/Kankakee C.C.) will also play bigger roles in their final seasons on The Hilltop.

The Braves will take the court for the first time at the annual Red-White scrimmage, Oct. 26 at Robertson Memorial Field House. The first of two exhibition games is slated for a 7:05 p.m. tip-off against Quincy at Robertson Field House and Bradley will open the regular season Nov. 9 at Northern Illinois at 7:05 p.m. in DeKalb, Ill.

For ticket information, please contact the Bradley Athletics Ticket Office at (309) 677-2625. Season ticket prices are $45 for adults and $18 for children (grades K-12). Season family passes are also available for $100.