For Starters

    Bradley will open its 33rd season of competition Friday when the Braves visit Northern Illinois in DeKalb, Ill., in the season opener for both squads.  The Braves went 2-0 in exhibition play, defeating Quincy (72-57) and SIU-Edwardsville (69-66) last week.  Northern Illinois won its only exhibition game Tuesday against Robert Morris by the score of 65-42.

    Bradley and NIU are meeting for the second straight year and are playing in DeKalb, Ill., for the first time since the 2002-03 season.

    The Braves are hoping that senior guard Devyn Flanagan will be available for Friday's season opener.  She is listed as probable, while junior transfer Monica Rogers status will not be known until later in the week.

About Northern Illinois

    Northern Illinois returns six of 10 letterwinners, including two starters from last year's team that finished 19-12 overall and was third in the West Division of the Mid-American Conference. 

    Junior guard Jessie Wilcox is the Huskies top returning scorer after averaging 9.8 points per game last season and shooting nearly 39 percent from beyond the three-point arc.  Senior Whitney Lowe averaged 8.4 points per game and started 19 contests last year. 

    Northern Illinois returns 42 percent of its scoring and 39 percent of its rebounding from last year's team.  The Huskies were picked to finish second in the West Division of the Mid-American Conference, according to the MAC preseason poll.

    In addition to welcoming four freshmen, the Huskies also have three juniors that redshirted last season, including two Division I transfers in Shari' Welton (Wisconsin) and Aileen Rossouw (Auburn). 

    Freshman Ebony Ellis led the Huskies with 11 points and 12 rebounds in just 17 minutes of play in Tuesday's exhibition game against Robert Morris.  Wilcox added 11 points and freshman Mauvolyene Adams had nine points and 10 boards off the bench.

About Bradley

    Bradley returns seven of 12 letterwinners, including two starters from last year's team that finished seventh in the Missouri Valley Conference with a 12-19 overall record and 7-11 Valley mark.  The Braves return just one of its top five scorers, however, from last year in senior Devyn Flanagan.

    Flanagan was second on the team in scoring (10.6 ppg), assists (2.9 apg) and steals (1.3 spg) last year.  Junior forward Kelly Krumwiede led the Braves in rebounding at 6.2 boards per game and was sixth on the team in scoring at 7.4 points per game. 

    Bradley boasts eight juniors and seniors, but has just 13 years of Division I experience on the roster.  Junior college transfers Chasity Cotton, Rachel Merriman and Felicia Nekmouche each enter their senior seasons, while Monica Rogers will return to the court after sitting out the 2006-07 following her transfer from Hampton. 

    Flanagan missed both exhibition games due to injury but may return as early as Friday for the season opener.  Rogers is also expected to return soon after a preseason injury.

Northern Illinois Series

    Bradley is playing Northern Illinois for the second consecutive year and Friday's game will be the fourth meeting in the last six years.  Northern Illinois holds a 5-3 lead in the all-time series with the Braves which dates back to the 1978-79 season.  Bradley has won three of the last five meetings, but NIU won last season's tilt 85-75 in Peoria, Ill.  The Braves are 1-2 in road games in the series and are making their first trip to DeKalb, Ill., since Dec. 20, 2002.  Bradley is 1-2 against the Huskies under eighth-year head coach Paula Buscher.

The Coaches

    Paula Buscher (Missouri State, ?86) is in her eighth year at Bradley and has a record of 84-114 (.424) at BU.  Buscher led teams to improved records in each of her first five seasons as a collegiate head coach and seven of her 10 seasons overall.  Buscher owns a 127-152 (.455) career record and is in her 11th year as a collegiate head coach.  She is the second winningest coach in school history and led Bradley to its first MVC Tournament victory since 1996 last season.  A longtime assistant coach at Nebraska-Omaha, Buscher coached Minnesota St.-Mankato during the 1997-98 season and returned to UNO as head coach for the 1998-99 and 1999-00 seasons, before coming to The Hilltop.

    Carol Owens (Northern Illinois ?90) is in her third year as head coach at her alma mater and has led the Huskies to a 31-29 (.517) record in her two years.  Owens led NIU to a 19-12 record last season, marking the Huskies best record since the 1993-94 season.  Prior to her return to DeKalb, Ill., Owens was an assistant coach at Notre Dame for 10 years.  She played for current Wichita State head coach Jane Austin at NIU. 

Season Openers

    Bradley will open its 33rd year of competition on the road with a Nov. 9 game at Northern Illinois.  The Braves open the season on the road for the first time since the 2003-04 season.  Bradley is 19-13 all-time in season openers and have won five of the last six openers.  The Braves are 5-2 in season openers under head coach Paula Buscher, including a 2-2 mark when opening the season on the road.

Exhibition Wrap Up

    Bradley completed the exhibition portion of its schedule with a 2-0 record after posting wins against Quincy (72-57) and SIU-Edwardsville (69-66).  The Braves played both games without starters Devyn Flanagan and Monica Rogers due to injury.  Junior forward Kelly Krumwiede averaged 19.0 points and 12.0 rebounds per game in the exhibition games while shooting 58 percent from the field.  Freshman guard Raisa Taylor was also impressive averaging 19.0 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.  The Braves active career scoring leader, Flanagan is probable for Friday's season-opener at Northern Illinois.

Bradley Against The MAC

    Friday's game against Northern Illinois is the first of two games scheduled against teams from the Mid-American Conference, with the other slated for Dec. 8 when the Braves host Toledo.  Bradley is 11-12 all-time against schools from the MAC, including a 3-5 mark against Northern Illinois.  The Braves are 1-3 against MAC schools under eighth-year head coach Paula Buscher with the lone victory on Dec. 21, 2003 in Peoria against NIU.  Bradley is 3-4 all-time in road games against MAC schools.

Non-Conference Success

    Eighth-year Bradley women's basketball head coach Paula Buscher hopes the junior Kelly Krumwiede is able to continue to put up impressive numbers in non-conference games as the Braves open the 2007-08 season.  In her first two seasons, Krumwiede has averaged 10.5 points and 7.1 rebounds per game while shooting nearly 50 percent from the field (49.4 percent) against non-conference opponents.  She averaged 19 points and 12 rebounds per game in the Braves exhibition games.

Braves Picked 10th In Preseason Poll

    Bradley was picked 10th in the preseason Missouri Valley Conference poll, after finishing seventh in the 2006-07 regular-season race.  The Braves return just one of its top five scorers (Devyn Flanagan) and less than 35 percent of its scoring from last year.  Drake was the preseason favorite and received 24 of a possible 39 first-place votes.  The Braves received 78 points and were 17 points behind Wichita State, which was ninth at 95 points. 

MVC Preseason Poll

Rank  Team (First-Place Votes)................ Points

1.       Drake (24)........................................... 348

2.       Illinois State (12)................................... 342

3.       Indiana State........................................ 289

4.       Evansville (1)...................................... 288

5.       Southern Illinois (1)............................... 233

6.       Creighton (1)....................................... 223

7.       Missouri State...................................... 136

8.       Northern Iowa...................................... 113

9.       Wichita State......................................... 95

10.      Bradley............................................... 78

Exhibition History

    Bradley has won nine consecutive exhibition games dating back to the Braves trip to Western Europe in the summer of 2004 and is a perfect 8-0 against college teams in exhibition play.  The Braves downed Quincy (72-57) last Wednesday and followed with a 69-66 victory against SIU-Edwardsville in exhibition contests.  Bradley is 15-6 in exhibition games under eighth-year head coach Paula Buscher, including a 3-2 record during the trip to Europe. 

Up Next

    Bradley will play the first of four potential games against teams from the Horizon League Tuesday when the Braves play Butler in the home opener.  Butler holds a 3-1 edge in the all-time series after defeating Bradley 85-73 last season in Indianapolis, Ind.  The Bulldogs won the only meeting between the two programs in Peoria, Ill., downing the Braves 68-54 at Robertson Field House on Dec. 3, 2003.  Bradley's lone victory in the series was a 72-65 win in the 2002-03 season opener at Hinkle Field House.

Braves On The Internet

    Bradley women's basketball fans can catch all of this year's home and away games via the internet at www.bubraves.com  Free audio will be available for each game in addition to a pay-per-view video stream for all home games and some road contests.

See You In St. Charles

    While the 2007-08 season will mark the end of an era with the final season of Robertson Memorial Field House, it also marks the beginning of another era for the Missouri Valley Conference.  After 22 years of playing the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament at campus sites, the 2007-08 State Farm MVC Women's Basketball Tournament will be the first held at a neutral site.  All 10 teams will advance to this year's tournament that will be held March 13-16 at the Family Arena in St. Charles, Mo.  All-session tickets purchased before Dec. 1 are available at the Bradley Athletics Ticket Office for $20.  All-session tickets purchased after Dec. 1 will be $40.  For ticket information, contact the Bradley Athletics Ticket Office at (309) 677-2625.

Field House Finale

    The 2007-08 season will mark the final year for Robertson Memorial Field House.  A new facility, which includes an arena for women's basketball with seating for 4,500 people, and men's basketball practice facility is planned for the current site that Robertson Field House sits on.  The Bradley women's basketball team has posted a 200-163 (.551) record all-time in the facility and have finished .500 or better in 23 of 31 seasons playing in the building.

Braves Pick Up Rare Win At Valley Tournament

    Bradley picked up its second Missouri Valley Conference Tournament victory in program history last season, defeating Missouri State in the first round.  The win, which was the first-ever victory for Bradley as a higher seed, gave the Braves a three-game sweep of a conference foe for the first time in program history.  The Braves only other conference tournament victory was nearly 10 years ago to the day from last year's win, as the Braves defeated Missouri State on their home floor on March 6, 1997.

Putting It In Neutral

    With the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament moving to a neutral site, the Braves will have a few more chances to improve in neutral site games.  Bradley has played a total of 57 games at neutral sites and boast a 28-29 record in those games.  The Braves also face Santa Clara at a neutral site in the first round of the Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout and could face Cleveland State in the second round in Anchorage, Alaska.

Rare Company

    Senior Devyn Flanagan enters her senior year needing just two assists to join a rather elite group in Bradley history.  With two assists, Flanagan will become the 10th player in program history to record 700 points, 300 rebounds, 200 assists and 100 steals in a career.  She enters the year with 753 points, 305 rebounds, 198 assists and 108 steals during her time as a Brave.  The only other players in school history to reach those marks in all four categories are Karen Anderson, Shelli Braud, Karin Nicholls, Heather Best, Genny Mueller, Val Wancket, Jen Brown, Erika Grogg and Tammy Van Oppen. 

Crashing The Boards

    Junior Kelly Krumwiede ranked eighth in the Missouri Valley Conference in rebounding last season, hauling down a team-best 6.2 rebounds per game.  She is the 10th player to lead the Braves in rebounding as an underclassmen and the first since Dena Williams led the Braves in rebounding as a sophomore in 2002-03.  Bradley had underclassmen lead the team in rebounding in six of the first 14 years of the program, but have only had four over the past 18 years.  Carrie Coffman led the team in rebounding as a sophomore in 1992-93, averaging 7.8 rebounds per game.  Lynn Pastucha paced the Braves hauling down 6.0 boards per game as a freshman in 1999-2000 in addition to Williams and Krumwiede accomplishing the feat in recent years.  Four of the last five players to lead the team in rebounding as an underclassmen rank as the top four in career rebounding at Bradley (Williams - 799 rebounds, Val Wancket - 788 rebounds, Coffman - 740 and Nicholls - 726).  Pastucha only played her freshman season for the Braves.

2006-07 MVC Rebounding Leaders

Retunees in italics.

Flanagan Climbing Scoring List

    Senior Devyn Flanagan has averaged in double figures in scoring each of the last two years and enters her final season on The Hilltop 28th on Bradley's career scoring list.  Flanagan is the first player to have more than 700 points entering their senior season since Genny Mueller in 2004-05.  In fact all 11 players that scored 700 or more points before their final season reached the 1,000-point mark during their last season as a Brave.  Junior Kelly Krumwiede is second among active players with 394 career points.

Bradley's Career Scoring Leaders