For Starters
Bradley is off to its best start since opening the 2005-06 season with a 2-0 record after posting a 71-69 victory against preseason Ohio Valley Conference favorite Eastern Illinois. The Braves will be trying to open a season with a 3-0 record for the first time since the 2004-05 campaign when they visit Illinois-Chicago for a 2:05 p.m. game Saturday at UIC Pavilion. Saturday's game will be the season opener for the Flames.
About Illinois-Chicago
Picked seventh in the preseason Horizon League poll, UIC returns eight of 10 letterwinners, including four starters from last year's squad which finished 10-20 overall and was eighth in the Horizon League at 6-12.
The Flames will be playing their season opener against the Braves after going 2-0 in exhibition play. Like Bradley, UIC opened up the exhibition portion of its schedule with an eight-point victory against Lewis (68-60). The Flames also posted a 20-point victory against NAIA school St. Xavier (86-66).
Preseason second-team all-conference pick Jessie Miller led UIC in scoring in the exhibition games, averaging 10.5 points per game while dishing out 3.5 assists per game.
Miller was a second-team All-Horizon League pick last year as a sophomore after averaging a team-best 14.0 points per game. She made 63 three-pointers last season and led the Flames with a 3.4 assists per game average.
Junior Briana Hinkle also scored in double figures last year, averaging 10.9 points per tilt and is the only other returning player to average better than six points per game on the roster.
Senior center Nikki Grobbecker led UIC in rebounding, hauling down 6.6 boards per contest.
About Bradley
Bradley features one of the most experienced rosters in the Missouri Valley Conference, returning eight letterwinners from last year's squad. The Braves roster includes six of the top seven scorers from 2007-08, but also features eight newcomers (seven freshmen and one sophomore).
Junior guard Skye Johnson was named the 2007-08 Missouri Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year and led the team in scoring at 9.5 points per game. She takes over the primary ball-handling duties this year and is averaging 7.5 assists per game while scoring 11.0 points per game.
While Johnson headlines the backcourt, the frontcourt has been the key in Bradley's early success. the Braves have outrebounded its first two opponents by a +18.5 boards per game margin. Senior Monica Rogers comes off the bench and is averaging 20.5 points per game and 10.5 rebounds.
Sophomore Sonya Harris is averaging 9.5 points per game, while leading the Braves in rebounding at 11.5 boards per game in addition to averaging 3.5 blocks.
Senior Kelly Krumwiede is BU's active career leader in scoring and rebounding and is averaging 6.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per tilt.
Bradley lost two starters to graduation (Devyn Flanagan and Rachel Merriman) but returns 72 percent of the team's scoring and better than 70 percent of the team's rebounding from 2007-08. BU is one of three teams in the Valley to return 70 percent of both its scoring and rebounding.
Bradley has pulled down 44 offensive rebounds in the first two games of the year and own a 39-16 advantage in second chance points.
The Coaches
Paula Buscher (Missouri State, ?86) is in her ninth year at Bradley and has a record of 98-132 (.426) at BU. The dean of Missouri Valley Conference women's basketball coaches, Buscher led teams to improved records in each of her first five seasons as a collegiate head coach and eight of her 11 seasons overall. Buscher owns a 141-170 (.453) career record and is in her 12th 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.
Lisa Ryckbosch (Loyola ?84) is in her seventh year as head coach at Illinois-Chicago and owns an 88-89 (.497) record. The second winningest coach in school history, she needs just two victories to break the school record. In 2006-07 she led the Flames to a school-record 19 victories and first-ever postseason appearance in program history. UIC has finished four or better in the Horizon League in four of her six seasons at the school.
UIC Series
Bradley will play its road opener Saturday when the Braves visit Illinois-Chicago. BU owns a 12-3 lead in the all-time series and has claimed six of the last seven meetings against UIC. The Braves are 4-2 against the Flames in games played in Chicago. Bradley is 5-1 against UIC under head coach Paula Buscher, including a 2-1 record in games at the UIC Pavilion. The Braves are 5-0 when playing the Flames in the month of November.
BU Against The Horizon League
The Braves open the season with two of the first three games against members of the Horizon League. Bradley is 38-21 (.644) against current members of the Horizon League. In fact the Braves have posted an impressive 16-7 (.696) mark against members of the Horizon League under ninth-year head coach Paula Buscher. The two Chicago teams (Loyola & UIC) have been the most frequent Horizon League foes, accounting for 41 of the 59 games against current conference members. The Braves are 28-13 (.683) against Loyola and UIC.
Bradley-UIC Ties
Junior guard Skye Johnson will be facing a high school teammate for the third time in three games when the Braves face UIC Saturday. Loyola's roster featured a pair of former Marian Catholic teammates and the Flames roster includes another former Spartan. UIC's senior forward Ashley Hluska and Johnson were both seniors at Marian Catholic in 2004-05 and helped the Spartans to an 84-15 (.848) record in their final three prep seasons.
Last Time Out
For the second consecutive time Bradley rallied from a double-digit first-half deficit to pull out a win. Senior Monica Rogers hit all six shots she took in the second half and had 18 points and eight rebounds after the intermission to help the Braves post a 71-69 win against preseason Ohio Valley Conference favorite Eastern Illinois. Freshman Michelle Lund made 3-of-7 three-point baskets in the second half and finished with 16 points while junior guard Skye Johnson dished out a career-best nine assists. Rogers finished with 22 points and 12 boards.
Road Openers
Bradley will play its road opener Saturday at UIC. The Braves are 15-18 all-time in the first true road game of the year, including a 3-5 record under head coach Paula Buscher. BU has not won a road opener since the 2004-05 season when Bradley defeated UIC in the first road game of the year.
2-0 Starts
Bradley has opened the season with back-to-back wins, marking the 11th time in 34 seasons of intercollegiate competition the Braves have opened a season with a 2-0 mark. BU is 2-0 for the fourth time during ninth-year head coach Paula Buscher's tenure. Bradley has opened a season with three consecutive wins just three times in program history.
Bucking The Trend
Bradley has rallied to win after trailing at halftime in each of the first two games of the 2008-09 season. The Braves were 1-29 when trailing at halftime over the previous two seasons and have not won two games in the same season when losing at the break since the 2005-06 campaign. BU erased an 11-point halftime deficit against Loyola and came back to win, marking the first time BU came back from a double-digit halftime deficit to win since topping St. Mary's (Calif.) 64-57 in overtime on Nov. 28, 2003. The 11-point comeback is the largest halftime deficit in a Bradley win since trailing 32-19 at Illinois State on Feb. 12, 2000 in an eventual 61-60 BU victory.
Crashing The Boards
A year removed from ranking eighth in the Missouri Valley Conference in rebounds per game, the Braves have hit the boards early on in 2008-09 and are averaging a league best 47.5 rebounds per game. BU boasts a +18.5 rebounds per game average and have hauled down 22 offensive boards in each of the first two games. Sophomore Sonya Harris currently leads the MVC with an 11.5 rebounds per game average and senior Monica Rogers is tied for third in the league at 10.5 boards per tilt.
Season Openers
Bradley opened its 34th year of intercollegiate competition with a 67-60 victory against in-state foe Loyola.
The Braves are now 20-14 all-time in season openers and opened the season against an in-state opponent for the fourth consecutive year. Bradley is 15-5 when opening the season at home and now 11-2 when opening the season against an in-state opponent. The Braves are 6-3 in season openers under head coach Paula Buscher.
Heavy Home Schedule To Start
Bradley will have a heavy home schedule to open the 2008-09 season, playing three of its first four games of the year at home. The Braves have not opened a season with three of four games at home since the 1983-84 season. BU opened the 1983-84 campaign with a road game at Purdue, before returning home to face Wisconsin, Illinois and Northern Illinois. The Braves open with consecutive home games for the ninth time in program history and the first since the 2005-06 campaign.
In-State Opponents
Bradley's first four opponents of the 2008-09 season each call the state of Illinois home, marking the first time the Braves open a season with four consecutive in-state opponents since the 1976-77 season. Bradley is 22-13 (.629) against in-state non-conference opponents under ninth-year head coach Paula Buscher. BU is 39-29 (.574) against in-state foes during Buscher's tenure, which includes an 18-16 mark against Illinois State and Southern Illinois.
Braves Overcome 30 Turnovers
Usually 30 turnovers in a game would result in a loss, but the Braves managed to pull out a win against Loyola in the season opener, despite committing 30 turnovers against the Ramblers. The 30 turnovers are the most in a game by Bradley since Feb. 7, 2003 and the Braves won a game in which they committed 30 or more turnovers for the first time since downing Evansville in overtime on Feb. 3, 2000.
Lund Starts First Game
Freshman guard Michelle Lund started the Braves season opener, making her the 13th freshman since the start of the 1981-82 season to start in a season opener for Bradley. Lund is the third freshmen to start a season opener under ninth-year head coach Paula Buscher, joining Jen Brown and Jaime Lugge. Below is a list of freshmen to start in a season opener for the Braves along with their points, rebounds and assists for that outing.
Name Date Pts. Reb. Ast.
Michelle Lund 11/15/08 3 6 5
Jen Brown 11/21/03 5 3 5
Jaime Lugge 11/16/01 3 4 4
Sarah Sommer 11/20/99 7 6 1
Lynn Pastucha 11/20/99 8 8 0
Heather Best 11/24/95 9 1 5
Dawn Cartwright 12/1/92 3 6 4
Liza Reed 11/25/91 2 5 1
Dawyel Jones 11/24/89 6 3 2
Kelly Mazza 11/26/88 7 1 3
Karin Nicholls 11/28/86 6 6 0
Kelly Miller 11/28/83 12 3 1
Judy Burns 11/20/81 23 2 2
* Bold indicates home games.
Double Trouble
Sophomore forward Sonya Harris has picked up right where she left off in 2007-08, turning in a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds in the Braves season opener against Loyola. Harris has recorded double-doubles in four of the last five games dating back to last season and has scored in double figures or hauled down 10 or more rebounds in eight consecutive games, dating back to a scoreless outing at Wichita State (Feb. 16, 2008) in which she grabbed just one rebound in eight minutes of play.
Up Next
Bradley will return home to face Northern Illinois Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. at Lorene Ramsey Gym. The Huskies have claimed each of the last two meetings and three of the last four in the series to take a 6-3 lead in the all-time series. The Braves are 2-3 all-time in home matches against NIU. BU is 1-3 against Northern Illinois under ninth-year head coach Paula Buscher.
Braves Picked Eighth In Preseason Poll
Bradley was picked eighth in the preseason Missouri Valley Conference poll, after finishing eighth in the 2007-08 regular-season race. Bradley's roster featured eight of 13 letterwinners from last year, including six of the top seven scorers. Illinois State was the unanimous choice to win the 2008-09 regular-season crown. The Braves were five points behind Indiana State for seventh place.
2008-09 MVC Preseason Poll
Rank Team (First-Place Votes) Points
1. Illinois State (40) 400
2. Creighton 310
3. Drake 297
4. Evansville 251
5. Northern Iowa 245
6. Missouri State 215
7. Indiana State 166
8. BRADLEY 161
9. Southern Illinois 108
10. Wichita State 47
Returning Numbers
Despite losing five letterwinners from last year's team, Bradley boasts one of the more experienced teams in the Missouri Valley Conference heading into the 2008-09 campaign. The Braves return six of their top seven scorers from last year and are one of just three teams in the league which is returning over 70 percent of both its scoring and rebounding from the previous years. The only other teams to join BU in that elite company are Northern Iowa and defending regular-season co-champion Illinois State. The chart below takes a look at the returning numbers for all 10 league members.
Team MVC Record % of points % of reb.
BU 6-12 72.0% 70.4%
CU 12-6 68.9% 75.0%
DU 13-5 54.7% 61.1%
UE 13-5 61.5% 71.1%
ILS 13-5 83.8% 85.7%
INS 8-10 46.2% 56.3%
MSU 9-9 47.1% 43.3%
UNI 8-10 85.8% 84.3%
SIU 5-13 35.3% 40.7&
WSU 3-15 48.2% 50.6%
Youth Movement
While the Braves have a strong group of returning players, Bradley also has a lot of youth on its roster. The Braves 16-player roster includes eight newcomers, the most newcomers to the team since welcoming nine new faces for the 2001-02 season when Bradley finished 16-12 overall. This year's newcomers include seven freshmen and one sophomore, giving the Braves 10 underclassmen. Northern Iowa is the only other team in The Valley that can match Bradley's 10 underclassmen and Southern Illinois and Indiana State are the only MVC schools to welcome eight newcomers for the 2008-09 season. Bradley is the only team in the conference to welcome more than six newcomers, while returning eight letterwinners from last year. The Braves' 16-player roster is the largest for the program since the 1997-98 campaign.
Home Sweet Home
Bradley will play its home games at several different venues during the 2008-09 since Robertson Memorial Field House was razed in May to make room for a new facility which is currently under construction and schedule for completion during the 2009-10 school year. The Braves closed out Robertson Field House with a 79-63 victory against Northern Iowa in the 2007-008 regular-season finale and won four of the last five games on the historic raised floor to finish with a 209-170 (.551) all-time record at the facility. Bradley will play the bulk of its games in 2008-09 at Illinois Central College's Lorene Ramsey Gym. Bradley played an exhibition game against Truman State at Carver Arena and will play the Dec. 28 game against Air Force at Richwoods High School.
Getting Defensive
Sophomore Skye Johnson became the first Bradley women's basketball player to earn Missouri Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year honors after leading the league with 82 steals in 2007-08. The junior also blocked 17 shots to rank second on the team. Johnson's 82 steals is the second-best season total in program history, behind Kathy Stokes school record 86 thefts in 1979-80. Johnson is the first Bradley player to lead The Valley in steals in a season and helped the Braves to a league-best 10.8 steals per game. BU's 324 steals were the most in program history since swiping 365 steals in 1983-84.
STEALS IN A SEASON (INDIVIDUAL)
Steals Name Year
86 Kathy Stokes 1979-80
82 Skye Johnson 2007-08
80 Tammy Van Oppen 1996-97
80 Connie Griffith 1979-80
80 Judy Burns 1981-82
Krumwiede Joins 600-500 Club
Senior forward Kelly Krumwiede is the 14th player in
program history to collect 600 points and 500 rebounds in a Bradley uniform, pulling down her 500th career rebound at Evansville last March. The 36th player in school history to score 600 points, Krumwiede is the Braves active career scoring leader with 658 points and also ranks as the active career leader in rebounding with 533 career boards. She needs 42 points and 67 rebounds to become just the 10th player with 700 points and 600 rebounds in a career and is just 39 boards short of cracking BU's career top 10.
REBOUNDS (CAREER)
Reb. Name Years
799 Dena Williams 2001-05
788 Val Wancket 1987-91
740 Carrie Coffman 1991-95
726 Karin Nicholls 1986-90
703 Eileen Yerkes 1988-92
679 Shelli Braud 1984-88
671 Roxanne Grabow 1979-83
670 Heather Best 1995-99
600 Connie Griffith 1977-81
572 Sara Bailey 1999-03
562 Karen Anderson 1979-83
537 Lora Weber 1998-2002
533 Kelly Krumwiede 2005-present
511 Heidi Nelson 1987-91
Buscher Nears 100 Wins At BU
Ninth-year Bradley head coach Paula Buscher is closing in on 100 career wins at BU, needing just two victories to become the second head coach in program history to reach the 100-win mark. Buscher is 98-132 (.426) at Bradley and is second only to Lisa Boyer on the Braves career wins list. Boyer was 124-149 (.454) as Bradley head coach from 1986-87 through the 1995-96 season. Buscher's 100th win at Bradley will also mark the 400th win in program history.
BRADLEY CAREER COACHING VICTORIES
Wins Name Year
124 Lisa Boyer 1986-96
98 Paula Buscher 2000-present
63 Jan Winkler 1977-81
38 Angela Beck 1983-86
37 Donna Freitag 1996-2000
33 Joe Stowell 1981-83
5 Anelle Griffin 1975-77
Keeping Up With The Braves
In addition to being the primary source for updated information, stats and notes for the Bradley women's basketball team, the Bradley athletics website (www.bradleybraves.com) will also feature a women's basketball blog throughout the 2008-09 season. Junior forward Jenny Van Kirk started her blog during the Braves first week of practice and will continue to update her blog during the regular-season. Questions for Jenny to answer in the blog can be emailed to jrea@bradley.edu
Team Captains
Junior forward Jenny Van Kirk and freshman Hanna Muegge have been voted team captains for the 2008-09 season.
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.bradleybraves.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.
