For Starters
Bradley will open the 2010-11 season at home, facing Butler Saturday, Nov. 13 in the Braves' first game on campus since the 2007-08 season. Saturday's contest against the Bulldogs is BU's first regular-season game in the new $50-million Renaissance Center.
The Braves are opening a season at home for the first time since the 2008-09 season and the fifth time in the last seven years.
Bradley opens the year with four consecutive games against teams which advanced to the postseason last year. The Braves will play two of the first three games of the year at home, before playing four consecutive games on the road.
About Butler
Butler returned 10 of 13 letterwinners, including four starters from last year's team which posted a 23-10 overall record and was second in the Horizon League with a 14-4 conference mark. The Bulldogs advanced to the postseason for the second consecutive year in 2009-10, falling to Illinois State in the opening round of the WNIT.
Expected to lead the way for Butler in 2010-11 is senior guard Brittany Bowen, who averaged 11.2 points per game and shot 39 percent from three-point range. The Bulldogs lost two of their top three scorers from 2009-10, but feature five players who started at least 15 games. Senior guard Alyssa Pittman averaged 8.8 points per game and connected on 60 three-pointers.
Butler's roster includes five freshman which have helped the Bulldogs to a 63-32 record (.663) over the last three seasons.
About The Braves
Bradley returned nine of 12 letterwinners, including three starters from last year's team which tied the school records for conference wins and best league finish in addition to making the first postseason appearance in program history.
The Braves have their top two scorers back from the 2009-10 squad which finished with a 17-14 overall record and advanced to the second round of the inaugural Women's Basketball Invitational. Sophomore guard Katie Yohn started 19 games and led the team with a 10.2 points per game average. Senior Raisa Taylor was second on the team in scoring (9.7 ppg) and led the team in both assists and steals.
Junior center Leah Kassing shot a team-best 50.4 percent from the field and will seen an increased role in the middle this year. Fellow junior guard Hanna Muegge started 16 of 22 games before a season-ending injury and was shooting a Missouri Valley Conference-best 50 percent from three-point range in league games prior to her injury.
The Coaches
The dean of Missouri Valley Conference Women's Basketball coaches, Paula Buscher (Missouri State, '86) is in her 11th year at Bradley and has a record of 134-156 (.462) at BU. The 2008-09 Rawlings Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year, Buscher owns a 177-194 (.477) career record and is in her 14th year as a collegiate head coach. She is the all-time wins leader in program history with her 134 victories at BU and is 11th all-time in Missouri Valley Conference history in victories. Over the last two years she has led the team to a 23-13 (.639) conference record, marking the most conference wins in consecutive years for BU in program history. 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.
Beth Couture (Erskine '84) is in her ninth season as head coach at Butler and 21st season overall as a collegiate head coach. She owns a 128-113 (.531) record as head coach at Butler, including a 63-32 (.663) mark over the last three seasons, and boasts a 386-242 (.615) career coaching record.
Butler Series
Butler holds a 4-1 lead in the all-time series, including a 2-0 record in contests played in Peoria. Bradley's lone victory in the series was a 72-65 win at Hinkle Fieldhouse in the 2002-03 season opener. The series started in 1993-94 with a game played in Evanston, Ill., and Saturday's game will be the fifth meeting in the last nine years between the two programs.
Return To Campus
Saturday's season opener against Butler will mark Bradley's first game on campus since the end of the 2007-08 season. Bradley's Renaissance Coliseum officially opened in August and the $50-million, 4,200-seat facility serves as home court for the Bradley women's basketball and volleyball teams. The Braves played home games at Illinois Central College's Lorene Ramsey Gym in East Peoria each of the last two seasons, while construction of Renaissance Coliseum was in progress. The facility was dedicated on Oct. 15 during Bradley's annual homecoming festivities.
Season Openers
Bradley will open its 36th season Saturday when the Braves play host to Butler. BU will open a season at home for the second time in the last three years and fifth time in the last seven campaigns overall. The Braves are 20-15 all-time in season openers, including a 6-4 in season openers under 11th-year head coach Paula Buscher. Bradley is 1-0 against Butler in season openers, picking up a 72-65 win at Hinkle Fieldhouse to kick off the 2002-03 season.
On The Air
Saturday's game against Butler is one of a record 19 games on the radio this season and will be carried live on WIRL 1290 AM. Ed Hammond will provide play-by-play with Bradley Hall of Fame member Joe Stowell providing analysis. WIRL will carry 18 of the 19 games with the Nov. 19 game against Illinois airing on WMBD 1470 AM.
Home Openers
Bradley owns a 25-10 (.714) record in home openers, which includes a 7-3 (.700) mark under head coach Paula Buscher. The Braves have won four consecutive games when playing the season opener at home and boast a 15-5 (.750) overall record when playing the season opener in Peoria.
BU Against The Horizon League
Butler is the first of three Horizon League teams on the schedule for Bradley this season. The Braves are 39-22 (.639) all-time against current members of the Horizon League and BU is a combined 15-8 (.652) against this season's Horizon League foes Butler, Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Illinois-Chicago. Bradley boasts a 17-8 (.680) record against Horizon League schools under 11th-year head coach Paula Buscher.
Heather Best Hall of Fame Induction
Former Bradley women's basketball standout Heather Best will be inducted into the Bradley Athletics Hall of Fame at halftime of Saturday's season opener against Butler. Best is part of the 2010 Hall of Fame class, but was unable to attend the induction ceremony in February due to her participation in a world championship triathlon. She was the first player in MVC history with 100 career 3-points and 100 career blocked shots and is currently seventh on Bradley's career scoring list with 1,447 points. Best was a first-team All-MVC selection in 1998-99 and honorable mention all-conference pick in 1997-98. She is still third in school history with 154 career three-pointers and ranks ninth with 670 career rebounds in addition to ranking seventh with 330 career assists. The only player in program history with 1,000 points, 600 rebounds, 300 assists, 100 blocks and 100 steals, she also ranks third in school history with 153 career blocked shots and was a three-time MVC Scholar-Athlete. Best was a Missouri Valley Conference Post-Graduate Scholarship winner and was the recipient of the 1999 Charles Orsborn Award. Following her four-year basketball career, she went on to play one season of volleyball in 1999, earning first-team Valley Scholar-Athlete honors while helping BU to a 20-6 overall record and program best 14-4 league mark. A native of Davenport, Iowa, she graduated from West High School.
Tough Opening Stretch
Bradley opens the 2010-11 season with four consecutive games against teams which advanced to the postseason in 2009-10. The Braves regular-season and Renaissance Coliseum-opening opponent Butler participated in the WNIT, while BU's first road contest of the year (Nov. 16) is against NCAA Tournament squad Iowa. WNIT participant Illinois visits Peoria Nov. 19 for a Friday night tilt and the Braves travel to Charleston, Ill., to face 2009-10 WNIT participant Eastern Illinois on Nov. 22. Three of Bradley's first four opponents won 20 or more games in 2009-10 and the four squads combined for an 85-50 (.630) record last year.
Washington Recap
Bradley limited defending NCAA Division III national champion Washington (Mo.) to just one field goal in the final nine minutes of play and five second-half field goals en route to a 66-53 win in the final exhibition game of the year. Junior MacKenzie Westcott was the Braves leading scorer with 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting, while senior Raisa Taylor added a double-double (10 points & 10 rebounds). Junior Leah Kassing had 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting and also had nine boards and three blocks.
Busy Month
The Braves will open the season with arguably the busiest stretch of the season, playing nine games in a 25-day span. Bradley will play five of the first nine games away from home and open the stretch with six games in a 15-day span starting with Saturday's matchup with Butler. The nine-game stretch concludes Dec. 7 with a road game at Western Illinois. Following the heavy string of games, the Braves will play just three games over the final 24 days of December.
Welcome To The Team
Bradley welcomes three freshmen to the team in 2010-11, adding 5-9 Kelsy Budd (Prairie du Sac, Wis./Sauk Prairie), 6-1 forward Kelly Frings (Milwaukee, Wis./Pius XI) and 6-3 center Alyson Spinas-Valainis (Davenport, Iowa/Assumption). Budd was a first-team all-state selection after averaging 20 points and five assists per game as a senior. Frings was conference player of the year and led the league in both scoring and rebounding each of her final two prep seasons. Believed to be the only player in Iowa to score 1,000 points and strikeout 1,000 batters during the high school basketball and softball careers, Spinas-Valainis was a two-time first-team all-state pick and two-time conference player of the year.
See You Next Year
In addition to welcoming three true freshmen to the roster, Bradley women's basketball head coach Paula Buscher added Wisconsin transfer Catie O'Leary during the summer. O'Leary, who will have to sit out the 2010-11 season due to NCAA transfer rules, will have three years of eligibility remaining. A native of Janesville, Wis., O'Leary was the state scoring champ as a junior at Parker High School and was a three-time Big 8 Conference Player of the Year selection.
Postseason Success
Bradley made the first postseason appearance in program history in 2009-10, receiving a bid to the inaugural Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI). The Braves posted a 69-59 win against Louisville at Freedom Hall in the final home contest for any Louisville program in the historic venue. The Cardinals, which were a year removed from a national runner-up finish in the 2008-09 NCAA Tournament, were a combined 129-23 (.849) at Freedom Hall over the last 13 years in the facility. The win also snapped a 13-game losing streak for Bradley Athletics programs at Freedom Hall. The Bradley women lost their only other game in the building during the 1990-91 season and the Bradley men's basketball team had lost 12 consecutive games at Freedom Hall since edging the Cardinals 80-79 on Feb. 10, 1962.
Welcome Home
After calling Illinois Central College's Lorene Ramsey Gym home for each of the last two years, Bradley will return to campus for the 2010-11 season. The Braves will open their new $50-million, 4,200-seat facility Nov. 13 against WNIT participant Butler. The Renaissance Coliseum sits on the exact site of historic Robertson Memorial Field House which served as the Braves home until the building was razed following the 2007-08 season. Despite playing home games across the river in East Peoria, Bradley was an impressive 20-4 (.833) at Lorene Ramsey Gym over the last two seasons. Over the last three season, BU is 30-10 (.750) in home contests.
Road Warriors
Bradley played a school record 17 road games in 2009-10 and matched a school record with eight road victories. The Braves are a combined 14-16 on the road over the last two seasons, marking the most road wins in back-to-back seasons in program history.
Winning Ways
Bradley finished the 2009-10 season with a 17-14 record, marking the first time the Braves had back-to-back winning seasons since the 1985-86 (16-12 overall) and 1986-87 (15-13 overall) campaigns. The Braves are 38-24 (.613) over the last two season, with the 38 wins ranking as the most wins in consecutive years since the 1980-81 and 1981-82 squads combined to go 38-16 (.704).
Braves Tie School Record For Conference Wins
Bradley matched a school record with 12 conference victories in 2009-10, while also matching the best league finish in school history (tied for third). BU's 23 Valley wins over the last years are the most in back-to-back seasons in school history and the Braves' 23-13 (.639) league mark over that time is third best in the conference during that stretch behind only Illinois State (31-5) and Creighton (27-9).
Senior Leadership
Raisa Taylor is the lone senior on the roster for Bradley in 2010-11 and has a chance to finish her career among the winningest players in program history. During her time on The Hilltop, the Braves own a 50-42 overall record and 29-25 league mark. Bradley has not finished a four-year period with a winning conference record since the 1992-93 senior class closed out their careers with a 36-34 mark. The only other class to post a winning league record was the 1991-92 senior class, which finished with a 38-34 conference record. Last year's senior class (Jenny Van Kirk & Renee Frericks) finished their careers with a 62-61 overall record, marking the most wins for BU during a four-year period since the 1982-83 team was 72-39. The junior class enters the year with a 38-24 overall record and 23-13 league mark.
Yohn Earns All-Valley Honors
Sophomore guard Katie Yohn was an honorable mention All-Missouri Valley Conference honoree in 2009-10 as a freshman and also earned a spot on The Valley's All-Freshman team after leading Bradley in scoring with a 10.2 points per game average. Yohn was the second freshman in program history to earn all-conference honors, joining Karin Nicholls who was an honorable mention All-Gateway Conference pick as a frosh in 1986-87. Yohn was a three-time MVC Newcomer of the Week honoree in 2009-10 and was the sixth Bradley player to be named to the MVC's All-Freshman squad under 11th-year head coach Paula Buscher.
Close Calls
Bradley has made a habit of pulling out close contests over the last two seasons. In 2009-10, the Braves had 15 games decided by 10 points or fewer and finished an impressive 11-4 (.733) in those contests. In fact, BU was 4-1 in games in which the final margin was five points or less. Over the last two years, Bradley is a combined 20-7 (.741) when the game is decided by 10 points or fewer.
The Future Is Bright
Katie Yohn led Bradley in scoring in 2009-10, averaging a team-best 10.2 points per game as a true freshman. Yohn, who earned a spot on the Missouri Valley Conference All-Freshman team, was the first freshman to lead BU in scoring since Connie Griffith paced the Braves with an 18.3 points per game average her freshman year in 1977-78. Griffith is the only player in program history to lead the team in scoring in each of her four seasons on The Hilltop. Yohn finished the year with 317 points, which ranks as the fifth-best total for a BU freshman and her 10.2 points per game is average is the best a Bradley frosh since Heather Best tossed in 12.6 points per game in 1995-96.
Buscher Breaks BU Win Mark
Head coach Paula Buscher enters her 11th year on The Hilltop as the all-time wins leader in program history. The dean of Missouri Valley Conference coaches, Buscher broke Lisa Boyer's school record of 123 victories on Jan. 15, 2010 with a 74-62 win against Northern Iowa. Buscher will break Boyer's hold as the longest tenured coach in program history this season, with her 11th on the bench in Peoria and starts the year 11th in Missouri Valley Conference history with 134 wins. She also holds the school record for Missouri Valley Conference wins with 77, which is good for 11th all-time in league history.
Schedule Notes
In addition to Bradley's first game on-campus since March of 2007, BU's non-conference schedule includes three games against teams from BCS conferences and the team's first regular-season international trip since 1989-90. Bradley's new $50-million Renaissance Coliseum will serve as home court for the Braves after playing off campus the last two seasons. BU will open the arena Saturday, Nov. 13 against Butler. Following the season-opener against the Bulldogs, Bradley will play back-to-back games against Big Ten Conference opponents (Nov. 16 at Iowa & Nov. 19 at home against Illinois). The Braves will spend Thanksgiving in Cancun, Mexico, taking part in the Cancun Thanksgiving Classic (Nov. 26 & 27). The trip to Cancun will be the third international trip for Bradley women's basketball and the first regular-season trip outside of the United States since playing in Aruba in 1989-90. The Braves' only other international trip was an exhibition tour through Western Europe during the summer of 2004.
Balanced Attack
Bradley utilized a balanced attack during the 2009-10 season with seven players averaging between 4.7 points and 10.2 points per game on the year. Bradley was one of three Valley schools without a player averaging at least three assists per outing, but the Braves had four individuals averaging 1.8 assists per game or better and BU ranked third in the league in assists per game as team (13.9). Bradley had 10 different individuals lead the team in scoring at least once.
Crashing The Boards
One of the reasons for Bradley's success over the past two seasons has been rebounding. The Braves have led the Missouri Valley Conference in rebounding each of the last two seasons. In 2008-09, BU led the league in rebounding with a 41.6 rebounds per game average, marking the first time Bradley led the conference in rebounding since 1990-91. The Braves led the Valley with a 41.2 rebounds per game average in 2009-10 and are the first team to lead the league in rebounding in back-to-back years since Northern Iowa in 1997-98 and again in 1998-99.
Active Leader
Senior Raisa Taylor heads into her final season on The Hilltop as Bradley's active career leader in points (740), rebounds (319) and assists (139). Taylor ranked second on the team in scoring as a junior with a 9.7 points per game average, while leading the team in assists. In addition, she ranked third on the team in rebounding at 4.8 boards per outing in 2009-10. She needs 260 points to become the 15th player in program history to score 1,000 career points. Taylor's 740 points are the most for a Bradley player entering their final season since Devyn Flanagan opened the 2007-08 season with 753 career points. Flanagan was the last BU player to top 1,000 points.
From Long Range
Sophomore Katie Yohn was one of the top outside scoring threats in the Missouri Valley Conference and her 57 three-pointers last year as a freshman is the second-best season total by a BU frosh in program history. Her 57 trey's in 2009-10 is the ninth-best season total in school history and ranks as the eighth-best total by a freshman in Missouri Valley Conference history.
Heating Up
Senior Raisa Taylor ended the 2009-10 season on a tear, averaging 16.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game over Bradley's last five games. She played a key role in Bradley's 69-59 win at Louisville in the opening round of the inaugural Women's Basketball Invitational, finishing with 21 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, three blocks and two steals. The 20-10-5 effort (points-rebounds-assists) was just the third 20-10-5 performance by a Bradley player since Tammy Van Oppen's triple-double on Dec. 31, 1996. Taylor enters the season as Bradley's active career leader in points, rebounds and assists.
Braves Picked Sixth In Preseason Valley Poll
For the second consecutive year Bradley was picked to finish sixth according to a vote of league coaches, sports information directors and media. Missouri State was the preseason favorite to win the regular-season league title after receiving 27 of 40 first-place votes. The Braves received 204 points in the poll and were 22 points behind fifth-place Wichita State. Bradley was 24 points ahead of seventh-place Drake in the preseason ranking. BU has finished higher than its predicted finish in each of the last four years and eight of the last 10 years overall under head coach Paula Buscher.
Up Next
Bradley hits the road for the first time this season, playing at NCAA Tournament participant Iowa Tuesday. The Braves will be meeting the Hawkeyes for the first time since the 1999-2000 season and fifth time overall. Iowa is 4-0 all-time against Bradley with the last three games in the series played in Iowa City. The series dates back to Nov. 19, 1982 when the Hawkeyes posted an 86-82 victory against Bradley in Peoria in Iowa's only trip to Peoria. The Braves will be playing a pair of games against Big Ten Conference teams in the same season for the first time since 2004-05 when Bradley played Ohio State and Illinois. BU has not played back-to-back games against Big Ten Conference opponents since 1989-90 when the Braves followed a game at Minnesota with a home contest against Illinois.
