For Starters
Bradley wraps up a season-long, four-game road swing with its first trip to the state of Wisconsin since 1995, facing Wisconsin-Milwaukee Wednesday in a 7:05 p.m. game. Wednesday's game is just the second meeting between the two teams and first since 1983.
The Braves (3-3 overall) are coming off an 82-59 loss to Arizona at the Cancun Thanksgiving Classic, but BU has won two of its last three heading into Wednesday's contest. The game is the second of three for Bradley against Horizon League teams.
UWM (3-2 overall) is coming off back-to-back victories and the Panthers have won three of their last four after posting a 70-55 home win against Western Illinois Saturday. Wisconsin-Milwaukee is 1-1 at home with the lone loss coming in the season opener to 10th-ranked Oklahoma (76-59).
About Wisconsin-Milwaukee
The Panthers are coming off back-to-back wins and have won three of their last four after picking up the team's first home of the season Saturday against Western Illinois (70-55).
UWM returned 10 of 14 letterwinners, including four starters from last year's team which posted a 12-19 overall record and tied for seventh in the Horizon League with a 6-12 conference mark.
Junior Lindsay Laur is the leading scorer for the Panthers with a 15.8 points per game average and is pulling down a team-best 8.2 boards per contest. Freshman center Courtney Lindfors is also scoring 15.8 per game and averages 7.0 rebounds per outing.
Freshman guard Angela Rodriguez averages 12.2 points per tilt and has made a team-leading nine three-pointers, while junior Jenilee Klomstad started against Western Illinois Saturday and had 11 points and four rebounds in her first game of the year.
About The Braves
Bradley (3-3 overall) 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. Bradley's lone senior Raisa Taylor is averaging 14.2 points per game and is shooting 55 percent from the field. Taylor has scored in double figures in 10 of her last games dating back to last season.
Sophomore guard Katie Yohn returned to the court last week after missing two games due to a concussion and earned all-tournament honors at last week's Cancun Thanksgiving Classic.
Bradley's leading scorer as a freshman in 2009-10 with a 10.2 points per game average, Yohn is scoring 12.8 points per outing this season. Junior forward Latasha Hollingshed leads The Valley in rebounding at 9.3 boards per game and is adding 9.0 points per tilt.
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 137-159 (.463) at BU. The 2008-09 Rawlings Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year, Buscher owns a 180-197 (.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 137 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.
Sandy Botham (Notre Dame '88) is in her 15th year as head coach UWM and owns a 227-188 (.547) record in that time. She is the all-time leader in league wins in the Horizon League and boasts 15 years of collegiate head coaching experience, taking over the head coaching reigns of the Panthers in 1996-97 after a one-year stint as head coach at Beloit. She owns a 249-192 (.565) career coaching record.
Series History
Bradley closes out a season-long, four-game road swing Wednesday, Dec. 1 at Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The Braves have not faced the Panthers since UWM visited Robertson Memorial Field House on Jan. 7, 1983 and next week's game will be just the second meeting all-time. The Panthers topped BU 77-75 in the only previous meeting. The game will be the second of three games scheduled against Horizon League opponents. Bradley has not played a game in the state of Wisconsin since losing at Marquette 71-59 on Dec. 18, 1995 in Milwaukee.
Last Time Out
Bradley went 1-1 at the Cancun Thanksgiving Classic, edging William & Mary 65-62 and falling to Arizona 82-59. Sophomore guard Katie Yohn earned all-tournament honors for the Braves, averaging 12.5 points, 2.0 assists and 3.5 steals per game in the two games in Cancun. The win against William & Mary gave BU back-to-back wins for the first time this season. The trip to Cancun, Mexico was the third international trip in program history and just the second regular-season trip outside of the United States for the Braves.
Yohn Makes Return
Sophomore guard Katie Yohn made her return to the court Friday against William & Mary after missing the previous two games due to a concussion. Yohn earned all-tournament honors at the Cancun Thanksgiving Classic, averaging 12.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.0 block and 3.5 steals per game. She came off the bench in both contests, collecting 11 points and trying a career-high with five steals against William & Mary, before capping the week with team highs of 14 points, three assists, two blocks and two steals against Arizona.
Climbing The Scoring Chart
Senior guard Raisa Taylor jumped up five spots on Bradley's career scoring list last week, averaging 14.0 points per game and moving into 23rd in scoring at BU. Taylor, who ranks fourth in the MVC with a 14.2 points per game scoring average, is Bradley's active scoring leader with 825 career points and needs just 12 points to move into 19th place in school history.
Heading To The Badger State
Wednesday's game at Wisconsin-Milwaukee will be Bradley's first contest against a team from the state of Wisconsin since facing Wisconsin-Green Bay in 2001-02 in the championship game of the Dead River Classic in Orono, Maine. The Braves have played a total of five games in the Badger state with the last game occurring on Dec. 18, 1995 at Marquette. BU is 2-3 all-time in the state of Wisconsin with the last victory coming on Dec. 17, 1988 at Marquette (83-78).
BU Against The Horizon League
Wednesday's contest at Wisconsin-Milwaukee is the second of three games on the schedule for Bradley against Horizon League teams this season. The Braves are 40-22 (.645) all-time against current members of the Horizon League. Bradley boasts an 18-8 (.692) record against Horizon League schools under 11th-year head coach Paula Buscher. BU will play at Illinois-Chicago on Dec. 21.
Cleaning The Glass
Junior Latasha Hollingshed has helped Bradley on the glass, averaging a Missouri Valley Conference best 9.3 rebounds per game average through the first six games. Hollingshed averaged just 9.0 minutes and 2.2 rebounds per game last year as a sophomore behind Second-Team All-Valley selection Sonya Harris. This season she has three outings with 10 or more rebounds and her 56 rebounds in six games is nine less than her season total for the entire 2009-10 season. Hollingshed is also adding 9.0 points per outing on the year and is averaging 10.8 rebounds per game over the last four outings.
3-3 Start
Bradley has opened a season with a 3-3 record or better for the eighth time in Paula Buscher's 11 years as head coach. BU's three losses this season have all come to teams from BCS Conferences (Iowa, Illinois and Arizona). The three opponents the Braves have lost games to own a combined 15-5 (.750) record through games of Nov. 28.
Getting To The Line
Senior Raisa Taylor has been able to get to the free throw line early and often so far this season, having attempted a Missouri Valley Conference-best 44 free throws through the six four games. Last season Taylor averaged 4.2 free throw attempts per game, but is averaging 7.3 per game in 2010-11. Her 371 career free throw attempts is the sixth best career total in program history and her 240 made free throws is the 10th best total in school history. She needs three more made free throws to move into ninth and 15 more attempts to climb into fourth on the respective lists.
International Trip
Last week's trip to Cancun, Mexico, for the Cancun Thanksgiving Classic marked the third international trip in program history for Bradley. The Braves last trip out of the country was in the summer of 2004 when BU made an exhibition tour through Western Europe. The only regular-season trip out of the United States was in 1989-90 when BU opened the season with three games in the Aruba Sunshine Classic. The Braves are 4-6 in games played outside the United States after going 0-3 on the trip to Aruba and 3-2 during the European exhibition tour.
Putting It In Neutral
The Braves ended a three-game losing streak in neutral site games with a 65-62 victory against William & Mary in Cancun, Mexico, snapping a skid which dated back to the semifinals of the 2009 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. Bradley is 4-4 in its last eight neutral site games, despite the three-game skid. The Braves are 10-16 in neutral site contests under head coach Paula Buscher and Bradley is 31-35 (.469) at neutral sites.
Filling Up The Stat Sheet
Senior Raisa Taylor enters this week's action fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference in scoring (14.2 ppg), field goal percentage (.551) and assists (3.8 apg). Over her last 11 games, Taylor is averaging 15.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game dating back to her last five contests in 2009-10. The lone senior on the roster for Bradley, she is averaging nearly eight free throw attempts per game during that same 11-game stretch. Taylor is the Braves' active career leader in scoring, rebounding and assists.
Hitting The Road
After opening the season with two of the first three games at Renaissance Coliseum, Bradley opened a season-long, four-game road swing with a 77-72 victory at Eastern Illinois (Nov. 22) and wraps up the swing Wednesday at UWM (Dec. 1). The four-game road swing kicked off a stretch in which the Braves play eight of 10 games away from home before BU's Missouri Valley Conference home opener Jan. 6 against Wichita State. Bradley will have just two home games during a 47-day span between the Nov. 19 home tilt against Illinois and the Valley home opener against Wichita State on Jan. 6. Bradley is 19-21 (.475) away from home (road & neutral site games) since the start of the 2008-09 season.
Keeping It In State
Bradley's loss to Illinois (Nov. 19) ended a seven-game home win streak for the Braves against in-state non-conference opponents which dated back to the Illini's last visit to Peoria to close out the 2006-07 non-conference schedule. BU is 9-3 (.750) at home against in-state non-conference foes since the start of the 2006-07 season and boasts a 16-6 (.727) in home non-conference matchups against teams from the Land of Lincoln under 11th-year head coach Paula Buscher. BU is 27-17 (.614) against in-state non-conference opponents under 11th-year head coach Paula Buscher, including an 11-5 (.688) mark since the start of the 2007-08 season. The Braves have three games remaining on the schedule against non-conference teams from the Prairie State - Dec. 7 at Western Illinois, Dec. 18 vs. Northern Illinois and Dec. 21 at Illinois-Chicago.
Braves Open New Home
Bradley played its first game on campus since the end of the 2007-08 season, opening Renaissance Coliseum with a 77-63 victory against WNIT participant Butler on Nov. 13. Renaissance Coliseum is the sixth different venue Bradley has called a home court and the Braves are 5-1 in their first games in a new home venue. BU played its first home game in 1975-76 in Haussler Hall, picking up a victory. The next season, Bradley relocated across the street to Robertson Memorial Field House and opened the 1976-77 campaign with a win against Carl Sandburg. The Braves topped Northeastern Illinois in overtime at Carver Arena in 1984-85 in the first of 13 games Bradley has played in the downtown facility. During construction of Renaissance Coliseum, BU was a 67-60 winner against Loyola-Chicago in the 2008-09 season opener in the team's first game at Illinois Central College's Lorene Ramsey Gym. In addition to the games at ICC, Bradley played two games at area high schools during construction, beating Air Force at Richwoods High School during the 2008-09 season and suffering a 58-51 loss to Arkansas-Little Rock at Woodruff High School.
Muegge Returns
Junior guard Hanna Muegge returned to the lineup in the season opener after tearing both her ACL and MCL Feb. 25 at Illinois State last season and missing the final six games of the year. Muegge helped Bradley to an 11-5 record in her starts last year before missing the final six games of the season. She was shooting a Missouri Valley Conference best 50 percent from beyond the arc in conference play prior to her injury. Dating back to last season, Muegge has made 16 of her last 35 three-point attempts (45.7 percent) and is 21-for-44 (47.7 percent) from beyond the arc over her last 14 games.
Return To Campus
Bradley's season opener against Butler marked BU'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.
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 returned to campus for the 2010-11 season. The Braves opened the new $50-million, 4,200-seat Renaissance Coliseum Nov. 13 against WNIT participant Butler. The facility 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. Since the start of the 2007-08 season, BU is 31-11 (.738) 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 15-17 on the road since the start of the 2009-10 season and Bradley's 14 combined road victories between the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons are 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 were 38-24 (.613) during the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons, 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 two 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 53-45 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. Bradley's current junior class has helped the Braves to a 41-27 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 won six consecutive games decided by five points or fewer and owns an impressive 11-1 record in its last 12 contests decided by 10 points or less. The Braves are 13-4 (.765) in games in which the final margin is 10 points or fewer since the start of 2009-10 and 22-7 (.759) in those contests since 2008-09.
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 is in her 11th year on The Hilltop and is 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 and also broke Boyer's hold as the longest tenured coach in program history this season, with her 11th on the bench in Peoria. Buscher is 11th in Missouri Valley Conference history with 137 wins and also ranks 11th in league history with a school-record 77 Missouri Valley Conference victories.
Battle Of The Boards
One of the reasons for Bradley's success over the past two seasons has been rebounding with the Braves leading 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. BU is currently fifth in the MVC in rebounding, but the Braves rank second in The Valley in rebounding margin.
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.
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
The Braves return home Saturday to face Atlantic 10 Conference foe Saint Louis at Renaissance Coliseum. Bradley owns a 7-3 lead in the all-time series with the Billikens and has won three consecutive outings against SLU. The Braves are 3-1 in home games against Saint Louis with the Billikens lone victory coming Dec. 29, 2002 at Robertson Memorial Field House. BU is 3-2 against Saint Louis under head coach Paula Buscher.
