PEORIA, Ill. -- Bradley held defending NCAA Division III national champion Washington (Mo.) to one field goal in the final nine minutes of play and just five second-half baskets overall to pull away and close out the exhibition portion of the schedule with a 66-53 win Saturday afternoon at Renaissance Coliseum.
The Braves scored the first seven points of the game and raced out to an early 14-3 lead. Washington would heat up from long range, however, with Alex Hoover hitting a pair of three-pointers to highlight a 17-5 run which put the Bears in front 23-21 with 5:30 to play. Hoover made 3-of-4 first-half three-pointers and Washington was an impressive 6-of-12 from beyond the arc in the opening 20 minutes as the Bears led at the half 32-31.
Washington scored just nine points in the first 10 minutes of the second half, but BU did not capitalize - opening the period 4-of-19 from the field. Bradley led 44-43 with just over nine minutes to play following Washington's first-two point basket of the half, when junior MacKenzie Westcott (Williamsburg, Iowa/Williamsburg) helped spark a 10-1 BU run to push the Braves advantage to 54-44.
Westcott scored six points during the spurt and capped the run with a steal and breakaway layup to give BU its biggest lead since the early moments of the first half at 54-44 with 5:20 left on the clock. The Braves held Washington without a field goal for better than eight minutes, until Hoover hit her fourth three-pointer of the game with 1:08 to play to end an eight-minute stretch without a field goal for the Bears. Hoover's trey ended an 0-for-13 shooting stretch for Washington, which shot 17.2 percent (5-for-29) in the second half.
Bradley outscored Washington 20-3 during the Bears' field goal drought to extend the lead to as many as 18 points (64-46) after back-to-back layups by junior Leah Kassing (Mt. Sterling, Ill./Brown County). Kassing had six points, three boards and three blocks to help highlight the decisive run and lead Bradley to the 66-53 victory.
Westcott was 7-for-11 from the field and finished with a game-high 17 points to go along with eight rebounds, two assists and two steals to lead the Braves. Kassing finished one rebound short of a double-double, adding 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting and nine boards, while senior Raisa Taylor (Decatur, Ill./Eisenhower) had 10 points and 10 rebounds to go along with a team-leading four assists.
BU held Washington to 27.9 percent shooting in the game and outrebounded the Bears 49-34. Washington was 10-for-25 from beyond the arc (40%), but shot just 19.4 percent (7-for-36) from inside the arc against the Braves. Hoover made 4-of-6 three-point attempts and paced the Bears in scoring with 14 points. Kathryn Berger added 12 points and team-highs of seven rebounds and five assists.
Bradley opens the 2010-11 regular season Saturday, Nov. 13 against Butler (2:05 p.m.) at Renaissance Coliseum in the first regular-season game on campus since the 2007-08 season. Season tickets are available at the Renaissance Coliseum ticket office (1601 W. Main Street) and are $75 for the general public and $30 for Bradley faculty and staff. For more information or to purchase tickets please call (309) 677-2625.
