PEORIA, Ill. - The Bradley women's basketball team will close out the non-conference portion of the schedule and kick off a three-game road swing Tuesday with a 7:05 p.m. game at Illinois-Chicago. The Braves (7-3 overall) picked up their fourth consecutive victory Saturday with a 57-48 home win against Northern Illinois.
Sophomore Katie Yohn (Elgin, Ill./St. Edward) scored a game-high 15 points Saturday against the Huskies to help Bradley to the victory, but junior MacKenzie Westcott (Williamsburg, Iowa/Williamsburg) helped highlight the action with her second career double-double. Westcott, who finished with 11 points and a career-high 11 rebounds, posted her first double-double in exactly two years. Her only previous double-double was a 15-point, 10-rebound effort against SIU Edwardsville on Dec. 18, 2008.
The Braves hold a 13-4 lead in the all-time series with the Flames and BU has claimed two of the last three meetings. Bradley is 4-3 in road games in the series, but UIC has won each of the last two meetings in Chicago. BU is 6-2 against the Flames under head coach Paula Buscher, including a 2-2 mark at the UIC Pavilion.
Bradley has won four consecutive games against Horizon League opponents, dating back to the team's last game at Illinois-Chicago in Nov. 2008. Overall, BU owns a 41-22 (.651) record against current members of the Horizon League, including a 19-8 (.704) mark during Buscher's tenure.
The Braves own a Missouri Valley Conference-best 3-1 road record this season and Bradley will play eight of the next 12 games away from home. BU is 8-5 in its last 13 road games. Bradley's seven non-conference wins is tied for the third most in program history. The Braves were 9-0 in 2001-02 and 9-2 in non-conference play during the 2008-09 campaign.
Yohn pushed her season scoring average to a team-best 13.8 points per game with her 15-point effort Saturday against Northern Illinois. Senior Raisa Taylor (Decatur, Ill./Eisenhower) is adding 13.7 points per game and needs four points to pass Amy Peters for 18th on Bradley's career scoring list.
UIC (4-5 overall) is playing its final non-conference game of the year Tuesday when the Braves visit UIC Pavilion. Junior Shameia Green is one of three Flames scoring in double figures with a 13.7 points per game average. Junior Jasmine Bailey had 32 points in last year's meeting and is adding 12.0 points and a team-best 8.8 rebounds per outing. Senior Briana Hinkle averages team highs of 3.3 assists and three steals per game while adding 11.8 points per game.
A free video stream of Tuesday's game is available through the Horizon League website and the game will be broadcast in the Peoria area on 1290 AM WIRL. A free audio stream is also available at BradleyBraves.com
After a break for the holidays, the Braves return to action Thursday, Dec. 30 when Bradley opens Missouri Valley Conference play at I-74 rival Illinois State.
