For Starters
Bradley (14-11 overall, 10-5 MVC) closes out the road portion of its regular-season schedule Sunday with a 1:05 p.m. (CST) contest at Indiana State. The Braves will play their final road game of the regular-season in Terre Haute, Ind., for the second consecutive year and third time in the last four seasons.
BU will try to rebound from a 71-58 loss to I-74 rival Illinois State, which clinched its third consecutive regular-season title Thursday against the Braves at Redbird Arena. The Braves enter the game with Missouri State for third place as the two teams are one-half game behind second-place Creighton, who is idle Sunday.
Bradley has posted back-to-back wins after each of its last two losses and the Braves have not dropped back-to-back games since falling at Missouri State (Dec. 31) and at Wichita State (Jan. 2) to open Missouri Valley Conference play. BU is 7-7 on the road this season, including a 4-4 record in Valley play.
Indiana State (15-11 overall, 6-9 MVC) has won four consecutive games and is averaging 73.0 points per game during that stretch after a 70-62 home win against Northern Iowa Friday. The Sycamores are 7-5 at the Hullman Center this season and have won four of their last five games on their home court.
About Indiana State
Indiana State is seventh in the MVC standings after Friday's 70-62 home victory against Northern Iowa and has won four consecutive games heading into Sunday's home finale for the Sycamores. Indiana State is 6-4 in its last 10 outings.
The Sycamores returned nine of 12 letterwinners, including four starters from last year's team which finished 14-16 overall and was fifth in the Valley at 10-8.
Picked to finish fifth in the preseason MVC poll, Indiana State is led by senior guard Kelsey Luna. She is averaging 14.5 points per game and also leads the Sycamores in assists (3.2 apg) and steals (2.3 spg). Luna leads the Missouri Valley Conference in free throw percentage (.918), having made 101 of 110 attempts this season.
Sophomore center Shannon Thomas is Indiana State's top rebounder at 7.0 boards per game and is tossing in 9.0 points per outing. Thomas leads the MVC in field goal percentage at 56.6 percent and is third in the league in blocked shots.
One of six players averaging 7.5 points per game or better, sophomore guard Brittany Schoen scores 8.2 points per tilt and has connected on 57-of-167 three-pointers (34.1 percent). Freshman guard Taylor Whitley is adding 8.1 points per game, while sophomore Deja Mattox (7.9 ppg) and junior Kelsie Cooley (7.5 ppg) both play better than 21 minutes per game.
Indiana State is one of the top defensive teams in the Missouri Valley Conference, holding opponents to 61.8 points per game to rank third in the league. The Sycamores are second in the conference in three-point field goals per game (6.3) and are shooting 32.7 percent from beyond the arc.
About Bradley
A year removed from featuring one of the most experienced rosters in the Missouri Valley Conference, youth is prevalent on the 2009-10 roster for the Bradley Women's Basketball.
Despite returning four of its top eight scorers from 2008-09 and one of the top inside players in the Missouri Valley Conference, the Braves roster features just two seniors and a total of four upperclassmen (two juniors) to go along with five sophomores and three freshmen.
Headlining a group which represents 50 percent of last year's scoring and 56 percent of the rebounding is junior forward Sonya Harris. A game-changer on both ends of the floor, Harris averaged 9.3 points per game and was third in the MVC in rebounding at 8.5 boards per game as a sophomore in 2008-09. She earned Second-Team All-MVC honors after posting a league-leading and school-season record 79 blocked shots and was second on the team in steals with 36, while garnering MVC All-Defensive Team honors. This season, she is averaging 9.2 points, 9.8 rebounds and 1.9 blocked shots per game on the season after reaching double figures in rebounds in 14 of the first 25 games. Harris is second in the league in both rebounding and blocked shots.
Freshman Katie Yohn has led the team in scoring a team best eight times after her 12-point effort Thursday at Illinois State and has started 13 contests. A versatile player with the ability to shoot from the outside or penetrate, she is the team's leading scorer at 10.0 points per game and her 46 three-pointers is the second-best total by a Bradley freshman. Yohn has averaged 10.7 points per game in conference play and has been named MVC Newcomer of the Week three times this year.
Junior Raisa Taylor leads the squad in assists and steals while scoring 8.6 points per tilt. She is averaging 9.2 ppg over the last 12 contests and 9.7 ppg over the last 16 games.
Senior co-captain Jenny Van Kirk is the only player to start all 25 games this season and is adding 6.7 points and 4.8 boards per game, while leading the team with a 1.53 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Bradley picked up where it left off last year, outrebounding 20 of the first 25 opponents on the schedule by an average margin of +5.7. The Braves lead the Valley in rebounding (41.0 rpg) and are second in rebounding margin. BU is second in the MVC in field goal percentage defense (.370) and leads the league in blocked shots (4.8 bpg), while ranking fourth in the league in field goal percentage (.428).
The Coaches
The dean of Missouri Valley Conference Women's Basketball coaches, Paula Buscher (Missouri State, '86) is in her 10th year at Bradley and has a record of 131-153 (.461) at BU. Buscher led teams to improved records in each of her first five seasons as a collegiate head coach and 10 of her 13 seasons overall, culminating in last year's 21-10 season. The 2008-09 Rawlings Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year, Buscher owns a 174-191 (.477) career record and is in her 13th year as a collegiate head coach. She is the all-time wins leader in program history with her 131 victories at BU and is 11th all-time in Missouri Valley Conference history in victories. Last season she led Bradley to a school-record 21 victories (21-10 overall) and best conference finish (11-7 MVC; 4th place) since tying for third in 1991-92. 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.
Indiana State head coach Jim Wiedie was suspended for the remainder of the season on Feb. 9 and the Sycamores have gone 4-1 since that time. Assistant coaches Clint Weddle, Melanie Boeglin and Cammie Campbell have shared the day-to-day operations since that time. Weddle was head coach at his alma mater, Oakland City University, for two seasons where he his team to a 35-24 mark.
Last Time Out
Illinois State used a 12-0 first-half run to break open a three-point ball game and led 42-22 at the half. The Braves committed a season-low 13 turnovers, but shot just 34.5 percent and were outrebounded 40-37 as the Redbirds claimed the regular-season title with a 71-58 victory. Bradley made a late push, using a 10-0 run to eventually pull to within 11 points in the final minute, but would get no closer. Freshman Katie Yohn led the Braves in scoring with 12 points, while junior Raisa Taylor added 11. Junior Sonya Harris collected 15 rebounds and eight points to help lead BU.
Indiana State Series
For the second consecutive year and third time in the last four seasons Bradley will play its final road game of the season at Indiana State. The Braves trail the all-time series 22-36 after defeating the Sycamores 59-54 at Lorene Ramsey Gym in the first meeting of the season. Bradley has won four of the last five overall in the series, but is trying to end a 12-game road losing in the series with Indiana State. The Braves are 7-20 all-time in Terre Haute with BU's last road win in the series coming Jan. 26, 1997. Bradley is 6-15 against the Sycamores under head coach Paula Buscher, including an 0-9 record in games played in Terre Haute, Ind.
End Of The Road
Sunday's game at Indiana State is the final road game on the regular-season slate. The Braves will serve as the Sycamores Senior Day opponent for the second straight year and third time in the last four seasons. Sunday's game will mark the fourth time overall Bradley has played in Terre Haute, Ind., on Senior Day. The Braves are 0-3 in those games.
The Future Is Bright
Freshman Katie Yohn leads the Braves in scoring at 10.0 points per game and has averaged 12.5 points per game over the last four outings. Her 249 points this season rank as the ninth most by a Bradley freshman and she is looking to become just the first freshman to lead the team in scoring since Connie Griffith paced BU in scoring as a frosh in 1977-78. Griffith is the only player in program history to lead the team in each of her four years as a Brave. Yohn also has a chance to become the first BU freshman to average 10 or more points since Heather Best averaged 12.6 points per game in 1995-96.
On The Rebound
Junior Sonya Harris is second in the Missouri Valley Conference in rebounding this season at 9.8 boards per game after ranking third in the league in rebounding last year at 8.5 per tilt. Her 244 rebounds on the year is the seventh best season total in program history and she needs just four boards to pass her season total from the 2008-09 campaign. Harris is on pace to finish the regular season with 273 rebounds which would be the highest rebound total for a Bradley player since Carrie Coffman had a school-record 302 boards in 1994-95. Harris joined Roxanne Grabow as the only players in program history to own two of the top 10 season rebounding totals in school history.
From Downtown
Bradley ranks sixth in the MVC in three-point field goals per game at 5.8 per game, but the Braves 144 triples this season is the ninth best season total in school history. The 5.8 three-point baskets per game is the fifth-best average in school history. Bradley made 158 three-pointers last season and the Braves' two-year total of 302 trey's is the fifth-best in back-to-back years.
How Sweep It Is
Bradley completed regular-season series sweeps of Creighton and Drake last week, giving the Braves sweeps of four series this season. In addition to picking up the first regular-season series sweep of the Bluejays in program history, Bradley is the first team to sweep Creighton and Drake in the same season since 2006-07. BU's four series sweep this season are the most since taking four regular-season series during the 2002-03 season.
Back-To-Back 10-4 Starts
Bradley got off to a 10-4 start to Missouri Valley Conference play, marking the second straight season the Braves opened league play with a 10-4 mark. The 10-4 start is just the third in program history. Bradley has finished fourth each of the previous two times the Braves opened conference action with a 10-4 record. Bradley is 21-12 in league play since the start of last season. The school record for conference victories in consecutive years is 21 with the last occurrence coming during the 1989-90 (12-6) and 1990-91 (9-9) seasons.
10 League Wins
At 10-5 in Missouri Valley Conference play, Bradley has reached double figures in league wins in back-to-back years for the first time since 1985-86 (11-7) and 1986-87 (10-8). The Braves are guaranteed to finish with a winning record in league action, marking the sixth time in 27 years of conference membership BU had a winning mark in conference play.
Braves Sweep Valley Weekly Awards
Bradley swept the Missouri Valley Conference weekly awards for the week of Feb. 22, with junior Sonya Harris earning State Farm MVC Player of the Week honors for the first time in her career and freshman Katie Yohn taking home MVC Newcomer of the Week honors for the third time this season. Harris averaged 17.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 2.5 blocks and 1.5 steals while shooting 63.6 percent from the field in wins against Creighton and Drake. Yohn tossed in 13.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 3.0 steals per game in the victories. Bradley swept the awards for the first time since the Valley started giving out a newcomer of the week award for the 2003-04 season.
Offensive Boards
Bradley snagged 18 offensive boards in the win against Creighton on Feb. 19, with junior Sonya Harris highlighting the efforts on the glass with a career high 10 offensive rebounds. Her 10 offensive rebounds is tied for the third most in program history and is the most by a Bradley player since Illinois Central transfer Amy Fuller hauled down 10 offensive boards against Missouri on Nov. 23, 2003.
Senior Success
Seniors Jenny Van Kirk and Renee Frericks have been a part of 59 Bradley victories in their near four years on The Hilltop. The 59 wins are the most for a Bradley squad in a four-year period since the 1983-84 senior class finished up a four-year run with a 61-48 record. The duo has also been a part of 34 Missouri Valley Conference wins, marking the most victories during a four-year period since the 1992-93 squad finished up a four-year stretch with 36 conference wins.
Pink Zone Game
Bradley's Feb. 21 home game against Drake marked the seventh annual Pink Zone Game sponsored by the Bradley women's basketball team with proceeds from the contest benefitting the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation. Bradley raised $7,000 for the Komen Foundation during this year's event and has brought in nearly $52,000 during the history of the event. Bradley is 6-1 in its Pink Zone game.
Career Night
Junior Sonya Harris turned in arguably the best outing of her career last against Creighton (Feb. 19), finishing with career highs of 23 points and six assists to go along with 14 rebounds (10 offensive) and three blocked shots. Harris was 10-of-16 from the field against the Bluejays and is just the second player since Tammy Van Oppen's triple-double against Southern Illinois on Dec. 31, 1996 to collect 20 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in a game. Devyn Flanagan also turned in a 20-10-5 performance at Missouri State on Jan. 25, 2007, tallying 25 points, 10 boards and five assists against the Bears.
On The Mark
Sophomore guard Hanna Muegge has heated up since Missouri Valley Conference play has started, shooting 50 percent from three-point range in conference play. Muegge is 14-for-25 (56 percent) from beyond the arc over the last eight games and is averaging 9.0 points per game during that time.
Home Cooking
Bradley has played a league low 10 home games to date, going 7-3 in home contests and is one of three teams in the Missouri Valley Conference to not have more home victories than road wins. The Braves close out the final road swing of the regular season Sunday at Indiana State. Bradley wraps up the regular season next week with home games against Wichita State (March 4) and Missouri State (March 6). The Braves are 18-4 (.818) at Lorene Ramsey Gym over the last two seasons and are 28-10 (.737) in home games since the start of the 2007-08 season.
Four-Game Road Win Streak
Northern Iowa snapped a four-game Missouri Valley Conference road win streak, topping the Braves 84-60 in Cedar Falls, Iowa on Feb. 13. The four-game MVC road win streak is the longest for the Braves since the 1991-92 team won its last five conference road games to finish 11-7 in league action. Currently 4-4 in MVC road games, Bradley has four conference road wins for just the eighth time in 27 years of conference membership and in back-to-back seasons for the first time in program history. A win on Sunday would give the Braves a winning conference road record for the first time since the 1991-92 squad posted a 6-3 conference road record.
Feeling Rejected
Junior Sonya Harris collected two blocked shots against Drake (Feb. 21) to push her season total to a team best 48 on the year. Her 48 blocks rank as the fifth best season total in school history and she is closing in on ninth place on the MVC's career blocked shot chart. Harris has joined Dena Williams as the only players in program history to record 40 or more blocks in back-to-back seasons and is now in second place on BU's career blocked shot list passing Heather Best. She needs three blocks to overtake Jenna Hayes (Evansville - 2000-03) for ninth in Valley history.
Road Warriors
Bradley is currently 7-7 on the road this season with just one road game remaining on the slate. The 15 road games on the schedule are the most since Bradley played 16 road contests during the 1997-98 season. Bradley's seven road wins are the most for the Braves since finishing the 2004-05 season with a 7-6 record in road contests. The school record for road wins is eight held by the 1989-90 team (8-5) and later matched by the 1996-97 squad (8-5).
Braves Trump Aces
Bradley posted a 68-58 victory at Evansville to sweep the regular-season series with the Purple Aces. The sweep marked the 12th time in 16 years the two teams have been members of the Valley together one team was able to sweep the regular-season series. The win gave Bradley back-to-back sweeps of the regular-season series, however, ending a seven-year run in which the teams alternated sweeps. Between the 2002-03 and the 2008-09 seasons, the squads alternated sweeps with BU taking the series in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2009. Evansville took both regular-season meetings in 2004, 2006 and 2008.
Academic Honors
Seniors Jenny Van Kirk and Renee Frericks were both named ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District V selections, with Van Kirk earning the distinction for the second consecutive year. Van Kirk is the second repeat selection in program history after earning first-team All-District V honors this year. Enrolled in Bradley's Individualized Major Program, Van Kirk owns a 4.0 cumulative grade point average. Frericks earned second-team All-District V honors to give Bradley two Academic All-District selections in the same year for the first time in program history. A mathematics secondary education major, Frericks owns a 3.92 cumulative grade point average.
A January To Remember
Bradley finished the month of January with an impressive 6-2 record (.750). The Braves had not posted a winning record in the first month of a new year since going 5-4 in 1996-97 and the six victories were the most in the month of January since the 1989-90 squad went 8-2 to kick off the year 1990.
Six-Game Valley Win Streak Snapped
Bradley opened Missouri Valley Conference play with back-to-back road losses, but rattled off six consecutive victories before the home loss to Illinois State on Jan. 31. The six-game Valley win streak is tied for the longest in program history, matching last season's six-game win streak. I-74 rival Illinois State ended both six-game win streaks, posting an 82-61 win against the Braves last year at Redbird Arena.
More About Win Streaks
The Braves had a season-long six-game win streak snapped against I-74 rival Illinois State on Jan. 31. The six-game win streak is tied for the fifth longest in program history and is the fourth streak of six or more wins under head coach Paula Buscher. The Braves had win streaks of seven and six games in 2008-09 en route to a program record 21 victories.
Defense Making the Difference
Defense has been the main reason for Bradley's success in Missouri Valley Conference play. The Braves rank second in the MVC in field goal percentage defense (.370) and have held eight of the last 17 opponents to less than 33 percent shooting. In fact, during the last 16 games foes have combined to shoot 35.8 percent from the field and averaged just 60.8 points per game.
Big Impact
Sophomore Hanna Muegge did not appear in three of the first seven games and played a total of 14 minutes in the first eight contests, but has averaged 22.1 minutes over the last 17 games while helping Bradley to an 12-5 record in that stretch. Muegge has started each of the last 16 games and is averaging 6.7 points per contest, while shooting 45.9 percent (17-for-37) from three-point range over the last 17 contests.
Balanced Attack
Bradley has utilized a balanced attack most of the season with seven players averaging between 4.8 points and 10.0 points per game on the year. The Braves are one of just four schools in the MVC without a player averaging at least three assists per outing, but rank second in the league in assists per game as team (14.5). Bradley has had a different leading scorer in five of the last six games and a total of 10 different players have led the team in scoring at least once this season.
Braves Sweep Creighton-Drake Road Swing
Bradley ended a two-game road losing skid with victories at Creighton (63-57) and at Drake (61-58) earlier this season. The Braves swept the Creighton-Drake road swing for the first time in program history, marking just the 11th time a road team has won regular-season games at Creighton and Drake in the same season. The road sweep was the first since Illinois State and Indiana State both accomplished the feat the final weekend of the regular-season in 2006-07.
Minnesota Connection
Bradley has used 10 different starting combinations on the year through 25 games. A player from the state of Minnesota has been in the starting lineup for each of the 25 games this season, but Bradley is an impressive 8-2 on the year when all three Gopher State natives are in the starting five. While Waconia, Minn., native Jenny Van Kirk is the only player on the roster to start all 25 games this season and Wyoming, Minn., native Renee Frericks has helped Bradley to a 8-4 record in her starts; Bradley is 11-5 when sophomore guard Hanna Muegge (Hopkins, Minn.) is in the starting lineup.
Getting Defensive
Bradley held Creighton to a season-low 22.7 percent shooting in the first meeting in the regular-season series this year as the Braves posted a 63-57 road victory against the Bluejays. The 22.7 percent shooting by the Bluejays is the lowest by a Missouri Valley Conference opponent and is tied for the third best defensive effort by the Braves. Creighton's shooting percentage was the lowest for a BU opponent since holding Texas Southern to a school record 20.6 percent shooting on Dec. 5, 1992.
Buscher Breaks BU Win Mark
Head coach Paula Buscher became the all-time wins leader in program history with BU's 74-62 victory against Northern Iowa on Jan. 15, picking up her 124th win as head coach of the Braves. She entered the game against UNI with an identical record to Boyer's 123-150 (.451) mark as head coach of the Braves. Buscher is 131-153 (.461) as head coach of the Braves and is 11th in Missouri Valley Conference history with 131 victories. She has accounted for 131 of BU's 430 all-time wins or 30 percent. Buscher needs one more win in MVC play to match Boyer's school record for conference wins at 76.
Freshman Bomber
Freshman Katie Yohn has connected on a team-best 46 three-pointers this season and has hit six three-pointers in a game on two occasions. She is just the seventh player in program history with two outings with six trey's or more in the same season and joins Michelle Lund as the only freshmen in program history to accomplish the feat. Yohn's 46 three-pointers is the second-best total by a BU freshman behind Lund's 75 three-pointers last season.
Hot Hands
Junior Raisa Taylor has had a hot hand as of late, shooting 67-of-134 (50 percent) over the last 20 games and is a combined 50-for-93 (.538) in BU's 13 road games. Junior Sonya Harris is an even more impressive 52-for-89 (58.4 percent) and averaging 11.7 points per game over the last 10 contests.
Up Next
Bradley opens the final homestand of the year Thursday against Wichita State. The Braves are looking avenge a 55-69 loss at Wichita State earlier this season. The Shockers hold a 28-26 lead in the all-time series and have won each of the last two meetings. Wichita State has claimed three of the last four overall in the series, but the two teams have split the regular-season series each of the last four years and five of the last six. Bradley is 16-10 all-time in home against the Shockers after last season's 68-70 loss, but the Braves have won six of the last seven home games in the series. BU is 11-8 against Wichita State under head coach Paula Buscher, including a 7-2 mark in home games.
Bench Coming Up Big
Bradley has had at least one player come off the bench and score in double figures in 17 of 25 games this season. BU's reserves have accounted for 43.8 percent of the team's offense this season and the Braves' bench has been outscored by the opponent's counterparts in just five of 25 outings. Bradley's bench is averaging 27.9 points per game and boasts an average scoring margin of +11.2 per game compared to the opponents' reserves.
Pounding The Boards
After leading the league in rebounding in 2008-09 with a 41.6 rebounds per game average, Bradley is once again dominating the glass. The Braves lead the Missouri Valley Conference in rebounding (41.0 rpg) and rank second in the league in rebounding margin at +5.7 per game. Bradley is looking to become the first team to lead the MVC in rebounding in back-to-back seasons since Northern Iowa in 1997-98 and again in 1998-99. BU has outrebounded 20 of 25 opponents this season and has matched our outrebounded its foe in 45 of the last 56 games.
Climbing The Charts
Junior Sonya Harris pulled down her 600th career rebound against Creighton on Feb. 19 and moved into Bradley's career top 10 in rebounding. Harris is second in the MVC in rebounding at 9.8 per game and passed former teammate Kelly Krumwiede for ninth on BU's rebounding chart with a 15-board effort at Illinois State. She needs 43 rebounds to pass Heather Best for eighth place and is 52 boards from jumping into the top six all-time. Harris also ranks as Bradley's active career scoring leader with 674 career points.
Non-Conference Finale
Ending the non-conference schedule on a high note has been a habit for the Braves. Bradley has won its final non-conference game six of the last seven years and boasts an 8-2 record in the final non-conference game of the season under head coach Paula Buscher. In fact BU is 16-3 (.842) in the final non-league game of the season over the last 19 years and 21-6 (.778) overall since joining the Gateway Conference for the 1983-84 season.
Braves Rally For Win
The Braves rallied from a halftime deficit to post a win for the first time this season with a 72-66 win at Saint Louis to wrap up the non-conference schedule. Bradley, which is now 4-9 when trailing at the half, had lost 35 consecutive road games in which it trailed at the break. BU's last road win in a game in which it trailed at halftime prior to the win against the Billikens, was a 72-69 victory at Missouri State on March 3, 2005.
Success Against The Mountain West
Bradley is 7-6 on the road this season, with two of the seven road wins coming on the home courts of Mountain West Conference foes after a 62-45 victory at Air Force (Dec. 19). The Braves have won four consecutive games against current members of the Mountain West Conference and own a 4-1 overall record against the league.
Non-Conference Home Win Streak Snapped
Arkansas-Little Rock snapped Bradley's 10-game non-conference home win streak with a 58-51 victory against the Braves on Dec. 5 at Woodruff High School. The 10-game non-conference home win streak is the longest since Bradley joined the Gateway Conference for the 1983-84 season. The Braves still boast an eight-game home win streak against in-state non-conference foes. Bradley is 28-13 (.683) at home against non-conference opponents under 10th-year head coach Paula Buscher.
The Young And The Restless
All three freshmen have paced the Braves in scoring at least once and frosh Katie Yohn has led BU in scoring a team-best eight times. Three of Bradley's top nine scorers are freshmen, with Yohn leading the squad with a 10.0 points per game average. Olivia Allen has reached double figures four times and is adding 3.5 points per game, while Brooke Bisping is scoring 3.6 points per game. The Braves' freshmen class has combined for 26 percent of the team's scoring this season.
High Scoring Freshman
Freshman Katie Yohn scored a team-best 25 points to help lead Bradley to a victory at UNLV (Nov. 29). Yohn's 25 points is the most scored by a BU freshman since Raisa Taylor had 28 at Southern Illinois on Feb. 28, 2008 and is the second most points contributed by a freshman under head coach Paula Buscher. Judy Burns scored 25 or more points twice as a freshman in 1981-82. Since Burns' freshmen season, only five different BU freshmen have scored 25 or more points in a game.
Lund Takes Leave
Sophomore guard Michelle Lund has taken a leave of absence from the team citing personal reasons following Bradley's game at Illinois. Lund missed the Braves first exhibition game with the flu and sat out the season opener at Northern Illinois, before returning to the lineup and averaging 6.0 points per game in two appearances. She has missed the last 21 games.
In-State Opponents
Bradley opened the season with three consecutive games against in-state opponents, marking the second consecutive year the Braves started a season with three in-state foes. BU is 26-16 (.619) against in-state non-conference opponents under 10th-year head coach Paula Buscher, including a 10-4 (.714) mark since the start of the 2007-08 season. Bradley is 47-35 (.573) against in-state foes during Buscher's tenure, which includes a 22-20 combined mark against Illinois State and Southern Illinois.
Yohn Earns MVC Newcomer of the Week Again
Freshman Katie Yohn has been selected as the Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week three times this season. She joins Michelle Lund as the only three-time MVC Newcomer of the of the Week selection in program history and is one of three players in the conference to earn the honor three times or more this season. Stephany Neptune of Southern Illinois has earned the award three times while Missouri State's Christiana Shorter has won the award four times this year.
Double Trouble
Junior Sonya Harris collected her team-leading sixth double-double of the year against Creighton on Feb. 19, finishing with 23 points and 14 rebounds. Harris now has 20 career double-doubles which is the third best total in Bradley history and most since Carrie Coffman notched a school record 28 double-double efforts from 1991-95. She collected eight double-doubles last year as a sophomore after nearly averaging a double-double in Missouri Valley Conference play in 2008-09 (9.7 ppg & 10.1 rpg). This season Harris is averaging 9.2 points and 9.8 boards per outing.
Strong Debuts
Freshmen guards Katie Yohn and Olivia Allen both reached double figures in scoring in each of their first two games. Just the ninth and 10th freshman in school history to score 10 or more points in their debut, they joined Judy Burns as the only players to score in double figures in each of their first two outings as a Brave. Burns accomplished the feat during the 1981-82 season. Yohn is scoring 10.0 points per game on the year, while Allen is adding 3.8 per outing. Yohn's 16 points in the season opener against NIU ranks as the third best scoring output by a freshman in their first game and Allen's 15 points vs. the Huskies is the fourth-highest point-total in a debut since 1981-82. Below is a chart detailing the top-10 scoring efforts by Bradley freshman in their debuts.
10 Or More Boards
Junior Sonya Harris is one of the top returning rebounders in the Missouri Valley Conference and she picked up where she left off in 2008-09, pulling down 9.8 boards per game this season. She has reached double digits in rebounds in 32 games in her two-plus seasons, including 14 of 25 outings to open the 2009-10 slate. Her 32 career double-digit rebounding efforts is tied with Dena Williams for the most in program history. In addition, Harris' 14 double-digit rebounding efforts this season is the most in a season by a Bradley player since Carrie Coffman had a school record 19 games with 10 or more boards and is tied for second most in school history.
Home Away From Home
The Braves will once again call Illinois Central College's Lorene Ramsey Gym home as construction of a new on-campus facility continues and will be completed this spring. The Braves boasted an 11-2 record at Lorene Ramsey Gym last year and finished the season with a 12-2 home mark, including an 81-65 win against Air Force which was played at Richwoods High School. Bradley tied a school record with 12 home wins last season and the 12-2 home mark is the second-best home winning percentage in school history behind the 1979-80 squad's 10-1 home record. The Braves are an impressive 18-4 (.818) at Lorene Ramsey Gym including this season's 7-2 record in the facility. BU is 28-10 (.737) at home since the start of the 2007-08 season.
Bradley Picked Sixth In MVC Poll
Bradley was picked to finish sixth in the preseason Missouri Valley Conference poll. The sixth-place selection is the highest the Braves have been picked since they were selected to finish sixth in 2002-03. Bradley has finished higher than its predicted finish in each of the last three years and seven of the last nine years under head coach Paula Buscher. The Braves were 36 points behind fifth-place Indiana State and 26 points ahead of seventh-place Missouri State.
Lowe's Senior CLASS Award
Senior forward Jenny Van Kirk was one of 30 national candidates for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as a NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence - classroom, character, community and competition. Van Kirk joins former teammate Kelly Krumwiede, who was a candidate last season, as the only players in program history to serve as national candidates for the honor. Van Kirk owns a 4.0 cumulative grade point average and was a second-team MVC Scholar-Athlete last year. She is a two-time ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District V selection in addition to earning Division I-AAA Athletic Director's Scholar-Athlete honors.
