PEORIA, Ill. -- The Bradley women's basketball team returns to Renaissance Coliseum for the first time in nearly three weeks Thursday when the Braves open a two-game homestand with a 7:05 p.m. game against Wichita State in the first Missouri Valley Conference home game of the 2010-11 season. Bradley (7-6 overall, 0-2 MVC) will play four of the next six games at home beginning with Thursday's contest against the Shockers.
The Braves ended a three-game road swing Saturday with an 84-68 loss at Indiana State on New Year's Day. Sophomore guard Katie Yohn (Elgin, Ill./St. Edward) made seven of her final 13 shots and finished with a team-high 20 points against the Sycamores. Senior Raisa Taylor (Decatur, Ill./Eisenhower) had 13 points and a career-high 13 rebounds, while junior MacKenzie Westcott (Williamsburg, Iowa/Williamsburg) matched a career best with 15 points and also pulled down a career-high 12 boards in Saturday's game in Terre Haute, Ind.
Wichita State (7-6 overall, 1-1 MVC) is the first Valley team to visit Renaissance Coliseum and will be playing its second road game in a month after playing five of its last six games at home. The Shockers have lost two of three heading into Thursday's game, but are coming off a 76-53 home win against Southern Illinois and are currently in a four-way tie for fourth in the Valley standings.
Thursday's game will be the 56th meeting between Bradley and Wichita State, with the Shockers holding a slim 28-27 lead in the all-time series. The two teams have split the regular-season series each of the last five years, but the Braves are 10-6 against Wichita State since the start of the 2002-03 season and own a 12-8 mark against the Shockers under head coach Paula Buscher. BU is 17-10 in home games in the series, including a 7-1 mark in the last eight home contests.
Taylor became the 28th player in program history to play in 100 games last week in Bradley's MVC opener at Illinois State. She enters Thursday's game 18th in career scoring at BU with 916 points and needs just 10 points to pass Jenn Jolley (920 points) and Ashley Chelleen (925 points) for 16th on the career scoring chart. Taylor has scored in double figures 15 of her last 18 games and leads the team with a 13.5 points per game average.
Yohn hit a season-high five three-pointers Saturday against Indiana State to push her season three-pointer total to 26. The 26 triples is tied for the eighth best season total by a BU sophomore. Yohn is averaging 13.3 points per game on the season.
Westcott is averaging 11.0 points and 10.0 rebounds per game in MVC play and has posted averages of 10.0 points, 9.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.0 block and 2.0 steals per game over the last four games, while junior Latasha Hollingshed (Bellwood, Ill./St. Joseph/Illinois Central) ranks second in the MVC in rebounding at 8.5 boards per game and is scoring 8.7 points per contest.
Live stats for Thursday's game will be available at www.BradleyBraves.com and video (subscription) and audio (free) streams will also be available at the Live Event Schedule link on the Bradley Athletics website.
Season tickets for the 2010-11 women's basketball campaign are $75 for the general public and $30 for Bradley faculty and staff at the Renaissance Coliseum ticket office (1601 W. Main Street). Individual tickets are $8 for adults and $4 for children (K-12) and Bradley faculty and staff. For more information please call (309) 677-2625. Free parking is available for all Bradley women's basketball home games at the Main Street Parking Deck located just west of Renaissance Coliseum at the corners of Main Street & Maplewood.
