PEORIA, Ill. -- The Bradley women's basketball team will close out the non-conference portion of the schedule with back-to-back home games for the first time since 2006-07, when the Braves welcome in-state foe Western Illinois to Renaissance Coliseum for a 7 p.m. game Wednesday in the final non-conference contest of the year.
Bradley (8-3 overall) has won four consecutive games after Saturday's 96-88 victory against Iowa and is looking to win consecutive home games for the first time since last January. Wednesday's game will be the Leathernecks first game at Renaissance Coliseum and Western Illinois is playing in Peoria for the first time since Nov. 20, 2006.
In support of the PCCEO Peoria Area Food Bank, fans can donate two canned food items for free admission to Wednesday's game against the Leathernecks.
The Braves have won each of the last two meetings in the series with Western Illinois and boast a 24-11 lead in the all-time series after last year's 62-55 victory in Macomb, Ill.
Western Illinois (3-6 overall) has lost back-to-back games heading into a Tuesday night home matchup against future Summit League member Nebraska-Omaha. The Leathernecks are 1-4 in road games this season with the lone victory at Valparaiso (67-55). WIU ranks among the national leaders in three-point field goals per game (55th), making 6.6 per game and commit just 15.7 turnovers per contest.
BradleyBraves.com will feature video (subscription) and audio (free) streams in addition to live stats with an interactive live chat.
Bradley has won the final non-conference game of the year in six of the last eight season and owns a 21-7 (.750) record in the final non-conference game of the year, including a 16-4 (.800) mark over the last 20 seasons. In addition, the Braves are 8-3 (.727) under head coach Paula Buscher in the final game before Christmas and 24-11 (.686) overall.
Sophomore Kelsey Budd (Prairie du Sac, Wis./Sauk Prairie) earned Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week honors after a career-best 31-point effort against Iowa. Budd, who made 12-of-14 shots from the field and 5-of-6 from three-point range, was the first BU player with 30 or more points off the bench since Shelli Braud had 32 points at Missouri State on Feb. 18, 1988. Budd also had a career-best six rebounds and matched a career-high with four steals.
Not to be outdone, freshman Shronda Butts (Des Moines, Iowa/East) was selected as the MVC Newcomer of the Week for the second time in the last three weeks after scoring a season-best 18 points to go along with four assists, three rebounds and two steals. Butts has started the last four games and is averaging 11.3 points per game during that time.
Senior Leah Kassing (Mt. Sterling, Ill./Brown County) has had double-doubles in three of the last four games and is one of four players in the Valley to rank among the top 10 in the league in both scoring and rebounding. Junior Katie Yohn (Elgin, Ill./St. Edward) has averaged 14.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.7 steals per game over the last six outings.
Wednesday's game is the second of a season-long, four-game home stand for the Braves; which also includes games against pre-season Missouri Valley Conference favorite Missouri State (Dec. 29) and Wichita State (Dec. 31). A special holiday ticket pack is available for $20 at the Bradley Athletics Ticket Office, which includes both the Missouri State and Wichita State women's games in addition to the Dec. 28 men's basketball home game against Wichita State.
