PEORIA, Ill. -- The Bradley women's basketball team will look to end a three-game home losing skid Saturday when the Braves welcome league-leading Indiana State to Renaissance Coliseum for a 2 p.m. game to wrap up a brief two-game home stand.
Bradley (10-7 overall, 1-4 MVC) will be playing its final home game in the month of January Saturday against the Sycamores, before kicking off a three-game Missouri Valley Conference road swing next Friday at defending MVC regular-season and tournament champion Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Saturday's game is BU's last home game before opening a stretch in which the Braves will play five of seven games on the road.
Indiana State (10-6 overall, 4-0 MVC) is tied with Wichita State atop the Valley standings after defeating Northern Iowa 68-62 in Cedar Falls, Iowa, Thursday night. The Sycamores feature a balanced attack with four players scoring 10 or more points, led by senior Shannon Thomas who is scoring 14.3 points per game and leads the MVC in rebounding at 10.2 boards per contest.
BradleyBraves.com will feature video (subscription) and audio (free) streams in addition to live stats with an interactive live chat for Saturday's matchup with the Sycamores.
Bradley and Indiana State have split the regular-season series each of the last four years, with the home team winning each of the last eight regular-season meeting.
The Braves look to rebound from Thursday's 65-67 home loss to I-74 rival Illinois State. Bradley trailed by as many as 15 points against the Redbirds before using a late 14-5 run to pull within three points in the closing minutes. The Braves had a few chances to tie the game and eventually got within two points on a MacKenzie Westcott (Williamsburg, Iowa/Williamsburg) hoop with 3.3 seconds left, but Illinois State held on for the two-point victory.
Bradley dominated the glass Thursday against the Redbirds, hauling down a season-best 51 rebounds and owning a +17 rebounding advantage. The Braves had 50 or more rebounds for the first time since collecting 53 boards at Air force on Dec. 19, 2009 and had 50 or more rebounds against a conference school for the first time since Feb. 21, 2009 against Drake. BU leads the MVC in rebounding at 40.6 boards per game and is averaging 42.2 rebounds per game in MVC play.
Westcott was one of three Bradley players in double figures Thursday against Illinois State, finishing with 12 points and a career-high 13 rebounds for her second double-double in the last three games. She is averaging 9.0 points and 9.0 rebounds per game over the last three outings and averaged 13.5 points, 9.0 rebounds and 4.5 steals per game against Indiana State last year.
Junior Katie Yohn (Elgin, Ill./St. Edward) moved into 19th on BU's career scoring list with 20 points against the Redbirds and enters Saturday's tilt needing two three-pointer to pass Andrea McAllister for fourth on Bradley's career three-point field goals chart.
Saturday's game will be alumni day, with Bradley women's basketball alumni in attendance recognized at halftime.
