PEORIA, Ill. -- A little over a week after topping I-74 rival Illinois State on a fastbreak layup with 1.3 seconds left, the Bradley women's basketball team will have a rematch with the Redbirds Friday at 8:30 p.m. in the quarterfinals of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.
Bradley (14-15 overall, 8-10 MVC) and Illinois State (21-9 overall, 13-5 MVC) will meet in the Valley tournament for the first time since playing in the quarterfinals of the 2007 conference tournament and Friday's matchup will mark just the third meeting between the two teams in conference tournament action.
The Braves have won three of their last four and seven of 11 heading into the Valley Tournament, which starts Thursday afternoon with the opening round games at the Family Arena in St. Charles, Mo. The winner of Friday's quarterfinal matchup between Bradley and Illinois State will advance to Saturday's 4 p.m. semifinal.
WIRL 1290 AM will carry all of Bradley's games at the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament with the pre-game show airing 20 minutes prior to tip off (8:10 p.m. Friday). BradleyBraves.com will provide links to live stats and a free audio stream. A free video stream of Thursday's opening round games and Friday's quarterfinal contests will be available through the Missouri Valley Conference (valley-live.tv). Saturday's semifinals will be televised live on Fox Sports Midwest, Fox Sports Indiana, Fox Sports Kansas City, Fox College Sports and Comcast SportsNet Chicago in addition to being available on ESPN3.
Last week's victory against Illinois State locked up the #6 seed in the tournament for the Braves, who posted the best conference finish at 8-10 since matching a school-record 12 Missouri Valley Conference victories in 2009-10. Illinois State finished third in the MVC with a 13-5 league record, winning eight of its last nine. The lone loss during that closing stretch for the Redbirds was the 71-69 setback last Thursday at Renaissance Coliseum.
Bradley has won 14 or more games for the fifth consecutive season and the team's 85 victories during that span are the most in a five-year period in program history. The previous mark for wins in a five-year stretch was 82 (1978-79 through 1982-83).
The Braves have made a habit of finishing strong heading into the Valley tournament, boasting an 8-2 record in regular-season games played in the month of March since sweeping a home stand against Wichita State and Missouri State to conclude the 2009-10 regular season. Bradley finished with five or more wins in the second half of Valley play for the fourth time in five years.
Senior Katie Yohn (Elgin, Ill./St. Edward) had back-to-back double-doubles in her final two home games and is the only player in the Missouri Valley conference with 300 points, 175 rebounds, 70 assists, 25 blocks and 60 steals this season. Over the last six games, Yohn has averaged 17.8 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.0 block and 4.0 steals per game. Her 66 steals are the most by a Bradley player since Skye Johnson had 71 thefts in 2009-10.
Sophomore Michelle Young (Woodbury, Minn./Woodbury) has also been impressive down the stretch, scoring in double figures in six consecutive games to wrap up the regular season. During her six-game run, Young has averaged 14.0 points on 61.8 percent shooting and has also averaged 2.8 steals per outing.
The winner of Friday's quarterfinal between Bradley and Illinois State will face the winner of Friday's 6 p.m. quarterfinal between #2 seed Creighton and the winner of Thursday's opening round game between #7 Evansville and #10 Southern Illinois.
