PEORIA, Ill. -- Four consecutive road games against teams which advanced to the postseason in 2013-14 and the longest home stand in program history (eight games) highlight the 2014-15 Bradley women's basketball schedule announced by third-year head coach Michael Brooks Friday.

The Braves will play six of 11 non-conference games against teams which advanced to the postseason last year and open the year with a five-game road swing.  The five consecutive games away from home are the most to start a year since the 1992-93 campaign (six).

“Coach (Skyler) Young and I worked diligently to come up with a schedule which will challenge our young team early in non-conference,” said Brooks.  “We are going to have to perform extremely well on the road to get early wins and take care of business at home.  The eight-game home stand will provide our squad with a chance to mature and hopefully build momentum heading into the heart of the conference schedule.”
 
The first four opponents on the slate combined for a 97-40 (.708) record last year, starting with a Nov. 14 game at Illinois-Chicago.  The Flames won the Women's Basketball Invitational and are coming off a 26-9 season in 2013-14.

Bradley will open a season on the road for the first time since 2009-10 with the game at UIC marking the first of back-to-back trips to Chicago.  A Nov. 18 game at defending Big East Conference champion DePaul is the first of back-to-back games against NCAA Tournament squads.  The Blue Demons were 29-7 last year and advanced to the Sweet 16.  The Braves will play at DePaul for the first time since Dec. 1, 1990.
 
The first trip in program history to the state of Oklahoma is on tap for Nov. 21, with Bradley traveling to Norman, Okla., for a matchup with the Sooners.  Oklahoma fell to DePaul in the first round of the 2014 NCAA Tournament to finish off an 18-15 campaign.

A five-game road swing to open the season continues Nov. 24 at Stony Brook.  The Braves will visit Long Island in New York for the first time since playing in a tournament at Stony Brook in December of 2002.  The Sea Wolves capped a 24-9 season with an appearance in last year's WNIT.
 
A trip to Empire State wouldn't be complete without a stop in New York City.  Bradley will play its final game before Thanksgiving Nov. 26 at Columbia in the first meeting with the Lions, who are coached by former Illinois State head coach Stephanie Glance.  The matchup is the first game against an Ivy League foe since a home game against Cornell in December 2000 for the Braves.

The latest home opener since 2002-03 opens a school record eight-game home stand, Nov. 30 when Southeast Missouri State makes its first trip to Peoria.  The longest home stand in school history was six games to conclude the 1993-94 regular season.

The home stand continues Dec. 6 against WNIT participant Missouri and in-state foe Western Illinois (Dec. 9) before the finals break.  The matchup with Missouri will be the 12th game in the series and will mark the fourth meeting in the last seven years.  After a one-year break in the series with Western Illinois, the Braves will square off with the Leathernecks for the 10th time in the last 14 seasons.

A Dec. 18 matchup against Chicago State falls before defending Mid-American Conference champ Bowling Green comes to Peoria on Dec. 21.  Bradley is 12-0 all-time against Chicago State with the Cougars making just their second trip to Peoria over the last 20 years. 

Bradley will play a home game against a team which won 30 or more games the previous year for the first time since Missouri State in 1992-93 after the Falcons finished the 2013-14 season with a 30-5 record and fell in the quarterfinals of the WNIT. 

The Braves conclude the non-conference schedule Dec. 30 with a home game against Northern Illinois.  Bradley will face NIU for the ninth consecutive year.

Northern Iowa visits Renaissance Coliseum Jan. 2 for the Missouri Valley Conference opener as the Braves open the league slate at home for the first time since 2011-12 and just the second time in the last nine years.  Bradley, which opens MVC play against UNI for the first time since 2007-08 and plays the Panthers at home in the opener for the first time since 1994-95, concludes the eight-game home stand Jan. 4 against Drake.

The first conference road game of the year is Jan. 9 at Indiana State for the team's first road game since the Nov. 26 contest at Columbia. 

Defending MVC champ Wichita State comes to Renaissance Coliseum Jan. 16 and the Braves host Missouri State Jan. 18. 

The first matchup of the I-74 rivalry will take place at Redbird Arena on Jan. 30 and Bradley concludes the first-half of league play at Southern Illinois on Super Bowl Sunday.

The Braves play five of the final nine games of the Valley schedule at Renaissance Coliseum, kicking off the second half of the slate at home against Indiana State (Feb. 6) and follow it up Feb. 8 with a home contest against Evansville. 

After the Missouri State (Feb. 13) and Wichita State (Feb. 15) road swing, Bradley closes out the home schedule with a three-game home stand which starts Feb. 20 against Loyola.  Southern Illinois visits Feb. 27 before the Braves square off with Illinois State (March 1) in the final home game of the year.  Bradley faces the Redbirds in the final home game of the year for the first time since 1995-96. 

The regular season concludes with road contests at Drake (March 5) and Northern Iowa (March 7) as the Braves wrap up the season in Cedar Falls, Iowa, for the first time since 1994-95.