PEORIA, Ill. – Both Bradley and Wichita State will be looking for their first Missouri Valley Conference victory of the 2015-16 season when the two teams square off at Renaissance Coliseum Sunday afternoon in a 2 p.m. contest.
The Braves (4-11 overall, 0-4 MVC) turned in one of their best defensive efforts of the year Friday, limiting Missouri State to its second lowest point total of the season, but came up short in a 55-44 loss to the Lady Bears.
Wichita State, which has won three consecutive MVC regular season and tournament titles, has posted 20 or more wins in each of the last four years. The Shockers are 3-13 overall and 0-5 in Valley play, however, after suffering a 55-60 loss at Loyola Friday night.
Notes | ESPN3 | WIRL 1290 AM/102.7 FM | Live Stats | Twitter Updates (@BradleySIDLive) | Tickets
Sunday's games will be available on ESPN3 as part of The Valley On ESPN3 and can be viewed through WatchESPN.com and the WatchESPN app. In addition, BradleyBraves.com will provide links to live stats along with the WIRL 1290 AM/102.7 FM (www.1290wirl.com) radio broadcast with Ed Hammond providing play-by-play.Bradley is trying to snap a four-game losing skid in the series with Wichita State, but the teams split the regular-season series each of the eight years prior to the Shocker win streak and the squads have split the series 13-13 over the last 13 years. The Braves are 18-14 at home in the series, which includes an 8-5 advantage over the last 13 seasons.
After holding Missouri State to 55 points in Friday's setback, Bradley now ranks fifth in the MVC in scoring defense at 65.3 points per game. Opponents have averaged 63.7 points per game at Renaissance Coliseum in 2015-16 and the Braves have held their last five home opponents to an average of 59.0 points.
Wichita State is third in the Valley in scoring defense at 62.1 points per outing and has forced a league-high 18.4 turnovers per contest.
Good starts have been key to Bradley's success this season. During the team's 4-4 start to the year, the Braves averaged 15.0 points per game in the first quarter and shot 32.5 percent from the field. Over the last seven games, Bradley has shot just 22.8 percent from the field in the opening period and scored 8.9 points per game in the first quarter.
Sophomore Tamya Sims (Milwaukee, Wis./Oak Creek) had nine points, five rebounds, two blocks, two steals and one assist Friday against Missouri State. Sims, who now has 22 blocks in the last eight games, joins Heather Best, Dena Williams and Sonya Harris as the only four individuals in program history to have 30 or more blocks during both their freshman and sophomore seasons. Her two blocks Friday pushed Sims' career block total to 75 and she is now eight rejections from moving into Bradley's career top 10.
Following Sunday's outing, the Braves will open a two-game road swing Friday at I-74 rival Illinois State (7 p.m.).
