Bradley University Athletics

Women’s Basketball Opens 2016-17 On The Road

Duane Zehr, Bradley University ITPS

Women's Basketball 11/10/2016 10:00:00 AM

PEORIA, Ill. – For the third consecutive year Bradley women's basketball will open the season away from home with first-year head coach Andrea Gorski and the Braves starting the 2016-17 campaign Friday at Kent State before wrapping up a two-game road swing Sunday at Butler.

Friday's 6 p.m. (CST) game at Kent State is the first of three contests against Mid-American Conference teams in 2016-17 and will mark the furthest away from Peoria Bradley has opened a season since Gorski and the Braves opened her junior season of 1990-91 season against Toledo in Houston, Texas. Senior Leti Lerma (Muscatine, Iowa/Muscatine) and junior Anneke Schlueter (Ulm, Germany/Max-Weber-Schule) scored 19 and 18 points, respectively, to lead Bradley to a 68-60 win against Kent State last year at Renaissance Coliseum in the only previous matchup between the two programs.

Bradley will close out the season-opening road swing Sunday with a noon (CST) tilt at Big East Conference foe Butler in Indianapolis, Ind. The Braves have won the last two meetings with the Bulldogs, including a 71-63 win at Hinkle Fieldhouse in 2011 in the last matchup in the series. Butler holds a slim 4-3 advantage in the series, but the teams have split six meetings since the start of the 2002-03 season.

Free video streams of both games will be available through each school's website. In addition, BradleyBraves.com will provide links to live stats along with the WIRL 1290 AM (www.1290wirl.com) radio broadcast with Ed Hammond calling the play-by-play.

The Braves posted a convincing 62-45 victory against Missouri-St. Louis in the team's only exhibition game of 2016-17 Saturday at Renaissance Coliseum. Lerma collected 16 points and 11 rebounds to pace three Bradley players in double figures and was joined by junior Danielle Brewer (Coatesville, Ind.) and sophomore Vanessa Markert (Mt. Sterling, Ill./Brown County), who both had 12 points.

In the exhibition game, Bradley jumped out to a 16-6 lead over UMSL at the end of the first quarter and the lead never dipped below 10 points throughout the rest of the contest. The Braves held the Tritons to 26.3 percent shooting along with owning a convincing 49-35 rebounding advantage.

Bradley is 24-17 in season openers after last year's 75-67 victory at Detroit to open the 2015-16 campaign and the Braves are 2-1 the last three times they have opened a season outside the state of Illinois. Friday's game at Kent State is the first of three in 2016-17 against teams from the MAC and Bradley will have played seven of the last 14 non-conference contests against MAC opponents after the season-opener against the Golden Flashes.

Following the weekend road trip, the Braves will open a season-long five-game home stand Friday, Nov. 18 against Detroit in the annual Field Trip game which will feature a special 11 a.m. start at Renaissance Coliseum.

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