PEORIA, Ill. -- Bradley women's basketball opens the final home stand of the 2015-16 season Friday when the Braves play host to Indiana State in the annual Play 4Kay game to promote breast cancer awareness.
Fans are encouraged to wear pink to Friday's 7 p.m. game at Renaissance Coliseum against the Sycamores and can make donations to the Kay Yow Cancer Fund to aid in women's cancer research and to help raise awareness by visiting http://www.play4kay.org/bradley_wbb
Bradley students in attendance Friday will receive a free t-shirt.
Notes | ESPN3 | WIRL 1290 AM/102.7 FM | Live Stats | Twitter Updates (@BradleySIDLive) | Tickets
Friday'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 will host a “Pink Game” for the 13th consecutive year and the Braves own an 8-4 record in the annual event, which started with a 97-83 victory against Indiana State to wrap up the 2003-04 regular season. Three-pointers have been prevalent in Bradley's previous “Pink Games”, with the Braves averaging 6.0 three-pointers per game and shooting 37 percent (71-for-194) from beyond the arc in the annual event which has helped raise approximately $70,000 through the years.
After splitting last weekend's road swing, Bradley is now 2-2 in the second half of MVC play. The Braves have turned in the best three shooting performances of the year in the last four outings and have scored 57.0 points per game since hitting the halfway point of the Valley schedule after scoring 48.9 points per game in the first nine MVC contests. In addition, Bradley has held the last four foes to 56.5 points per game and teams have averaged just 56.9 points per outing over the last 10 games.
The Braves enter Friday's matchup with Indiana State three games behind the sixth-place Sycamores in the win column with five games remaining in the regular season.
Sophomore Tamya Sims (Milwaukee, Wis./Oak Creek) has collected three blocks or more in each of the last three games and now leads the MVC in blocks at 2.1 per game. Sims has joined Dena Williams and Sonya Harris as the only players in program history to have two seasons with 45 or more blocks and her 49 rejections this year ranks sixth among Bradley season marks. Her 94 career blocks rank as the second best total by a Bradley underclassman and Sims is already sixth in career rejections at Bradley, 11 behind Eileen Yerkes (1988-92) for fifth.
Friday's game features two of the top defensive teams in the MVC with Indiana State second in the league in scoring defense at 58.7 points per game. Bradley has given up 62.2 points per game this season to rank fourth in the MVC and the Braves have limited conference foes to 59.5 points per tilt, which is third in the league.
Bradley will finish the regular-season home schedule Sunday with a 2 p.m. game against I-74 rival Illinois State. Seniors Sameia Kendall (Kansas City, Mo./Raytown/Johnson County) and Kat Yelle (Geneva, Ill./Geneva/Ohio) will be recognized prior to Sunday's contest.
