Braves Close Home Stand Sunday Against UNI

Duane Zehr, Bradley University ITPS

Women's Basketball 1/14/2017 11:14:00 AM

PEORIA, Ill. – Bradley women's basketball will close out a brief two-game home stand Sunday with a 2 p.m. game against Northern Iowa at Renaissance Coliseum.

The Braves look to rebound from a Friday night loss to preseason Missouri Valley Conference favorite Drake (93-60) against a Northern Iowa team which is tied with Drake at 5-0 in league play after the Panthers downed Illinois State 78-40 Friday night at Redbird Arena.

Sunday's game 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 (www.1290wirl.com) radio broadcast with Ed Hammond providing play-by-play.

UNI holds a slim 36-34 advantage in the all-time series after winning all three matchups last year. The Panthers have claimed nine consecutive meetings against Bradley. The Braves are 22-12 at home against UNI all-time, but the Panthers have won four consecutive road games in the series and are 5-1 at Renaissance Coliseum.

Junior Anneke Schlueter, who has scored in double figures in 11 of the last 12 games, hit her 100th career three-pointer Friday against Drake and has now hit a triple in 12 consecutive outings. Schlueter has 102 career three-pointers and needs just two more trey's to push her career total among Bradley's career top 10. Last season, she had a three-pointer in 14 consecutive games. With one make from beyond the arc Sunday against Northern Iowa, Schlueter would join Michelle Nason and Katie Yohn as the only players in program history to own two streaks of 13 consecutive games with a three-pointer. On the season, Schlueter is 15-for-32 (46.9 percent) from three-point range at home.

Senior Leti Lerma has averaged 11.8 points and 6.5 rebounds in her last four games against Northern Iowa and turned in a double-double with 16 points and 13 boards in last March's MVC Tournament quarterfinal matchup with the Panthers. Lerma is three points from reaching 700 for her career and 17 points from climbing four spots on Bradley's career scoring list into 36th. In addition, her 662 career rebounds is 10th all-time on The Hilltop, but she is just 10 boards from jumping up two spots and 31 rebounds short of moving up four spots on the all-time chart into sixth.

Freshman Chelsea Brackmann scored in double figures for the sixth time this season and fourth time in the last eight outings with her 12-point effort Friday against Drake. Brackmann leads the team in made free throws with her 59 makes two short of last year's team lead. She enters Sunday's game against Northern Iowa needing 12 points, nine rebounds, three assists and just three blocks to become the first Bradley player since Alyson Spinas-Valainis in 2013-14 to tally 150 points, 100 rebounds, 20 assists, 20 blocks and 10 or more steals in a season. The only freshman in program history to reach those marks is Bradley Hall of Fame member Heather Best in 1995-96.

Bradley will open a two-game road swing Friday at Wichita State. The Braves took all three matchups against the Shockers last season. Wichita State holds a slim 35-33 advantage in the all-time series and the Shockers are 20-13 at home against Bradley. The Braves are 3-2 in the last five trips to Wichita, however, and 4-4 on the road over the last eight seasons.

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