Bradley BRAD 5-9 (1-2 MVC)

Loyola LUC 2-13 (1-3 MVC)

Bradley BRAD

5-9 (1-2 MVC)

Final

Jan. 08, 2017

Loyola LUC

2-13 (1-3 MVC)

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	3	4	F
Bradley BRAD	15	15	10	20	60
Loyola LUC	12	20	3	18	53

Box Score

Bob Hunt - Photographer

Bradley Tops Loyola 60-53

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | 1/8/2017 3:34:00 PM

CHICAGO, Ill. – Senior Leti Lerma (Muscatine, Iowa/Muscatine) was one of three Bradley players in double figures, turning in her fifth double-double of the year with 12 points and 13 rebounds to help lead the Braves to a 60-53 road victory over Loyola Sunday afternoon at Gentile Arena.

Lerma, who added four assists, one block and two steals, reached double figures in rebounding for the fourth consecutive contest to help highlight the first Missouri Valley Conference victory of the year for Bradley (5-9 overall, 1-2 MVC). The Braves capped a program record seven-game road swing with the victory to match the road win total from the entire 2015-16 season (3).

"We struggled to get the ball inside early on and settled for outside shots a little too much in the first half," said first-year head coach Andrea Gorski. "Leti stepped up in the second half and really helped us close it out. We really crashed the boards hard, with Chelsea (Brackmann) also providing a big boost."

The first half featured three ties and 13 lead changes with Loyola (2-13 overall, 1-13 MVC) owning a 32-30 advantage at the break.

Bradley held the Ramblers to just one field goal in the third quarter and the Ramblers went a near 16-minute stretch with just the one field goal between the third and fourth periods. Junior Shareece Burrell (Des Moines, Iowa/East) started a 6-0 Bradley run to open the third quarter with a layup and freshman Alona Johnson (Milwaukee, Wis./Riverside) hit a three-pointer on Bradley's next possession. A Chelsea Brackmann (New Berlin, Wis./Eisenhower) free throw gave the Braves a 36-32 edge.

The only Loyola basket of the third came at the 2:54 mark and the Braves scored the final four points of the stanza to lead 40-35 after 30 minutes of play.

Neither team scored over the first 3:20 of the fourth before Brackmann broke the drought with a three-point play. Lerma added a layup 40 seconds later to push the Bradley lead to 45-35 nearing the six-minute mark.

Loyola pulled within seven points at 51-44 with 1:41 on the clock, but Bradley made 9-of-10 free throws over a one-minute stretch to close out the 60-53 win.

Junior Anneke Schlueter (Ulm, Germany/Max-Weber-Schule) hit a three-pointer for her 11^th consecutive game and finished with 11 points to join Lerma in double figures. Sophomore Vanessa Markert (Mt. Sterling, Ill./Brown County) added 10 points off the bench, while Brackmann tallied seven points and matched Lerma for game-high honors with 13 boards.

Loyola scored just three points in the first 14 minutes of the second half, making just 1-of-12 from the field in the third and opened the fourth quarter 0-for-4. Bradley held Loyola to 37.5 percent shooting and outrebounded the Ramblers 47-36. The Braves hauled down 17 offensive rebounds and owned a 15-4 edge in second chance points.

Bradley will play six of the next eight games at Renaissance Coliseum, hosting preseason MVC favorite Drake Friday at 7 p.m. to open the stretch.

Print Friendly Version