Bradley University Athletics

Women’s Basketball Set For SEMO Thanksgiving Classic

Daryl Wilson

Women's Basketball 11/22/2017 3:00:00 PM

PEORIA, Ill. -- Bradley Women's Basketball looks to rebound from its first setback of the season with the Braves traveling to Cape Girardeau, Mo., for the Southeast Missouri State Thanksgiving Classic Friday and Saturday. BU will face first-time opponent Nicholls State Friday at 1 p.m. and play tournament-host SEMO Saturday at 3:15 p.m. at the Show Me Center.

The SEMO Thanksgiving Classic is part of a four-game road swing for Bradley (2-1 overall), which will play regular-season games on consecutive days for the first time since Nov. 2013 (Wright State Invitational in Dayton, Ohio).

Saturday's matchup with Southeast Missouri State will be streamed on the Ohio Valley Digital Network. In addition, Ed Hammond will handle the radio broadcast on WIRL 1290 AM with links to the audio stream available at BradleyBraves.com for both contests.

Friday's outing against Nicholls State will be the first meeting against a team from the Southland Conference for the Braves. Bradley has faced tournament-host Southeast Missouri State twice previously, with the road team winning each contest. The last trip to Cape Girardeau, Mo., for the Braves resulted in one of the biggest comebacks in program history. Bradley rallied from an 18-point deficit with less than 15 minutes to play for a 72-68 victory, highlighted by a 19-3 run over a nine-minute stretch in the Nov. 11, 2013 meeting with SEMO.

Bradley is 8-3 in its last 11 contests against Ohio Valley Conference teams, which includes a perfect 4-0 road record. The Braves have won five of their last six road games against team from the OVC.

The weekend tournament marks the first time Bradley will play regular-season games on back-to-back days in four years. The Braves have managed at least a split at each of its last six in-season tournaments dating back to the team's trip to Anchorage, Alaska, for the Great Alaska Shootout in 2007-08. Bradley will be trying to win games on consecutive days for the first time since the 2008-09 Northern Arizona Thanksgiving Classic in Flagstaff, Ariz.

Newcomers have provided a big boost for Bradley with at least one newcomer scoring in double figures in each of the first three games. Through three contests, Bradley's six newcomers have accounted for 45 percent of the team's scoring paced by junior guard Shunseere Kent's team-best 12.3 points per game. As a group the newcomers have averaged 33.0 points, 20.0 rebounds and 7.3 assists per outing.

Freshman Nyjah White has scored in double figures in each of the last two contests and is averaging 8.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game while shooting 52.9 percent from the field. Her double-double against Lincoln (14 points & 13 rebounds) last week was the earliest double-double by a Bradley freshman since Val Wancket had a double-double in the 1987-88 season opener as a freshman.

Bradley enters Friday's game against Nicholls State with a 2-1 record and will be shooting for the team's first 3-1 start to a season since opening the 2008-09 campaign with a 6-1 mark.

Following the SEMO Thanksgiving Classic, Bradley will finish a four-game road swing Wednesday, Nov. 29 at Northern Illinois.

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