SE Missouri State SEMOW 0-2

Bradley BRAD 1-0

SE Missouri State SEMOW

0-2

Final

Nov. 10, 2018

Bradley BRAD

1-0

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	3	4	F
SE Missouri State SEMOW	15	16	26	22	79
Bradley BRAD	16	17	25	27	85

Box Score

Julie Kestas

Braves Top SEMO 85-79 In Season Opener

Box Score

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | 11/10/2018 10:10:00 PM

PEORIA, Ill. -- Freshman Lasha Petree collected the most points by a Bradley freshman in a debut with a team-high 24 points off the bench to pace three Braves in double figures as BU opened the 2018-19 campaign with an 85-79 victory over visiting Southeast Missouri State Saturday night at Renaissance Coliseum.

Petree got off to a slow start and was scoreless after the opening quarter, before heating up to make six of her next seven shots. In fact, she scored Bradley's first seven points of the second quarter and had 10 at the half, helping the Braves to a 32-31 lead at the break. Petree's 24 points broke the previous record for a Bradley freshman in a debut of 23 points scored by BU Hall of Fame member Judy Burns vs. SIU Edwardsville on Nov. 20, 1981.

"We got stops on some key possessions down the stretch, got scrappy, made some hustle plays and found a way to win tonight," said Bradley head coach Andrea Gorski. "This team works hard in practice every day and I think that shows in a game like this."

Sophomore Nyjah White added a career-high 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting and also tied for team-high honors with eight rebounds to join Petree in double figures. White scored 13 of her 20 points in the second half after she was limited to nine minutes in the opening 20 minutes due to foul trouble.

Southeast Missouri State (0-2 overall) tied things up at 33-33 on the opening possession of the second half, only to have Bradley answer with a 9-0 run. Petree sparked the spurt with a shot in the lane and junior Ellisha Davis added a pair of free throws. White followed a defensive stop with a rebound and layup and fellow sophomore, Gabi Haack, who finished with 19 points, capped the run with one of her three three-pointers as Bradley built a 42-33 advantage with 8:15 to play in the third.

The Braves extended the lead to as many as 11 points nearing the midway point of the third on a pair of Haack free throws, before the Redhawks would scrap back into the contest and cut the deficit to one (58-57) heading to the fourth quarter.

SEMO briefly took the lead in the opening moments of the fourth and the Redhawks trailed 76-75 closing in on three minutes to play. Freshman Tatum Koenig assisted a breakaway Petree layup to push the BU lead back to three (78-75) and another breakaway layup by Haack on the heels of a defensive stop gave Bradley an 80-75 edge with two minutes remaining.

Southeast Missouri State wouldn't go away, however, cutting the lead to three (80-77) on an Adrianna Murphy basket on the next trip down the floor. One of Petree's biggest plays of the night once again made it a two-possession game though, answering the SEMO bucket with a three-point play to give her squad an 83-77 lead with 1:31 left on the block.

Bradley got stops on the next three SEMO possessions, limiting the Redhawks to a hoop with six seconds to play as the Braves claimed the season opener 85-79.

The trio of Petree, White and Haack combined for 63 of Bradley's 85 points on the night, including 40 of 52 points in the second half. Junior Chelsea Brackmann tied White for team-high honors with eight rebounds to go with her seven points.

Tesia Thompson led Southeast Missouri State in scoring with 32 points and 12 rebounds, pulling down 10 of SEMO's 22 offensive boards. Murphy added 20 points and a game-high six assists for the Redhawks.

Bradley has a week off from competition before closing out a season-opening two-game home stand Sunday, Nov. 18 with a 2 p.m. game against Rockhurst at Renaissance Coliseum.

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