BOCA RATON, Fla. – Bradley Women's Basketball is off to its first 3-0 start since 2004-05 after topping Delaware 59-47 in the opening round of the Florida Atlantic Thanksgiving Tournament Friday afternoon at FAU Arena.
Junior Chelsea Brackmann turned in her first double-double of the season with 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting and also pulled down 12 rebounds to lead the Braves. Sophomore Gabi Haack joined Brackmann in double figures with 10 points, while tying a career high with five assists.
Points were at a premium early on with the teams combining for 10 points through the first five minutes of the contest and the score was knotted at 12-12 at the end of the first quarter.
Delaware (2-3 overall) scored the first four points of the second quarter as Bradley went scoreless for the first 4:22 of the period. The Blue Hens had their own offensive struggles, though, and led by no more than four points in the second. Sophomore Jailynn Lawson came off the bench in the late stages to provide an offensive boost, scoring seven points in the final four minutes.
Sophomore Nyjah White, who had six points and 10 rebounds in the opening 20 minutes, got free on the inside for a hoop with 2:14 left to play in the period to pull Bradley within two at 22-20. A Lawson three to beat the halftime horn gave Bradley a 23-22 lead at the break.
Senior Shunseere Kent opened the third quarter with back-to-back baskets to help spark an 8-2 Bradley run to open the period. Brackmann had a put-back basket and Elisha Davis drove to the hoop for a layup to give the Braves a 31-24 lead with 5:27 left in the frame. Bradley later pushed the lead to eight (33-25) on a White pull-up jumper in the lane midway through the third.
After shooting 25.6 percent from the field in the first half, Bradley shot 47.4 percent in the third quarter. Freshman Lasha Petree scored Bradley's final seven points of the period, helping the Braves extend the lead to 42-32 heading to the fourth.
Brackmann took over in the fourth quarter, scoring the first nine points of the period for the Braves. She was a perfect 5-for-5 from the field in the closing stanza and scored 12 of her game-high 14 points in the fourth.
Delaware managed to pull within four points 49-45 closing in on three minutes to play. A Brackmann hoop made it a six-point Bradley cushion and she followed a Kent free throw with a three-point play to push the advantage back to double digits at 55-45. Sophomore Gabi Haack made four free throws in the closing minute as Bradley improved to 3-0 on the year with a 59-47 victory.
White finished with eight points, 11 rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a pair of steals.
Jasmine Dickey paced Delaware with 11 points to go with her game-high 18 rebounds. The Braves held the Blue Hens to 32.8 percent shooting, including 1-for-8 from beyond the arc.
Bradley will face tournament host Florida Atlantic in the championship game of the FAU Thanksgiving Classic Friday at 1:30 p.m. (CST).