OMAHA, Neb. – Freshman Lasha Petree scored 16 of her game-high 28 points in the first half and was one of four Braves in double figures as Bradley Women's Basketball rolled to an 80-60 road win at Omaha Friday to improve to 8-0 on the year.
Petree hit 6-of-10 three-pointers in the contest and scored 10 points during a 19-5 Bradley run to close the first half, which gave the Braves the momentum. Sophomore Gabi Haack added 14 points of her own, hitting 3-of-7 three-pointers, while fellow sophomore Nyjah White was 6-for-8 from the field and dished out four assists to go with her 13 points. Junior Chelsea Brackmann collected 10 points, eight rebounds, five assists, two blocks and three steals
Bradley (8-0 overall) overcame a hot start by Omaha (5-5 overall) with the Mavericks making 7-of-9 from the field to take a 15-12 lead less than seven minutes into the contest. Omaha managed to stretch the advantage to seven points (19-12) in the opening minutes of the second quarter before the Braves would take control.
After the hot start, Omaha was 4-for-18 from the field over the final 12:50 of the first half. The Mavericks lead stood at 23-19 when Petree took over. She opened what would be a 19-5 Bradley run to close the half with a hoop and scored 10 points over the final 6:30 of the second. Haack added a pair of three-pointers during the run and a three-point play by White during the spurt gave the Braves a 38-28 halftime lead.
Bradley carried that into the second half, opening the third quarter with a 15-2 run as the Braves outscored Omaha 34-7 during a near 12-minutes stretch between the second and third quarters.
White got things rolling in the second half with a jumper on the first possession of the half and assisted a Brackmann layup. Brackmann added a pair of free throws and Petree chased a pair of Omaha free throws with another three-pointer.
Brackmann scored six points in the first 3:10 of the third, adding a breakaway layup with 6:52 left in the frame. Petree split a pair of free throws, but Bradley came up with an offensive board on the miss and Haack added a three-point play as the Bradley lead ballooned to 53-30 with 5:15 left in the third.
The Bradley lead was 57-38 at the end of the third period and Omaha managed to get as close as 12 points closing in on five minutes remaining in the fourth. Petree snapped a Maverick run with a breakaway layup, however, and Haack's third three-pointer of the day pushed the margin back to 17 (72-55) as the Braves cruised to the 80-60 victory.
One of 18 undefeated teams in the nation, Bradley is 8-0 to start a season for just the second time and the eight-game win streak is tied for the second longest in school history behind only the 2001-02 squad's 9-0 start.
Bradley committed just eight turnovers and shot 45.5 percent from the field in the win. The Braves held a 19-7 advantage in points off turnovers.
Elena Pilakouta led Omaha with 14 points and nine rebounds to pace three Mavericks in double figures.
Bradley continues a three-game road swing next Wednesday with a 4 p.m. (CST) game at Cleveland State.