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67
Winner Bradley BRAD 9-0
65
Cleveland State CSU 3-8
Winner
Bradley BRAD
9-0
67
Final
65
Cleveland State CSU
3-8
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Bradley BRAD 13 16 11 27 67
Cleveland State CSU 21 16 11 17 65
Patricia Díaz Velázquez

Braves 9-0 After Grinding Out 67-65 Win At Cleveland St.

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Game Recap: Women's Basketball |
CLEVELAND, Ohio – It wasn't easy, but Bradley Women's Basketball matched the best start to a season in program history at 9-0 with a 67-65 victory over Cleveland State Wednesday at the Wolstein Center thanks in part to 11 fourth-quarter points by freshman Tatum Koenig.
 
Bradley (9-0 overall) trailed for over 33 minutes of action and led a total of four minutes of the contest with Koenig helping spearhead the fourth-quarter comeback with 11 of her season-high 16 points in the final stanza.  She was 4-for-4 from the field in the fourth and also dished out a pair of assists in the last 10 minutes of action.
 
The Braves entered the day as one of 13 undefeated teams in the nation and are off to a 9-0 start for just the second time in school history (2001-02), in addition to matching the longest win streak in program history.
 
Bradley overcame a rough offensive start to the night, shooting 47.1 percent (8-for-17) from the field in the fourth quarter.  The Braves were 16-of-59 (27.1 percent) from the field over the first 30 minutes and trailed 48-40 heading to the final period.  BU finished the night shooting 31.6 percent from the field and earned the first road victory in program history when shooting under 32 percent. 

 
Junior Chelsea Brackmann turned in her fourth double-double of the year (14 points & 11 rebounds), while sophomore Gabi Haack was also in double figures with 14 points to help lead the Braves.
 
Trailing 48-40 heading to the fourth, Bradley got the first points of the period on a pair of Ellie Spelhaug free throws and Koenig chased a Cleveland State (3-8 overall) hoop with a layup.  Koenig assisted a Brackmann basket in the lane and later found Haack for a three-pointer on the wing nearing the seven-minute mark as the Braves pulled within three at 52-49. 
 
A steal by freshman Lasha Petree resulted in a breakaway layup for Koenig closing in on five minutes to play cut the deficit to one (54-53). 
 
The Vikings pushed the lead back to three (56-53) with a pair of free throws only to have Koenig knot things up at 56-56 with a three-pointer from the top of the key.  A Brackmann free throw at the 3:06 mark gave Bradley its first lead (57-56) since midway through the first period. 
 
Cleveland State went back in front on a pair of Mariah Miller free throws, but the lead was short lived after Petree was fouled and made a pair from the charity stripe on the next Bradley possession.  The Braves got a defensive stop and a Nyjah White layup gave Bradley a three-point cushion at 61-58 with just under two minutes left. 
 
The Vikings wouldn't go away, however, with Miller answering with a hoop to keep Cleveland State within one (61-60) closing in on the final minute.  Koenig drained her third three-pointer of the contest with 40.8 seconds left to make it a two-possession game again at 64-60 in favor of the Braves. 
 
A three-point play by Miller on the ensuing Cleveland State possession quickly cut the Bradley lead to one (64-63).  Koenig was fouled with 29.6 second left and split a pair of free throws, leaving the door open for the Vikings.  Miller once again came up big for Cleveland State and tied things up at 65-65 with a layup with 18.8 seconds remaining.
 
Petree, Bradley's leading scorer at 18.1 points per game entering the contest, overcame a tough night offensively to hit the game winner.  She was 1-for-15 from the field before nailing a pull-up jumper from the right elbow with 8.9 seconds left to put the Braves back in front 67-65.  A desperation Cleveland State contested shot at the buzzer by Miller was off the mark as Bradley completed the comeback win.
 
Brackmann scored the first six points of the game for the Braves and had eight points and four rebounds in the opening five minutes to help Bradley to an 11-8 lead at the first media timeout.  Cleveland State answered with a 10-0 run over the next two minutes to go in front and scored 13 of the final 15 points in the final five minutes of the opening period as the Vikings built a 21-13 lead 10 minutes into the contest.
 
Cleveland State extended the lead to 11 points on the first possession of the second quarter, before Haack scored five points during an 11-2 BU run which pulled the Braves within two at 26-24.  A five-minute Bradley drought allowed Cleveland State to score the next eight points and the Vikings led 37-29 at the half. 
 
Bradley rattled off seven consecutive points early in the third quarter to pull within three points at 39-36 with 7:12 to play in the period.  Brackmann started the run with a layup and assisted a Haack hoop, before a steal and breakaway layup by White capped the spurt.  That's as close as the Braves would get until late in the fourth, however. 
 
White finished with eight points, nine rebounds, three assists, three blocks and two steals, helping Bradley to a 55-41 advantage in rebounding. 
 
Mariah White paced four Cleveland State players in double figures with a game-high 22 points.  The Vikings shot 39.3 percent from the field. 
 
Bradley plays its final non-conference road game of the year Friday, taking on Big Ten Conference foe Purdue at 11 a.m. (CST) in West Lafayette, Ind. 

 

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Players Mentioned

Chelsea Brackmann

#5 Chelsea Brackmann

F
6' 1"
Junior
Gabi Haack

#3 Gabi Haack

G
5' 10"
Sophomore
Nyjah White

#45 Nyjah White

F
5' 11"
Sophomore
Lasha Petree

#11 Lasha Petree

G
6' 0"
Freshman
Tatum Koenig

#13 Tatum Koenig

G
5' 7"
Freshman
Ellie Spelhaug

#32 Ellie Spelhaug

G/F
5' 10"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Chelsea Brackmann

#5 Chelsea Brackmann

6' 1"
Junior
F
Gabi Haack

#3 Gabi Haack

5' 10"
Sophomore
G
Nyjah White

#45 Nyjah White

5' 11"
Sophomore
F
Lasha Petree

#11 Lasha Petree

6' 0"
Freshman
G
Tatum Koenig

#13 Tatum Koenig

5' 7"
Freshman
G
Ellie Spelhaug

#32 Ellie Spelhaug

5' 10"
Freshman
G/F