Braves Host Chicago St. To Close Non-Conference Slate

Duane Zehr

Women's Basketball 12/27/2018 2:00:00 PM

PEORIA, Ill. – After a break for the holidays, Bradley Women's Basketball looks to get back in the win column when the Braves host Chicago State Friday in a 7 p.m. game at Renaissance Coliseum to close out the non-conference schedule.

Bradley (9-1 overall) owns the best record in the Missouri Valley Conference and has tied the program record for most non-conference victories in a season heading into Friday's matchup with Chicago State (0-11 overall).

The Braves are 5-0 at home this season, owning the longest home win streak since the 2008-09 season (5). A victory Friday would mark Bradley's longest home win streak since winning nine consecutive home games between the 2007-08 and 2008-09 campaigns. The Braves have won six consecutive non-conference home games dating back to last season.

Friday's game will be available on ESPN+ (subscription required) and BradleyBraves.com will also provide links to live stats along with the WIRL 1290 AM audio stream. Braves Club members are invited to a pre-game "Chalk Talk" 20 minutes prior to tip-off of each home game in the Braves Club Room.

Bradley owns a 13-1 lead in the all-time series with Chicago State, which includes a 6-1 home record. The teams have met just twice in the last decade with the road team winning each matchup.

The Braves are 24-11 all-time in the final non-conference game of the year, which includes an impressive 15-4 (.789) mark at home after last season's victory against Western Illinois to finish out the non-league slate. Bradley is 14-7 when finishing the non-conference schedule after Christmas.

Bradley is 59-36 (.641) against non-conference squads from Illinois dating back to 1995-96. Since joining the Gateway Conference for the 1983-84 season the Braves are 42-19 (.689) at home against in-state non-conference opponents, which includes 35-15 (.700) mark since 1994-95. Bradley has won five consecutive non-conference outings against teams from Illinois and is 7-4 against in-state non-conference foes under head coach Andrea Gorski.

Bradley is committing a league-low 14.9 turnovers per game, ranking 82nd in the country. The Braves have had 12 or fewer turnovers in four of the last five games and averaged 12.0 turnovers per outing during that stretch. Bradley also forces the third most turnovers in the MVC (18.1) and owns a league-best +3.2 average turnover margin, which is 75th in the nation. The Braves have had more points off turnovers than their opponents in all but two games (SEMO & EIU) and own a +6.4 points per game advantage in points per turnovers on the year.

Junior Chelsea Brackmann snagged her 500^th career rebound last Friday at Purdue, collecting her team-best fifth double-double of the year. The leading rebounder in the MVC at 10.8 rebounds per outing, Brackmann is the second fastest player in school history to reach 500 career rebounds (70 games). She has turned in double-doubles in four of the last five games, averaging 13.0 points, 12.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game during that stretch while boasting a 3.00 assist-to-turnover ratio during that stretch. Her 16 career double-digit rebounding games is currently 10^th in Bradley history.

Sophomore Gabi Haack has taken over as Bradley's leading scorer, ranking fourth in the MVC in scoring at 16.5 points per game. Haack has scored in double figures in eight consecutive outings, marking the longest streak by a Brave since Anneke Schlueter had 10 consecutive performances of 10 or more points early in the 2016-17 season. Haack, who leads the MVC in three-pointers per game (3.00) is two triples away from 100 for her career. She also ranks among the league leaders in free throw percentage (5^th at 87.2 percent) and recently had a streak of 24 consecutive made free throws snapped.

Bradley follows up Friday's outing against Chicago State with its Missouri Valley Conference opener. The Braves will host defending league champion Drake Friday, Jan. 4 at 7 p.m. at Renaissance Coliseum.

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