Braves Host SIU Sunday On Alumni Day

Duane Zehr

Women's Basketball 1/19/2019 12:47:00 PM

PEORIA, Ill. – Bradley Women's Basketball will shoot for its first Missouri Valley Conference home win of the year when the Braves host Southern Illinois Sunday in a 2 p.m. game at Renaissance Coliseum.

Sunday's game against the Salukis (8-7 overall, 1-3 MVC) will be Alumni Day with Bradley Women's Basketball alumni in attendance recognized during the contest.

Bradley (12-4 overall, 2-3 MVC) enters the game a half-game ahead of SIU in the MVC standings following a 68-56 loss to Missouri State Friday night at Renaissance Coliseum. Southern Illinois has dropped three straight games, including a 60-52 setback Friday at Illinois State and the Salukis are 1-5 in road games on the year.

Sunday's game will be available on ESPN+ and BradleyBraves.com will provide links to live stats along with the WIRL 1290 AM broadcast. 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 and Southern Illinois have split eight previous meetings at Renaissance Coliseum, with the Braves winning the first four contests in the facility against SIU and the Salukis winning each of the last four. Bradley is 7-4 in the last 11 home games against Southern Illinois, however, and 11-6 at home in the series over the last 17 years.
Bradley will be trying to snap a three-game home losing skid and Southern Illinois is shooting to end a three-game road losing streak when the two teams meet Sunday afternoon at Renaissance Coliseum. The Braves have played a league-high nine home games so far this year (6-3) with the six home wins tied for the third most in the MVC. In the previous eight seasons at Renaissance Coliseum Bradley has had seven or more wins four times with the last coming during head coach Andrea Gorski's first season (2016-17 – 7-7). The other seasons in which the Braves had seven or more home wins at Renaissance Coliseum are 2012-13 (8-5), 2011-12 (8-7) and 2010-11 (7-6).
Junior Chelsea Brackmann notched her conference-best eighth double-double of the year Friday with 12 points, 13 rebounds, two assists and career-high six steals against Missouri State. The last Bradley player to collect eight double-doubles in a season was Leti Lerma (13) in 2016-17 and Brackmann's eight double-doubles is one short of moving into the top 10 season totals in Bradley history. Brackmann was the first Brave to have a double-double in addition to collecting at least six steals in the same game since Lora Weber had 15 points, 12 boards and six steals against Evansville on Jan. 24, 2002.
Sophomore Gabi Haack enters Sunday's game against Southern Illinois with 593 career points after tying for game-high honors with 18 points Friday vs. Missouri State. With Sunday marking Haack's 48^th career game, she needs seven points to become just the ninth player in program history to score 600 career points in 48 games or less. Only four Bradley sophomores have reached 600 career points in 48 games or fewer as Haack looks to join an exclusive group which includes Judy Burns (1981-84 – 32 games), Connie Griffith (1977-81 – 35 games), Sara Bailey (1999-03 – 45 games) & Carrie Coffman (1991-95 – 48 games).
Brackmann has turned in three double-doubles in the last four games and now owns 12 career double-doubles. The leading rebounder in the MVC at 11.0 boards per game, she is averaging 16.2 points, 12.2 rebounds and 2.2 steals per game in MVC play. Over the last four games, Brackmann has tallied 17.5 points per game on 60 percent shooting in addition to grabbing 13.0 rebounds per outing.
Haack has scored in double figures in 14 consecutive games heading into Sunday's game against Southern Illinois for the longest stretch of games with 10 or more points by a Brave since Sara Bailey had 16 consecutive outings in 2000-01. She is fourth in the MVC in scoring at 16.6 points per game, which is the best scoring average at Bradley through 16 games since Michelle Young averaged 16.9 points per game in the first 16 games of 2013-14. In MVC play, Haack is scoring 17.8 points per game and shooting 45.2 percent from three-point range (14-for-31).
Brackmann has nine double-digit rebounding efforts this season and has had 10 or more boards in seven of the last 11 contests. She is closing in on 600 career rebounds, needing 28 to reach the mark. Brackmann, who is currently 50^th in career scoring at Bradley with 635 career points, would be the 13^th player in program history with 600 career points and 600 career rebounds. Only three Bradley players have collected 600 points, 600 rebounds, 100 assists, 80 blocks and 70 steals with the last (Dena Williams) finishing up her career 2004-05. Bradley Hall of Fame members Eileen Yerkes (1988-92) and Heather Best (1995-99) are also in the group.
With a trio of three-pointers in Friday's contest against Missouri State, sophomore Gabi Haack moved into seventh in career three-pointers at Bradley. She now has 114 triples during her time at Bradley, passing Erika Grogg (112 three's between 1990-94) for seventh on Bradley's all-time list. Next up for Haack is head coach Andrea Gorski, who ranks sixth in BU history with 148 career three's.
Haack continues to lead the MVC in three-pointer per game (2.9) and has made a team-best 68 free throws (4.3 per game) this season. She is just the seventh player in program history to make 46 three-pointers and 68 or more free throws in the same year. Haack is four three-pointers and two made free throws from being just the fifth Brave with 50 trey's and at least 70 free throws. In fact, she is closing in on just the fourth season in Bradley history of 50 three-pointers, 70 free throws, 90 rebounds and 35 assists or more. The last Brave to reach those marks in the same season was Heather Best in 1998-99.

Bradley follows up Sunday's home game against Southern Illinois by kicking off a three-game MVC road swing next Saturday at I-74 rival Illinois State (4 p.m.).

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