CONWAY, S.C. — Senior Chelsea Brackmann had her first double-double of the year (15 points & 13 rebounds) and her buzzer-beating layup gave Bradley Women's Basketball a 61-59 victory over George Mason Friday afternoon on the opening day of the Coastal Carolina Thanksgiving Classic.
Brackmann had 11 points, nine rebounds, one assist and a block in the second half as she turned in her first double-double of the season to help Bradley (5-1 overall) extend its win streak to four games. She finished with 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting and also had 13 rebounds, one assist, a block and two steals.
Sophomore Lasha Petree was the leading scorer in the game, connecting on five three-pointers, to finish with a game-high 18 points. Junior Nyjah White, who assisted the game-winning hoop as time expired, joined the duo in double figures with 12 points, eight boards, three assists, two blocks and a steal in 29 minutes of action.
"I thought Nyjah had the shot if she wanted at the end, but she made a heck of a pass to Chelsea," said Bradley head coach Andrea Gorski. "Nyjah takes a lot of attention and I think they were concerned about stopping her. Thankfully nobody rotated down on Chelsea."
The game was close throughout with 15 lead changes and six ties. Bradley had its largest lead of the fourth quarter at 57-51 following a White hoop with just over four minutes to play, but a near four-minute BU drought let George Mason rally. The Patriots answered with an 8-0 run, capped by a Sarah Kaminski layup to take a 59-57 lead with 44 seconds left.
White tied things up at 59-59 with a put-back basket with 21.3 seconds left. A Bradley foul with 2.8 seconds left sent the Patriots to the line with a chance to break the tie, only to have Alexsis Grate miss a pair of free throws to keep the game knotted at 59-59. Bradley used a timeout to advance the ball to half court and White was able to find Brackmann underneath for the game-winning hoop as Bradley improved to 5-1 on the year with the win.
George Mason opened the contest by scoring the first seven points and Bradley went scoreless for the first 6:10 of the game before a Petree three-pointer. Petree hit three straight three-pointers during a 90-second span to help Bradley pull even with the Patriots at 12-12 at the end of the first quarter.
After opening the game 0-for-11 from the field over the first six minutes, Bradley shot 64 percent in the second quarter (9-for-14). A 9-0 BU run, which included back-to-back Brackmann hoops put the Braves in front 21-14 and Bradley would eventually take a 33-29 lead into the locker room at the half.
George Mason scored the first five points of the third quarter to take a 34-33 lead and the Patriots led 45-42 closing in on three minutes to play in the period when Brackmann would spark a Bradley run. The Braves scored the final 10 points of period, with Brackmann starting the spurt with a basket. She added a free throw later on and her layup with 36 second left in the frame would help BU extend the lead to 52-45 entering the fourth quarter.
Brackmann's double-double was the 21st of her career and she moved into a tie with Dena Williams for second place in Bradley history with her 32nd career game with 10 or more rebounds.
Petree finished with 18 points and pulled down a season-best eight rebounds in the victory as the duo helped Bradley to a 54-39 rebounding advantage. In addition to White's 12 points, junior Emily Marsh added a season-high eight points off the bench.
Camarie Gatling led George Mason with 15 points and 10 rebounds to pace three Patriots in double figures.
Bradley closes out play at the Coastal Carolina Thanksgiving Classic Sunday with a 10:30 a.m. (CST) game against Richmond. The Spider posted a 79-67 victory over tournament-host Coastal Carolina earlier in the day.