ROCHESTER, Mich. – Four of five Bradley starters scored in double figures, paced by Lasha Petree's game-high 20 points as Bradley Women's Basketball opened the 2019-20 season with a 74-58 victory at Oakland Friday.
Bradley's (1-0 overall) 16-point win was its largest margin of victory in a season opener since an 87-60 home win over Stony Brook to kick off the 2004-05 campaign. Petree, who scored 29 points in last season's meeting with Oakland, finished with 20 points and four assists in 37 minutes of action.
Junior Gabi Haack scored 12 of her 13 points in the second half and also pulled down a game-high nine rebounds to help Bradley to a 45-33 rebounding advantage. Fellow junior Nyjah White added 12 points, seven rebounds, three steals and three blocks, while senior Chelsea Brackmann moved into a tie with former teammate Vanessa Markert for 31st in career scoring at Bradley (823 points) with 11 points in addition to pulling down eight boards.
Bradley held Oakland to 5-for-20 shooting in the first quarter and took control with a 9-2 run. Sophomore Tatum Koenig and White each had four points during the spurt which gave the Braves a 17-9 lead before a late Oakland hoop cut the BU advantage to 17-11 at the end of the first.
A Mahri Petree basket with 6:15 to play in the second quarter gave Bradley its largest lead of the first half at 22-13. The lead was still nine at 26-17 following a Lasha Petree hoop which put her in double figures at 10 points closing in on four minutes to play in the second. Oakland scored the final six points of the period, however, to cut the BU lead to three (26-23) at the half.
Bradley held Oakland to 33 percent shooting in the first half and Golden Grizzlies did not attempt a free throw in the opening 20 minutes of action. The Braves took advantage of 10 first-half Oakland fouls, making 8-of-13 free throw attempts in the first half.
After shooting 35 percent from the field in the first half, Bradley was 11-for-17 (65%) from the field in the third quarter. Haack scored eight points during the third (all in a 3:30 span) and the Braves used a 13-2 run over a near five-minute stretch to push the lead to 39-27. The Braves scored 10 points in the final 90 seconds of the third, using the impressive closing spurt to push the advantage to 53-36 heading to the fourth.
Lasha Petree's third three-pointer of the night capped an 8-0 BU run early in the fourth, which gave Bradley its biggest lead of the contest at 64-40 with six-and-a-half minutes left on the clock. Junior Emily Marsh scored five points during the 8-0 spurt to put the game out of reach as the Braves cruised to the 74-58 win.
Bradley was 4-for-7 from three-point range in the second half and the Braves made 12-of-14 second-half free throw attempts in the final 20 minutes to pull away down the stretch.
Kahlaijah Dean was one of two Golden Grizzlies to score in double figures, scoring a team-high 16 points to lead Oakland.
Bradley closes out a season-opening two-game road swing Sunday with a 1 p.m. (CST) contest at #24/25 Michigan.