Bradley BRAD 14-5 (4-4)

Valparaiso VALPO 6-14 (2-6)

Bradley BRAD

14-5 (4-4)

Final

Feb. 01, 2019

Valparaiso VALPO

6-14 (2-6)

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	3	4	F
Bradley BRAD	13	16	21	23	73
Valparaiso VALPO	27	11	14	24	76

Box Score

Duane Zehr

Rally Falls Short At Valpo As Braves Edged 76-73

Box Score

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | 2/1/2019 10:26:00 PM

VALPARAISO, Ind. – Bradley recovered from a slow start to erase a 16-point first-half deficit and take a lead midway through the fourth, but Valparaiso managed to pull out a 76-73 victory over the Braves Friday night in Missouri Valley Conference women's basketball action.

Sophomore Gabi Haack scored a team-high 18 points as she pushed her streak of consecutive games scoring in double figures to 17. She had 16 second-half points and helped fuel Bradley's rally with 11 points, two rebounds, two assists and a block in the fourth quarter.

Haack was one of four Bradley (14-5 overall, 4-4 MVC) players to score in double figures, with Lasha Petree, Ellie Spelhaug and Nyjah White each adding 13 points off the bench. The loss was Bradley's first loss on the road in Valley play and dropped the Braves into a tie with Loyola for fourth in the league standings at 4-4.

"They got off to a hot start and once a team like that gets confidence it's tough to beat a team when they shoot 42 percent from three," said Bradley head coach Andrea Gorski. "Valparaiso executed well and took advantage of mismatches. They went small and we tried to go small with them. Ellie had a big game off the bench and Gabi had to play the point late. We made a good effort getting back into the game late, but just couldn't get the rebound at the end when we needed it."

Bradley got off to a slow start, making just 1-of-6 from the field to open the game, while Valparaiso was a perfect 6-of-6 to start as the Crusaders raced out to a 20-4 lead.

Trailing 27-13 after the opening period, the Braves opened the second quarter with an 11-4 run to pull within seven at 31-24 closing in on four minutes to play in the half. White scored six consecutive points and Spelhaug capped the spurt with one of her two first-half three's, finishing the half with a team-best 10 points. Bradley trailed 38-29 at the half. The Crusaders started the game by making their first five three's and were eight-for-16 from beyond the arc in the opening 20 minutes.

Bradley held Valparaiso (6-14 overall, 2-6 MVC) scoreless for the first five minutes of the third period and whittled the deficit down to five before the Crusaders got their first hoop of the second half. Petree scored six consecutive points and later capped the third quarter with a three-pointer as she scored nine points in the final 4:12 of the frame to pull Bradley within two points at 52-50 heading to the fourth.

A Haack layup with 8:18 left to play in the fourth tied things up at 54-54, only to have Valparaiso's Meredith Hamlet answer with a three. With the Crusaders leading 58-56, Haack gave the Braves their first lead since the opening basket of the game on a three-point play with 5:54 left as BU went in front 59-58.

The lead was short lived however, as a Hamlet three-point play put Valpo back in front 61-59. Haack found sophomore Emily Marsh underneath for a layup with 5:28 on the clock to once again knot the score (61-61). After a defensive stop, a runner in the lane by Petree put Bradley back ahead 63-61 midway through the fourth quarter.

Grace Hales answered with a three-pointer for Valparaiso and the Crusaders were able to extend the lead to five (69-65) nearing the three-minute mark.

The Valparaiso lead was four with 1:28 left after an Addison Stoller layup, but the Braves kept pushing. A three-point play by White, who was originally whistled for her fifth foul on the play before an official review reversed the call, cut the Valpo lead to one at 72-71 with 1:12 on the clock.

The Crusader lead was still one after Valpo made a pair of free throws and a Chelsea Brackmann layup assisted by Haack with 38.6 seconds left. Bradley appeared to get the defensive stop it needed on the ensuing possession, but Valparaiso pulled down an offensive rebound and made two free throws with 4.6 seconds left to seal the victory.

Hamlet was one of three Valparaiso players to finish with 20 or more points, scoring a game-high 23. The Crusaders were 11-for-26 (42 percent) from three-point range.

Bradley closes out a three-game MVC road swing Sunday with a 1 p.m. game at Loyola.

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