Braves Host Indiana St. & Evansville During Play4Kay Weekend

Duane Zehr

Women's Basketball 2/7/2019 11:18:00 AM

PEORIA, Ill. -- Sitting alone in fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference standings at the halfway point of the league schedule, Bradley Women's Basketball plays five of the next seven games at Renaissance Coliseum starting this weekend with Indiana State (Friday) and Evansville (Sunday) making the trip to Peoria during the Braves' Play4Kay Weekend.

Fans are encouraged to wear pink to both home games to show support for Play4Kay. The Braves are also asking fans to take part in the Coach G Play4Kay Challenge, where participants make a pledge for each free throw made by Bradley during the month of February or can designate a flat dollar amount, with proceeds benefiting the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. To make a pledge visit https://bubrav.es/Play4Kay

Bradley Women's Basketball has partnered with Cuddle for Kids for Friday's 7 p.m. game vs. Indiana State, which will feature a Teddy Bear Toss at halftime. All teddy bears will be donated to the OSF Children's Hospital.

On Sunday, the Braves will hold a free youth clinic, open to all grade school children (K - 8th grade) with Bradley Women's Basketball players and coaches providing instruction, following the 2 p.m. contest against Evansville. No pre-registration is required, but participants are asked to wear active wear and gym shoes.

Off to its best conference start since 2009-10 (6-3), Bradley (15-5 overall, 5-4 MVC) enters Friday's outing against Indiana State (10-10 overall, 4-5 MVC) one game ahead of the Sycamores in the Valley standings. The Braves won the season's first meeting with Indiana State 61-45 back on Jan. 13 in Terre Haute, Ind., to snap a 21-game road losing streak in the series. The Sycamores own a 50-26 advantage in the series, which includes a slim 19-17 edge in games played in Peoria. The Braves are 6-5 at home against the Sycamores over the last 11 years and will be shooting for their first season sweep of the series against Indiana State since 1995-96.

The season's first matchup with Evansville (2-18, 0-9 MVC) resulted in a 75-68 Bradley victory and the Braves have won four consecutive games in the series. In fact, BU is 11-4 in the last 15 games against the Purple Aces and 16-5 over the last 10 years. Bradley owns a 32-20 advantage in the all-time series, which includes an 18-6 mat in home games.

While the Braves turned in their best first half of Valley play in almost a decade, Bradley has made a habit of being better in the second half of league play over the years with seven of the last eight seasons resulting in a better second half for the Braves. In fact, Bradley has been better the second time through the Valley in 13 of 16 seasons.

Bradley is 7-3 at home this season with the Braves looking for their first season with at least eight home wins since 2012-13 (8-5). In the near nine-year history of Renaissance Coliseum Bradley has never posted more than eight home victories.

Sunday's win at Loyola improved Bradley to 6-0 against in-state opponents this season. In fact, seven of Bradley's 16 road wins under third-year head coach Andrea Gorski have come in the state of Illinois, with five of those in Missouri Valley Conference outings. Dating back to last season, the Braves are 4-1 in their last five road games in the state of Illinois and own a 15-11 mark against teams from the Land of Lincoln during Gorski's tenure.

Bradley's 15 victories this season mark the team's highest overall win total since capping the 2011-12 season with an 18-16 record. The 15-5 record through 20 games is the best by the Braves since starting the 1981-82 season 18-5 and marks just the third 15-5 start to season in program history (1980-81 - 15-5).

Junior Chelsea Brackmann scored a career-best 24 points and the leading rebounder in the MVC added 20 boards to help highlight Sunday's victory at Loyola as she notched her second 20-20 performance of the year. Prior to this season there had been just two 20-20 outings in the MVC (2015-16 & 2014-15) over the previous seven years and Brackmann is the first Valley player to have two 20-20 games in the same season since at least the 1994-95 season.

In fact, over that time the 2010-11 campaign is the only one in the MVC in which two 20-20 performances were recorded with Illinois State's Kenyatta Shelton and Indiana State's Shannon Thomas each posting one. Brackmann is one of four players in the nation with multiple 20-20 games this season through contests of Feb. 3 and is 23rd in the nation in rebounding, while owning a league-best 10 double-doubles.

Sophomore Gabi Haack has kept a pair of streaks alive, with the guard scoring in double figures in 18 consecutive games and hitting at least one three-pointer in 14 consecutive contests. The 18-game streak scoring in double figures is the seventh longest streak in program history and longest by a Brave since Carrie Coffman had 28 straight double-digit scoring efforts between the 1993-94 and 1994-95 seasons. Haack's 14 consecutive games with a three-pointer is tied for the seventh-longest streak in Bradley history and she will try to become the first Bradley player to reach 15 consecutive games with a triple since Katie Yohn posted an 18-game streak in 2010-11.

The Braves follow up the weekend home stand with a two-game Valley road swing, which starts Friday, Feb. 15 at Southern Illinois (6 p.m.).

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