PEORIA, Ill. -- Bradley opens Missouri Valley Conference play with a three-game home stand for the first time since 2004-05, kicking off the stretch Friday with a 7 p.m. game against Evansville and closing out the opening weekend of league action Sunday against Indiana State (2 p.m.) at Renaissance Coliseum.
Friday's game is Veteran's Appreciation Night with all veterans and military personnel receiving free admission with an ID. Bradley will host a free post-game youth clinic immediately following Sunday's home game against Indiana State, open to all children (K-8th) in attendance.
Bradley (9-2 overall) has won 10 consecutive home games heading into the Valley opener against Evansville (3-8 overall), which will be available on ESPN3. Indiana State (2-10 overall) will play its league-high eighth true road game of the season Friday at Illinois State to start the MVC schedule before Sunday's 2 p.m. game in Peoria, which can be viewed on ESPN+.
BradleyBraves.com will provide links to the video streams of both contests along with live stats and a link to the WIRL 1290 AM radio broadcast.
Owning a 33-20 lead in the all-time series, Bradley has won the last five meetings with the Purple Aces and claimed seven of the last eight in the series. The Braves are 19-6 at home against Evansville, which includes five straight at Renaissance Coliseum. In fact, Bradley has won 10 of the last 11 home games in the series. Fourth-year head coach Andrea Gorski is 6-1 against the Aces as head coach of the Braves.
Bradley swept the regular-season series with Indiana State for the first time since 1995-96 last year and the Braves are 3-2 in the last five matchups with the Sycamores. Overall, Indiana State holds a 50-27 edge in the series, which includes a 19-18 advantage in games played in Peoria. Thirteen of Bradley's last 15 victories in the series have been at home with the lone exceptions last year's road win and a victory in the 2009 MVC Tournament quarterfinals.
Bradley will start Missouri Valley Conference play with a three-game home stand for the first time since 2004-05 and just the fourth time in program history (1998-99 & 1992-93). The Valley opener against Evansville will mark the first time dating back to 1996-97 that Bradley will face the Aces in the first league game of the year and just the second Valley opener against UE overall. BU will be trying to open MVC play with a home victory for the first time since kicking off the 1996-97 Valley schedule with an 83-53 victory over Evansville.
Helped by the 10-game home win streak, the Braves have had success in the state of Illinois, winning eight consecutive regular-season games played in the Land of Lincoln and owning a 13-1 mark in their last 14 regular-season games played in Illinois dating back to the last home loss (Jan. 18, 2019 vs. Missouri State). Bradley plays the next four games in the state of Illinois and six of the first seven league games.
Bradley finished out the non-conference portion of the schedule with a 9-2 record to mark just the fifth time in program history the Braves won at least nine non-conference outings. Overall, Bradley is 20-3 in its last 23 non-conference games after winning a school record 10 non-league games in 2018-19. Two of Bradley's last three seasons which included at least nine non-conference victories resulted in 20-win campaigns.
Junior Gabi Haack and sophomore Lasha Petree were Bradley's first pair of players to hit at least 50 three-pointers in a season since 1994-95 last year and the duo is on a historic pace so far in 2019-20. With both individuals among the top four in the MVC in three-pointers per game, Petree (2.8 per game) and Haack (2.7 per game) have combined for 61 three-pointers, which is more than Indiana State has entering Valley action. Bradley is averaging 8.5 three-pointers per game (26th nationally) and the team's 94 total triples is already halfway to matching the school season record of 188 set in 1994-95. In fact, Bradley is one of eight teams in the nation to have two individuals with 30 or more three-point makes through games of Jan. 1.
Petree was named to the all-tournament team at the Roo Holiday Classic after averaging 17.0 points, 2.0 assists and 2.5 steals per game in the two games. Averaging a team-best 16.5 points per game, she has averaged 19.2 points per outing over the last six contests.
Haack has had a great deal of success at home this season, averaging 4.0 three-pointers per game in the four games played at Renaissance Coliseum. In fact, she is shooting 45.7 percent (16-of-35) from beyond the arc at home this season and averaging 18.5 points and 7.3 rebounds per game in the home outings.
Bradley will close out the season-long three-game home stand Friday, Jan. 10 with a 7 p.m. game against I-74 rival Illinois State.
