PEORIA, Ill. -- Bradley Women's Basketball and I-74 rival Illinois State will meet Friday in a 7 p.m. game at Renaissance Coliseum as the two teams battle to remain one of two undefeated teams in Missouri Valley Conference play following that night's league action.
Both teams opened league play with home victories against Evansville and Indiana State and are tied with Missouri State (12-2 overall, 2-0 MVC) for first in the conference standings at 2-0 heading into the second weekend of conference action. The Bears play at pre-season MVC favorite Drake (9-4 overall, 1-0 MVC) Friday night in another battle of unbeaten teams in league play.
Bradley (11-2 overall, 2-0 MVC) brings a 12-game home win streak into Friday's matchup with Illinois State (10-3 overall, 2-0 MVC), which will mark the first time the Braves will be playing a conference game in which both squads are 2-0 or better in league play.
Friday's game will be available on ESPN3 and BradleyBraves.com will provide links to live stats along with the WIRL 1290 AM radio broadcast.
The Braves swept the regular-season series from the Redbirds last year, but Illinois State claimed a MVC Tournament quarterfinal matchup. Bradley has won nine of the last 13 meetings with Illinois State. The Redbirds own a 54-33 lead in the all-time series, however, which includes a 22-19 edge in games played in Peoria. The Braves have won six of the last seven home games in the series.
Sunday's 91-75 win over Indiana State was Bradley's 12th consecutive win at Renaissance Coliseum to match the longest home win streak in program history, which was originally set between the 1978-79 (5) and 1979-80 (7) seasons. The Braves last loss at Renaissance Coliseum came almost one full year ago (Jan. 18 vs. Missouri State) and Bradley has won a school record eight consecutive home conference games. The Braves had never won more than six consecutive home league games prior to the current streak with the 1986-87 squad doing so during a 7-2 home campaign.
The 12-game home win streak is tied for the 11th-longest active streak in the country through games of Jan. 7. The Bradley men's team has won 13 consecutive home games and BU is one of just two schools in the country to have 12-game home win streaks in both men's and women's basketball. Drake's men's team has a 13-game home win streak and the women's squad has won 12 straight at the Knapp Center.
Bradley is 2-0 to start Missouri Valley Conference play for the second time in the last three years and seventh time overall. Three of the last four times Bradley started Valley play with back-to-back wins it went on to at least a 3-0 start. Fourth-year head coach Andrea Gorski has been involved five of Bradley's seven 2-0 starts to MVC action with two coming as coach (2019-20 - 2-0 & 2017-18 - 3-0). The Braves started Gateway Conference play 2-0 or better in each of her first three years as a student-athlete (1990-91 – 3-0, 1989-90 – 2-0, 1988-89 – 3-0).
Bradley opened the season by winning eight of its first nine games and is 11-2. Overall, the Braves have opened just three seasons with at least an 11-2 record through 13 games with the most recent in 2008-09, which resulted in a school record 21 victories. That 2008-09 team is the only squad in program history to start a season better than 11-2 (13-2).
Sophomore Lasha Petree is now scoring a league co-leading 18.6 points per game after tossing in career-high 36 points in the home win against Indiana State. The only player in the country to make 35 or more three-pointers and have more than 15 blocked shots through games of Jan. 7, Petree had the fourth-best single-game point total in Bradley history with her 36-point effort the most points by a Brave since Michelle Young tied the school record with 38 points at Columbia on Nov. 26, 2014.
In addition, her 36 points were the most in a home game at Bradley dating back to a 37-point effort by Karen Anderson on Dec. 14, 1981 against St. Xavier and is the highest single-game scoring performance by a BU player in a conference game. Petree is averaging 23.0 points per game over the last six outings and has scored 16 or more points in each of her three career outings against Illinois State.
Senior Chelsea Brackmann is closing in on Bradley's career rebounding mark, needing 12 boards to pass Leti Lerma as BU's all-time leading rebounder. Brackmann, who has averaged 8.6 rebounds per game in her career against Illinois State, is averaging a league-best 9.2 boards per game this season and is tied for 24th in MVC history with 833 career rebounds. Lerma is tied for 20th in Valley history at 844 career rebounds.
Bradley follows up the home stand with the first MVC road swing of the season. The Braves travel to Chicago for a game at Loyola Friday, Jan. 17.
