2020 Kaboom! Awards: Women's Basketball

Duane Zehr

General 5/24/2020 11:00:00 AM

The 2020 Kaboom! Awards, presented by RE/MAX Traders Unlimited and supported by PNC, continues today by highlighting the historic 2019-20 Bradley Women's Basketball season.

The Braves had school records for overall (22) and Missouri Valley Conference (13) victories before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the MVC Tournament in addition to any potential postseason appearance for BU.

Boasting a 22-7 overall mark, Bradley closed the shortened season with the first back-to-back 20-win seasons in program history and the Braves became the first team in MVC history to post an improved overall win total in five consecutive seasons.

Bradley took third in the MVC standings (13-5) for the best conference finish in program history and was poised to make the first post-season appearance in nearly a decade, ranked 50^th in the NCAA's RPI heading into the MVC Tournament before the season was cut short.

For the first time, Bradley produced three First-Team All-MVC picks in 2019-20, with Chelsea Brackmann and Gabi Haack becoming the fifth and sixth two-time first-team all-conference picks in program history, while Lasha Petree earned the distinction for the first time after ranking fourth in the Valley in scoring (16.5 ppg).

A historic 7-0 start to MVC play marked the longest conference win streak in program history and the Braves won their first 12 home games to stretch the longest home win streak in school history to 18 straight before a 69-66 loss to #17/21 Missouri State in the final home contest of the year.

Bradley had four individuals average 10 or more points per game in the same season for the first time since 1995-96 during the 2019-20 campaign in which the Braves connected on a school record 210 three pointers.

Brackmann, who concluded her career as Bradley's all-time leading rebounder and was tied for ninth in league history with 953 career boards, took home Second-Team Senior CLASS Award All-American recognition after she was one of 10 national finalists for the 2019-20 Senior CLASS Award.

The 2020 Kaboom! Awards are celebrating the year in Bradley Athletics by transitioning to a virtual presentation throughout the month of May. Each year on the final night of spring semester classes, the Bradley Department of Athletics gathers at Renaissance Coliseum for the annual Kaboom! Awards, an event modeled after the popular awards shows in the entertainment industry (Oscars, Grammys, ESPYs) and recognizes all of the graduating seniors, spotlights the team and individual achievements from throughout the year. Traditionally preceded by a red-carpet reception, the awards show is filled with video and graphic tributes, which will be presented this year through the Bradley Athletics website, BradleyBraves.com, and the department's social media accounts -- culminating with the announcement of the 67th Charles Orsborn Award May 29 and viewing of the Moments of the Year May 30.

The 2020 Kaboom! Awards continue Tuesday with the announcement of the fourth finalist for the 2020 Orsborn Award.

2020 Kaboom! Awards Presentation Schedule

Day, Date	Feature	Format
Monday, May 4	Men's Golf highlights	Video
Tuesday, May 5	Charles Orsborn Award candidates	Article
Wednesday, May 6	Women's Cross Country and Track	Video
Thursday, May 7	Charles Orsborn Award finalist #1 - Nate Kennell	Video
Friday, May 8	Softball highlights	Video
Saturday, May 9	Female Individual Performance of the Year	Video
	Male Individual Performance of the Year	Video
Monday, May 11	Soccer highlights	Video
Tuesday, May 12	Orsborn Award finalist #2 - Jake Hoffert	Video
Wednesday, May 13	Tennis highlights	Video
Thursday, May 14	Megan C. Fong Inspiration Award	Video
Friday, May 15	Baseball highlights	Video
Saturday, May 16	Graduating Class of 2020	Video
Monday, May 18	Volleyball highlights	Video
Tuesday, May 19	Orsborn Award finalist #3 - Chelsea Brackmann	Video
Wednesday, May 20	Men's Cross Country and Track highlights	Video
Thursday, May 21	Female Coach Joe Stowell Award	Video
	Male Coach Joe Stowell Award	Video
Friday, May 22	Women's Golf highlights	Video
	Cheerleading highlights	Video
Saturday, May 23	Men's Team Performance of the Year	Video
	Women's Team Performance of the Year	Video
Sunday, May 24	Women's Basketball highlights	Video
Tuesday, May 26	Orsborn Award finalist #4	Video
Wednesday, May 27	Men's Basketball highlights	Video
Thursday, May 28	Bradley Athletics community service	Video
	Carl Grose Service Award	Video
Friday, May 29	Charles Orsborn Award	Video
Saturday, May 30	Moments of the Year	Video