Valpo's Record Night Too Much to Overcome

Valparaiso made a program-record 17 3-pointers to rally for a 71-66 win in the series opener

Missouri Valley Conference

Bobby Parker, Associate AD for Communications Women's Basketball 2/4/2021 8:35:00 PM

VALPARAISO, IN – Hot perimeter shooting by the hosts and 19 turnovers by the visitors proved to be a combination Bradley (10-7, 6-4 MVC) could not overcome Thursday night at Athletics-Recreation Center. Valparaiso (7-8, 3-5 MVC) drained 17 3-pointers and outscored the visiting Braves, 27-6, in points off turnovers to earn a 71-66 Missouri Valley Conference women's basketball victory to open a 2-game league set.

The Valley's leading scorer coming into the game, Bradley junior Lasha Petree poured in a game-high 27 points to pace three Braves in double figures. Senior Gabi Haack added 16 points and Nyjah White turned in a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds to go along with her team-high four assists. Senior forward Emily Marsh matched White's game-high rebounds total with a career-best 10 boards.

Seven different Valparaiso players drained at least one 3-pointer, led by Shay Frederick, who was 5-for-9 from beyond the arc to lead the Crusaders with 17 points. Frederick also led the hosts with nine rebounds and five assists.

Knocking down three of its first four 3-point field goal attempts, Bradley raced out to a 17-5 lead, but the Braves did not score the remainder of the period, allowing Valparaiso to close to within 17-13 at the quarter break.

Nyjah White and Gabi Haack doing what they do. Early offense. pic.twitter.com/t5aANuApZR
— Bradley WBB (@BradleyWBB) February 5, 2021

The Braves twice stretched their advantage to seven points in the second quarter – 20-13 on a Tatum Koenig second-chance triple with 9:21 left and 23-16 on an old-fashioned 3-point play by Petree with 7:50 left in the quarter – but the Crusaders used a 9-2 run to forge a 25-25 tie with 3:35 left in the half. Petree's driving layup with 53 seconds left propelled Bradley into halftime with a 30-28 lead.

Bradley again started quick in the third quarter and pushed its lead back to double-digits, 39-29, before the Crusaders again rallied. Just 3-for-14 from inside the arc to that point of the game, Valparaiso's 11th 3-pointer in 29 tries from beyond the arc gave the hosts a 43-41 lead with 3:56 left in the third.

The third quarter ended with a pair of runs: Bradley immediately responded to the deficit with a 12-0 burst to take a 53-43 lead with 1:45 left in the quarter, only to see the Crusaders close the period on an 8-0 run to pull within 53-51 heading into the final stanza.

The Braves once again got off to a good start in the fourth quarter after Petree buried a 3-pointer for a 56-51 lead, but back-to-back triples by Frederick and Lauren Gunn started a sequence of five lead changes through the middle of the period. After Haack split two free throws for a 64-64 tie with 3:39 left, Valpo took the lead for good, 66-64, on a Gunn layup.

The teams will face off again at Valpo's ARC Friday at 6 p.m. to complete the 2-game Valley series. Following Friday's game the Braves will play five of their final seven games at Renaissance Coliseum, beginning Feb. 12-13 with a 2-game series against UNI.

Notes: By knocking down her first 3-point field goal attempt of the night just 2-minutes, 17-seconds into the game, Bradley senior guard Gabi Haack became the 15th player in Missouri Valley Conference women's basketball history to make 250 career 3-pointers … Valparaiso's 17 3-point field goals is the program's single-game record.

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