Braves Tip Four-Game Home Stand Thursday vs Drake

After playing 10 of its last 13 games on the road, Bradley Women's Basketball will start its season-long, 4-game home stand Thursday

Josh Schwam

Women's Basketball 1/26/2022 7:53:00 AM

Game 17 \| Drake Bulldogs (10-8, 2-5 MVC) at Bradley Braves (3-13, 0-7 MVC)
Date	Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022
Time	6:30 p.m. CT
Location	Peoria, IL
Venue (Capacity)	Renaissance Coliseum (4,200)
Social Media	Twitter: @B radleyWBB \| Instagram: @bradley_wbb

Bradley will open its season-long, 4-game home stand by hosting Missouri Valley Conference rival Drake Thursday night at Renaissance Coliseum in the first meeting between the two programs since the Braves knocked off the Bulldogs in the championship game of the 2021 Hoops in the Heartland MVC Women's Basketball Championship for their first-ever league title.

BY THE NUMBERS
1 – Freshman guard Caroline Waite enters Thursday's game as the top-scoring underclassman (Fr/So) in the Valley at 12.2 ppg.

5 – Bradley's roster includes five student-athletes from the state of Iowa, led by senior point guard Tatum Koenig (West Branch), who has averaged 10.6 ppg in seven career games against Drake.

6.7 – In the six games since Gabi Haack's season-ending injury, senior guard Tatum Koenig has increased her scoring by 6.7 points per game.

9 – Bradley's roster includes nine newcomers among the team's 15 active student-athletes.

SERIES HISTORY
81st Meeting | Drake leads, 62-18
• Thursday's game will be the 81st meeting in a series that dates back to the debut of the Gateway Conference regular-season during the 1983-84 season.
• Sporting a 62-18 advantage, Drake's 62 series wins are the most by any team against Bradley.
• Bradley has won three of the last five matchups and is seeking its first 3-game series win streak since its only 3-game win streak against Drake from Feb. 21, 2009-Feb. 21, 2010.
• The Braves also are seeking consecutive home wins against Drake for just the third time in program history: 1987 and 1988; 2009 and 2010.

SERIES NEWBIES
•  With nine first-year student-athletes on the roster and fifth-year senior Gabi Haack on the injury shelf, Bradley's lineup includes just six players who have ever suited up against Drake.
• While senior guard Tatum Koenig has played in seven games against the Bulldogs, scoring 74 points (10.6 ppg) in 241 cumulative minutes, the other 14 Bradley student-athletes available Thursday night have combined for 12 individual games against Drake, totaling five points in 66 cumulative minutes.

DEFENDING THE HOME COURT
•  Since the start of the 2018-19 season, Bradley is 36-13 (.735) in its last 49 home games at Renaissance Coliseum.
• The program record for the most home wins in a 4-year stretch has stood since 1983 after the Braves posted a 38-14 (.731) record at Robertson Memorial Fieldhouse from 1979-83.
• Prior to the start of the 2018-19 season, Bradley had gone five consecutive seasons without a winning home record and the Braves had not posted a double-digit home wins total since 2008-09 (12-2).

HOME FOR A BIT
•  Bradley has played 10 of its last 13 games away from home, including five of its first seven Missouri Valley Conference games.
• Thursday's game against Drake will tip off a season-long, 4-game home stand at Renaissance Coliseum.
• This home stand marks the ninth time in program history the Braves will have hosted four straight league games: 1983-84 (2-2), 1988-89 (2-2), 1992-93 (1-3), 1993-94 (0-6), 1994-95 (2-2), 2015-16 (1-3), 2016-17 (3-1), 2017-18 (1-3).

LOOKING AHEAD
•  Bradley completes the home series against The Valley's Iowa schools Saturday afternoon when the Braves welcome UNI for a 2 p.m. tip at Renaissance Coliseum.
• Bradley won 2-of-3 meetings against UNI last season, including its first-ever postseason win against the Panthers in the quarterfinals of the Hoops in the Heartland MVC Women's Basketball Championship.
• The Braves will be seeking their first 3-game winning streak against UNI since taking five straight against the Panthers from 1994-96.
• Saturday's game will wrap the first half of Bradley's league schedule and the Braves will start the second half of The Valley race by welcoming Indiana State (Feb. 4) and Evansville (Feb. 6) to Renaissance Coliseum next week.

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Players Mentioned

#3 Gabi Haack: G; 5' 9"; Fifth Year

#13 Tatum Koenig: G; 5' 7"; Senior

#11 Caroline Waite: G; 5' 4"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#3 Gabi Haack
: 5' 9"; Fifth Year
: G

#13 Tatum Koenig
: 5' 7"; Senior
: G

#11 Caroline Waite
: 5' 4"; Freshman
: G

Braves Tip Four-Game Home Stand Thursday vs Drake

After playing 10 of its last 13 games on the road, Bradley Women's Basketball will start its season-long, 4-game home stand Thursday

Players Mentioned

#3 Gabi Haack

#13 Tatum Koenig

#11 Caroline Waite

Players Mentioned

#3 Gabi Haack

#13 Tatum Koenig

#11 Caroline Waite