Columbia, Mo. - It was the dawn of a new era in Columbia, Missouri on Thursday night, an exciting time at that, as Bradley Women's Basketball (0-1) faced off against the SEC's Missouri Tigers (2-0) to tip off the first official game of the
Kate Popovec-Goss Era.
QUICK TIGER START
The hosts wasted no time hitting the scoreboard, knocking down one of what would ultimately become a hot-shooting night. The Tigers hit a jumper with 1:48 to go in the first quarter, and at the time, a three-pointer from Bradley's
Isis Fitch was the lone scoring.
Alex Rouse pulled the Braves within 16-6 on a successful three-point play with just over a minute to go. Missouri dropped in another trey before the quarter break to take a 19-6 lead after 10 minutes.
COLD SHOOTING
The Braves couldn't find their shooting stroke come time for the second quarter, with Missouri going on an 8-0 run within the first three minutes (27-6 lead).
Caroline Waite hit the first of her two shots from behind the arc to give Bradley their ninth point of the game. The Braves would crack double figures on another Waite trey, with the Tigers holding a 34-12 advantage. After offensive struggles had plagued the Braves in the opening half of play, Bradley scored eight points in the last three minutes to close the gap to 20 points going into the locker room.
THE GAP WIDENS
After having committed a foul within five seconds of the third quarter,
Isis Fitch turned around nicely, converting on a layup opportunity to make it 40-19 Missouri. From there, however, the Braves' offense fell cold once again. Bradley got a three-pointer from
Ruba Abo Hashesh at the 2:39 mark of the third, but the point differential had already ballooned to 40 points (62-22).
Alex Rouse, Lucia Llaviera, and Fitch were all part of a scoring run headed into the fourth that saw the Braves out-score Missouri, 9-4 over that last 2:39 of play.
CLOSING IT OUT
The fourth quarter got off to a seemingly slow start. The 52 seconds it took for the Tigers to tally any form of points was the longest such range of time on the evening. Bradley used a Rouse layup and
Celia Satter three to bring the scoring up to 33 points. Bradley would go nearly four minutes without scoring, with an
Isis Fitch jumper falling roughly four minutes later.
Callie Ziebell came off the bench and promptly converted an and-one with two minutes to go, in what were the Braves' final points of the 83-38 loss.
WHAT'S UP NEXT FOR THE BRAVES
2022-23 Regular Season Home Opener
vs. South Dakota Coyotes (1-1)
Sunday, November 13th - 2PM Tipoff
@ Renaissance Coliseum - Peoria, Ill.
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