Columbia, Mo. - The
Kate Popovec-Goss Era starts off with a bang, as Bradley Women's Basketball will travel to Columbia, Missouri and take on the SEC's Missouri Tigers to officially open up the 2022-2023 season. The game tips off on Thursday, November 10th at 7:00 p.m. from Mizzou Arena.
HOW TO FOLLOW THE GAME
Listen Live (1290 AM;
No Online Stream; only on the 'true' AM dials)
Live Stats (StatBroadcast)
Tickets
WHAT DID WE MISS?
Thankfully, the season hasn't gotten too far away from anyone, so all that's passed on the calendar is a 71-60 exhibition win over McKendree last Thursday at Renaissance Coliseum. In the win, the Braves got a game-high 24 points from sophomore guard
Caroline Waite on the strength of five three-pointers. Waite rebounded nicely, going from 0-6 behind the arc in the first 20 minutes to 5-7 in the final 20.
Isis Fitch added a double-double, scoring 15 points and bringing in 10 rebounds, seven of which were offensive. Bradley was also able to capitalize on its fastbreak points, outdoing McKendree by an 18-5 margin.
WHAT TO EXPECT FROM THE TIGERS
Missouri, unlike the Braves, has already officially tipped off their season. On Tuesday, November 7th, the Tigers went on the road to defeat Missouri Valley Conference member Missouri State, 68-51. The Tigers got a double-double from Sara-Rose Smith (10 points, 10 rebounds), while Haley Frank (17 points, 6-10 shooting) also turned in a double figure effort. Missouri shot 1-13 from three, good for 7.7%. The Tiger roster features nine returning players, led by Frank and Lauren Hansen's combined 25.9 points per game, as well as three newcomers: true freshmen Averi Kroenke and Ashton Judd, plus Notre Dame transfer Katlyn Gilbert.
SOMETHING'S GOT TO GIVE
Bradley is (5-0) in its last five season openers, having not dropped a game of that nature since 2016 to Kent State. Meanwhile, Missouri has won all 12 of its home openers under the leadership of former Illinois State coach Robin Pingeton.
S-E-C
Thursday will be the 18th time that Bradley Women's Basketball has faced off against an SEC program. The Braves, while (3-14) in such games, have all three wins being against the Tigers. The series hasn't happened since a 76-64 Bradley win at Renaissance Coliseum in 2014. Further, the Braves have not won in Columbia since 1994, when the Braves bested the Tigers by an 83-78 score in the Hearnes Center, which now houses other sports for Missouri, thus meaning Bradley has never won at Mizzou Arena in program history.
LAST TIME OUT
In that December 6th, 2014 win for the Braves, Michelle Young (24 points), Anneke Schlueter (18 points), and Fantasia Vine (10 points) were part of the scoring leaders for Bradley, whose defense forced the Tigers into 27 turnovers. Entering that game, the Braves were (0-6) to the Tigers' (5-1), adding to the thrill of that victory just under eight years ago.
