Peoria, Illinois - Bradley Women's Basketball evened up their season series against Illinois State with their 70-65 win on Sunday.
Rallying the Troops
The Braves went down 9-0 about 1:32 into the game, causing head coach Kate Popovec-Goss to call an early timeout. After the timeout, Bradley and Illinois State exchanged a three-pointer each before the Braves went on a 16-point run to take a 21-12 lead. The Braves held onto the lead for the majority of the game, taking a 39-33 lead into halftime.
Standout Performances for Bradley
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Soleil Barnes had her best game of the season, scoring a career-high 30 points, grabbing three rebounds, and totaling a team-high four assists.
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Kaylen Nelson also had a solid game, putting up 11 points, grabbing three boards, and getting an assist.
Controlling Turnovers
Bradley did a great job of controlling the ball and did an even better job of making the Redbirds pay for their mistakes as the Braves scored 12 points off Illinois State's turnovers compared to the Redbirds' 10 points on the Braves' turnovers.
Clutch when it Counts
The Braves stepped up to the free-throw line 10 times within the last 30 seconds of the game and sank nine of them to keep the Redbirds from mounting a comeback. Katy Wade played an integral part in this, coming into the game with 20 seconds left, grabbing a rebound, and then immediately sinking the game-winner from the free throw line to secure the Braves' win.
Coming up…
Bradley will look to build on this impressive win next week as they head into the second half of their homestand against the Valparaiso Beacons on Thursday at 6 p.m.