Peoria Standard

Bradley University Athletics issued the following announcement on Dec. 29

After playing five of its final six non-conference games on the road, Bradley will start the Missouri Valley Conference slate with three straight road games, beginning with Saturday afternoon's visit to I-74 rival Illinois State.

 

BY THE NUMBERS

3  Bradley and Illinois State entered the season with three common non-conference opponents. Bradley knocked off Wisconsin, which beat Illinois State.  Both teams lost to Northern Illinois and Bradley's Tuesday game against Saint Louis was canceled.

8  Bradley's roster includes eight newcomers, who will start MVC play with their first-ever I-74 Rivalry game.

12 Bradley will visit Illinois State coming off a 12-day break between games. The last time the Braves had 12 days to prepare for their MVC opener, they reeled off seven straight wins to open the 2019-20 league season.

92 Saturday's game will the 92nd in the all-time series against Illinois State, making it the most-played series in Bradley Women's Basketball history.

 

FLUID DECEMBER

•  Bradley's December schedule turned out considerably different than the original schedule.

•  Concluding with the cancellation of Tuesday's non-conference finale against Saint Louis, Bradley's December slate saw six individual game changes:

    - Dec. 1 home game versus Tulsa canceled due to multiple COVID-19 positive results within the Golden Hurricane Tier 1 personnel;

    - Dec. 20-21 Tulane Holiday Tournament games against Little Rock and either Texas Southern or host Green Wave canceled as Tulane entered a program pause;

    - Dec. 18 visit to #22 LSU replaced one half of the Tulane Holiday Tournament;

    - Dec. 19 home game versus Illinois-Springfield replaced the second half of the Tulane tourney;

    - Dec. 28 home game against Saint Louis canceled.

 

SERIES HISTORY

92nd Meeting | Illinois State leads, 56-35

•  Saturday's renewal of the I-74 Rivalry will extend the most-played series in Bradley Women's Basketball history to the 92nd all-time meeting between the Braves and Redbird.

•  Illinois State owns a 56-35 lead in the all-time series, which dates to Bradley's first women's basketball season in 1975-76.

•  After a 2-year break between meetings during the 1981-82 and 1982-83 seasons, the teams have met at least twice every year as conference rivals since 1983-84.

•  The break in the series came after the Braves reeled off five consecutive wins against Illinois State from 1978-81, still Bradley's longest series winning streak.

•  The Braves had won 12 of the last 17 meetings before Illinois State swept the two matchups in 2020-21.

•  Bradley has earned the win in five of its last eight visits to Redbird Arena.

•  In her sixth year as Bradley head coach Andrea Gorski owns a 6-5 record against the Redbirds, while fifth-year Illinois State head coach Kristen Gillespie is 4-5 against the Braves.

 

RIVALRY ROOKIES

•  Bradley's roster includes eight newcomers who will experience the I-74 Rivalry for the first time Saturday afternoon.

•  Of the 15 student-athletes on the Bradley roster, only fifth-year senior guard Gabi Haack (9) and senior guard Tatum Koenig (7) have faced Illinois State more than twice as Braves.

•  Senior guard Chloe Rice has played Illinois State four times, twice last season at Bradley and twice during her first two seasons at Saint Louis (2017-19).

•  While Haack and Koenig boast 16 combined individual games against Illinois State, the other 13 student-athletes on the Bradley roster have combined for just 10 individual games and 14 career points against the Redbirds.

 

COMMON FOES

•  Bradley and Illinois State entered this season with three common non-conference opponents:

Northern Illinois

    Nov. 9 - Illinois State at NIU | NIU, 77-60

    Nov. 22 - Bradley at NIU | NIU, 80-59

Saint Louis

    Dec. 20 - Saint Louis at Illinois State | ISU, 77-66

    Dec. 28 - Saint Louis at Bradley | Canceled

Wisconsin

    Nov. 19 - Wisconsin at Bradley | BU, 64-57

    Dec. 16 - Illinois State at Wisconsin | UW, 70-60

 

DANDY DOZEN

•  When Bradley visits Illinois State Saturday afternoon, the Braves will be coming off a 12-day break in between games.

•  The last time the Braves had 12 days to prepare for their Missouri Valley Conference opener, they reeled off seven straight MVC wins to open the record-setting 2019-20 league campaign.

•  In 2019-20, Bradley popped Eastern Washington, 66-46, Dec. 21 and did not play again until starting the league season Jan. 3 with an 82-51 home win against Evansville.

•  Bradley went on to finish the 2019-20 MVC regular-season with a program-best 13-5 Valley record, only to see the postseason wiped out by the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

ROAD TESTED

•  Bradley played five consecutive road games Nov. 22-Dec. 18 and after breaking the road swing with a Dec. 19 home game against UIS, the Braves will open the MVC season with three consecutive road games.

•  Bradley's first five road opponents own a 22-7 home record with four of the losses coming to Top 25 and receiving votes teams.

•  Bradley will not play its Valley home opener until Jan. 13 against Loyola Chicago, a span of 54 days with just the one home game.

•  Bradley's home games Dec. 1 against Tulsa and Dec. 28 versus Saint Louis were canceled due to the on-going COVID-19 pandemic.

 

LOOKING AHEAD

•  Bradley will keep the road theme going in its next two games, visiting Missouri Valley Conference rivals Evansville Jan. 7 and Indiana State Jan. 9.

•  Following next Sunday's visit to Indiana State, Bradley will play six of its next eight games at home, beginning Jan. 13 when Loyola Chicago visits Renaissance Coliseum.

Original source can be found here.