BU women's basketball

[ollienanyes]

I just watched Wichita State beat UNI in the MVC semi-final (56-42, but Wichita had a 20 point lead and substituted liberally toward the end).

They just play at another level compared to us.

[Jeffesh]

I am a women's season ticket holder and will renew even if there are no coaching changes made. The reason being the great bunch of girls on the team and how great and friendly they have been, along with the entire coaching staff, to not only my 10 year old daughter but our entire family. It started 2 years ago when Michelle Young took my daughter under her wing at basketball camp and became a great friend and roll model for my daughter. Regardless of what happens in the game the majority of girls come back out after the game and sign autographs, chat, do post game clinics, and have a smile on their face while they do it. The team consists of high character young women and I for one am very thankful for this. I believe there are girls on this team that can play well at this level. I hope that this coaching staff gets the opportunity and are able to show us all what this group is capable of. We all want more wins but I am most impressed by how these young ladies have handled the losses, never shown frustration and kept working. Lessons that weren't lost on my daughter.

[ollienanyes]

I too have women season tickets (and usually end up sitting right under the radio play by play announcer; I have a snow-white beard). Yes, we too will renew.

In terms of on-the-court performance: there is a massive gap between us and the top of the MVC and I don't see that closing significantly. I think that the best we can hope for (realistically) is a move toward the middle; perhaps avoiding the play-in game next season.

And frankly, I am not sure that we will even see that; the team did show some improvement in the second half of the conference schedule, only to revert during the tournament.

Since the women's tournament is being moved to Moline, I am planning on going to at least the Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday games next year. I'd love it if BU was still in the tournament by the time I got there.

[ollienanyes]

If you like women's basketball: Wichita is up 38-35 over Missouri State at the half; game is on ESPN3. Excellent level of play..

[tornado]

Looks like Bradley Women's Basketball is undergoing some staff changes..
Both Karla Bothast, Administrative Assistant and Kristin Wiener, Director of Basketball Operations are gone from the current Coaching Staff page and I believe those positions are being posted to hire..

[Da Coach]

BU women's basketball appears to have created and filled a new position-
Erica Yost was just hired as Coordinator of Player Development.

http://www.bradleybraves.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=3400&ATCLID=211045989

Does anyone know if Bradley has ever had a Coordinator of Player Development before, and what does this position involve?

It now appears all the coaching positions are filled-

http://www.bradleybraves.com/SportSelect.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=3400&SPID=1499&SPSID=19341

[Da Coach]

The MVC All Conference teams were named today for women's basketball-

http://www.mvc-sports.com/wbasketball/news/2014-15/7948/mvc-announces-womens-basketball-all-conference-teams/#.VQDcLvzF-So

Bradley did not get a single player on the All-Conference team, the Honorable Mention team, the All Defense team, or the All Freshman team.

Ironically, former East Peoria HS star Kylie Giebelhausen was named to the MVC All Freshman team. She had a great freshman season at Southern Illinois, was a starter, and became one of their better and more consistent players.

http://www.pjstar.com/article/20150311/SPORTS/150319803

Does anyone know why Bradley didn't recruit her? I saw her play in high school, and it was obvious she had D1 talent and could play the perimeter at 6'1", and is a very good shooter and passer. Those are skills Bradley has mostly lacked this season.

Former East Peoria HS basketball star Kylie Giebelhausen, who is now a junior at SIU, was named the MVC Player of the Week yesterday (Nov. 21).

http://www.mvc-sports.com/wbasketball/news/2016-17/9174/womens-basketball-playernewcomer-of-the-week-nov-21/#.WDRmwrIrLIU

She is leading the Salukis in scoring with a 16.3 ppg average, and is ranked 4th in the MVC in scoring. She is also averaging 5.3 rpg.-

http://www.mvc.org/wbb/stats/2016-17/confldrs.htm#conf.wki

[Da Coach]

Nice article on a local player I hope our women's basketball coaches recruit-
Washington sophomore Anne Peters, sister of Alec Peters-

http://www.pekintimes.com/news/20170119/girls-basketball-washingtons-peters-leans-on-bond-with-big-brother

[Da Coach]

BU women had a big win last night at home vs. Loyola-
Loyola 45
BU 72

http://www.bubraves.com/news/2017/2/3/womens-basketball-markert-helps-braves-race-by-loyola-72-45.aspx

Box score-

http://www.bubraves.com/boxscore.aspx?id=13631&path=wbball

The Bradley women's record in Coach Gorski's first season as Head Coach is now 8-13, and 4-6 in the MVC. They are tied for 6th place-
MVC Standings- http://www.mvc.org/wbb/stats/2016-17/confsked.htm

Last season, they were 9-22 overall, and 4-14 in the MVC.

They have won 2 in a row, and 3 of their last 4. Their 8 total wins
The next game is the final game of a 4-game homestand tomorrow (Sunday, Feb. 5) at 1:00 PM against Indiana State.
Schedule- http://www.bubraves.com/schedule.aspx?path=wbball

Women's team stats-

http://www.mvc.org/wbb/stats/2016-17/brad.htm#team.ind

[ollienanyes]

Loyola game

I was there; BU shot the lights out and lead 47-16 at the half (not a misprint); Loyola had no answer for the BU center who had 18 of her 26 points in the first half. BU played hard, fast and angry.

They beat Loyola in Chicago, but that game was competitive.

[Da Coach]

The BU women won again today, beating Indiana State 54-41-

http://www.bubraves.com/boxscore.aspx?id=13632&path=wbball

It was their 3rd straight win, and they are now 9-13, and 5-6 in the MVC and in a 3-way tie for 5th place. Last season, they were 9-22, 4-14.
MVC leading rebounder Leti Lerma grabbed 16 rebounds for Bradley, and BU junior Danielle Brewer was the game's leading scorer with 18 points.

Standings-

http://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/conferences/standings/_/id/18/year/2017/missouri-valley-conference

They now play their next 2 games on the road against the top 2 teams in the MVC, at UNI on Friday 2/10, and at Drake on Sunday 2/12.

[Da Coach]

I have watched a couple of the recent BU women's games, thanks to ESPN3.com, and the most noticeable thing is how much improved they are from the start of the season. They may still not be ready to compete for championships, but the improvement in the team, and the improvement in many of the individual players is obvious. Bradley is the top rebounding team in the MVC (Bradley's Leti Lerma is the top rebounder in the MVC by more than 4 rpg), their shooting percentage has improved, and the turnovers are way down compared with the last couple years.
These are signs of good coaching from Coach Gorski and her staff. She took over a team that won only 4 MVC games last season and only 5 in each of the 2 prior seasons. They are currently 5-6 in the MVC this season and their 9 wins overall are as many or more than Bradley has won the last 3 years.

[basketball nut]

I have watched a couple of the recent BU women's games, thanks to ESPN3.com, and the most noticeable thing is how much improved they are from the start of the season. They may still not be ready to compete for championships, but the improvement in the team, and the improvement in many of the individual players is obvious. Bradley is the top rebounding team in the MVC (Bradley's Leti Lerma is the top rebounder in the MVC by more than 4 rpg), their shooting percentage has improved, and the turnovers are way down compared with the last couple years.
These are signs of good coaching from Coach Gorski and her staff. She took over a team that won only 4 MVC games last season and only 5 in each of the 2 prior seasons. They are currently 5-6 in the MVC this season and their 9 wins overall are as many or more than Bradley has won the last 3 years.

This team is so much fun to watch. Coach Gorski has them working hard all of the time. They even stayed w/ Northern Iowa in the second half.
They are still a young team w/ 2 freshmen and a soph among the top 7 players. Only one senior on the team and that is Leti Lerma and she is so improved on Defense and Offense. She will, probably, leave as the all time leading rebounder for the BU women as she is only about 70-75 away. I was just talking to her dad yesterday and he said she loves playing for Coach. If she had the playing time the last 2 seasons that she is getting this year she would already be the leading rebounder.
This team is definitely on the right track w/a very good coach

[ollienanyes]

point guard

One other addition that doesn't show up in the stats is the freshman point guard. I think that she really runs the offense well; she can drive and open up shots for the 3-point threats.

It was sure nice to be able to see all three games of this past weekend's BU sweep! As a bonus, the men's team frequently shows up to support the women.

[Da Coach]

One other addition that doesn't show up in the stats is the freshman point guard. I think that she really runs the offense well; she can drive and open up shots for the 3-point threats.

It was sure nice to be able to see all three games of this past weekend's BU sweep! As a bonus, the men's team frequently shows up to support the women.

I believe you are referring to Alona Johnson. Yes, she has been one of the biggest difference-makers on this year's team. She has been starting the last dozen games or so, her playing time has increased, and she is averaging about 4 assists per game in MVC play and it has helped make the team better. She has an assists to turnover ratio of 42 to 23 in MVC games, which is terrific. She is a big reason this team has cut their turnovers down significantly from last year's team.

Alona Johnson did not commit to Bradley until mid-May. She was a very late commit-

http://bradleybraves.com/news/2016/5/12/210948134.aspx

Obviously, a new coach is very limited on how effectively she can recruit her first year, but with only 1 senior, and with good young players and recruits, it looks promising for the future.