Two years ago, you would be hard-pressed to say, "We still have a chance to win this game even if Katie Yohn doesn't score 20 points." Very hard-pressed. Even a year ago it would have been a stretch of the imagination.
To say Bradley could win if she scored less than 15? Crazy. Chalk up that 'L' and take it home.
That's exactly what happened Saturday night at the Renaissance Coliseum. Yohn struggled (by her standards) once again, and there was the Bradley women's basketball team, hooting and yelling as the final buzzer sounded on a 96-88 victory over the Iowa Hawkeyes.
One more time: 96-88.
Never mind the torrid Bradley offense: a women's college basketball game that saw one team score more than 90 points and only win by eight? That's a Christmas miracle of it's own accord.
Considering this was the first women's game of the season I had a chance to see, I'll go ahead and call myself "the key to victory." Why not?
Three-mendous
Imagine a glass case with liquid suspended inside, precariously balanced on a fulcrum. The liquid shifts back and forth endlessly, moving toward one end, then toward the other. Sometimes, the case never settles on one side, but most of the time, the liquid moves inexorably in one direction as the case finally drops to the surface.
The case in a liquid is a mirror of a good basketball game. One team makes a run before the game settles to a medium, then the other team pushes back. That's what Bradley and Iowa went through for the first half of their game Saturday night. The Braves shot better and hit more threes than the Hawkeyes, but Iowa controlled the glass and only trailed by six at the break.
The Hawkeyes picked up two quick baskets after the half, and even after a Kelsey Budd jumper from the arc, Bradley's lead had shrunk to three points.
Then the liquid in the case became a flood of points.
Budd hit another three, then a jump shot. Shronda Butts connected for three, then three more. Budd hit another distance J, followed by Kelly Frings and Yohn. With more than seven minutes to go in the game, Bradley led 74-55.
As I tweeted to Hayden Shaver, it was as if we had morphed into one giant Kyle Korver.
On the run again
When I first came to Peoria, the Bradley men's basketball team had just shocked the world by beating Kansas and Pittsburgh in the NCAA tournament. A large part of that was due to Patrick O'Bryant sonning the mess out of Aaron Gray, but the glue turning the Bradley wheels was in the person of their three-guard lineup. In 2006-07, that lineup was anchored by Daniel Ruffin (the Speedster), Will Franklin (the Slasher) and Jeremy Crouch (the Shooter).
The days of Jim Les and the three-man weave are gone from Carver Arena, but it seems his philosophy might have been passed on to Coach Buscher and the women's team.
Kelsey Budd's defining sequence Saturday was not one of her three that totaled 31 points. It was a call that didn't go her way: on a Braves turnover, Iowa was out in transition looking at an easy layup. Budd raced back alone, cut off the right side of the rim, and blocked the shot. She was called for an anticipatory foul (don't get me started on the officiating that night), but the message was clear as Kevin McClelland's announcer voice: no easy baskets.
Shronda Butts did not impress me at the Red-White Scrimmage, to tell you the truth. I thought she would be coming off the bench in favor of the quicker and taller Michelle Young. Butts, however, dropped 18 points against Iowa and showed an ability to get to the hoop and draw contact at will. She's not a true point guard and was more comfortable at the shooting guard spot, but the always-dangerous left-hander will be effective slashing to the hoop this season.
Katie Yohn has been cold lately, according to my boy Clark Benjamin, but she is still the main threat for Bradley. Remember, before this game, Budd's career high was 12 points. Katie hit a few shots and might be getting back into a rhythm, and she can still play solid perimeter defense (when she doesn't gamble for steals, of course). Having Katie put up 18 points on a minimum of shots spells victory for Bradley.
The Grades
Offense: A. The passing was the only problem; too many interior passes were stolen, especially in the second half. Bradley had eight turnovers at the half; they finished with 19. But what can you say about 96 points?
Defense: C-. The Braves had no answer for Iowa's Morgan Johnson, who led all scorers with 37 points, most of those on easy slip-screen layups. The Braves need to do a better job rotating in the post to contest those shots or deny the entry pass.
Atmosphere: C+. "Cram the Coliseum"? I doubt it was half-full. The women's basketball team has outperformed the men in the past few years, but you wouldn't know it from the fan support. This team deserves to get a better showing now that they're back on campus, period. If more fans don't show up at their next game, then Bradley fans don't really care about their school's basketball teams. Print it.
The Bradley women's basketball team is not a juggernaut, but their record is 8-3 with two weeks to go before the conference season begins. Coach Buscher has built a balanced team of perimeter shooters, post players (Leah Kassing didn't get lost in the shuffle, posting 10 points and outrebounding the taller Johnson 10-8) and bench contributors. The Braves have three more games at home before they go on the road again. I'll be there for all of them and I'd better see the cheap seats filled when I get there.
Otherwise you're going to miss out on the surprise team of the season. Let me spell it out for you:
"Northern Iowa, ISU: we comin' for you, baby!"
See you in the cheap seats.
JS
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