The Bradley women’s basketball team opened up their season on the road against Kansas City with a 73-66 loss. In their first outing of the season, the Braves competed well, but turnovers and defensive lapses were their demise.
Dominant debut
Junior forward Kaylen Nelson led the Braves, scoring 31 points on 50% shooting. She also added three assists and two rebounds.
Nelson spent her first two collegiate seasons at Old Dominion, where she struggled to find playing time. She felt the pressure in her first game as a Brave, but not the kind one would expect from a newcomer.
“I came out focused on being myself,” Nelson said. “It felt like a big game for me. It felt like good pressure.”
“I feel like I’m just back in my groove,” Nelson added. “I’m back in a steady place. It feels good, and I’m excited to see what I can do for the rest of the season.”
Coming into this season, second-year head coach Kate Popovec-Goss had major expectations for Nelson and enjoyed the forward’s debut performance.
“She [Nelson] is a competitor,” Popovec-Goss said. “She wanted a chance to come to a program where she could make a bigger impact. Clearly, she has the ability to do that.”
— Bradley WBB (@BradleyWBB) November 7, 2023
It’s the little things
The first half of the game was tight. Both teams shook off early-season jitters but found their niche and got into their offensive flows. After the first quarter, the Braves trailed 15-13.
The second quarter had much of the same. The scrappy, physical play led to several fouls and turnovers for both teams. Going into halftime, the Roos held a 32-29 lead.
As Bradley gathered in the visitor’s locker room for the break, Popovec-Goss urged the team to keep their energy and effort high.
“Our kids were competing their tails off,” Popovec-Goss said. “I felt if we were going to continue to play that hard, then we would put ourselves in position to win. The message was execution.”
The Braves appeared to take heed of their coach’s message in the third quarter, continuing to defend at a high level and staying aggressive on the offensive end.
The Braves got to the free throw line seven times in the third period, which accounted for 10 of the team’s 17 third-quarter points. Despite the onslaught of free throws, the Braves were down 49-46.
The fourth quarter was the difference between a Bradley win and an eventual loss. At the six-minute mark, the Braves’ offense stagnated. On the defensive side of the ball, Bradley allowed Kansas City to get easy looks at the rim.
The Roos went on a 10-0 run to take a commanding 62-49 lead. Down the stretch, the Braves battled back, cutting the lead down to seven but unable to get over the hump.
“We had a couple of mental lapses on the defensive end,” Popovec-Goss said. “Offensively, we struggled to put the ball in the basket and that extended their lead. One of the things we have to continue to focus on is not letting offensive droughts turn into defensive execution.”
Ultimately, minor mistakes killed Bradley’s chances at the win. The Braves allowed 15 offensive rebounds that translated to 16 second-chance points, and the Roos outscored Bradley 14-0 in transition.
Despite the loss, the Braves remain optimistic about the outlook of their season.
“We know the things we need to work on,” Nelson said. “We sit and we learn from it. Even though it might have been a loss, it’s an encouraging one. We see the things that can be fixed. We’re going to take it and move on to the next one. Learning from those simple mistakes will help us throughout the rest of the season to become a better team.”
