HOPING TO CURE THE MONDAY BLAHS
Two former point guards, Andrea Gorski and Lindsay Whalen, who returned to their alma maters as head coaches will face off when Bradley (3-1) travels to Minnesota (4-3). Entering last Monday’s action, both teams were coming off stirring victories. Bradley had dropped Wisconsin with a strong 4th quarter and Minnesota had bumped off Syracuse. Then struck the Monday blahs. Now, both Gorski and Whalen are looking for their teams to rebound from disappointing performances. Minnesota was blitzed by Oklahoma while Bradley suffered a similar fate at the hands of the Northern Illinois Huskies. The Gophers could at least enjoy the Bahamas. Bradley made do with DeKalb.
Last season, Bradley finished 17-12 overall and 10-8 (5th) in the Missouri Valley Conference. Undeterred, the Braves swept past UNI, Loyola and Drake on their way to the Missouri Valley Tournament Title and the automatic bid to the NCAA bubble. It was the Braves first NCAA appearance. They were then summarily dismissed by the Texas Longhorns 62-81.
Despite losing much of last season’s scoring power, the Braves fortunately return 5’9”, 5th year senior guard,
Gabi Haack, from Elk River, Minnesota. Haack is a perennial MVC First Teamer and Bradley’s driving force:
“My expectations for this upcoming season are very high,” Haack said. “My goal is to bring home a second [Missouri Valley Conference] championship.”
Haack averaged 16.5 points and 6.8 rebounds last season. This season, she became Bradley’s all-time leading scorer during the Badger game and the MVC’s leading three point scorer during the Northern Illinois game. Coming to Williams Arena, Haack is averaging 18.3 points per game and is 16-27 from behind the arc.
Although Haack returned for her super senior year, three players from the NCAA team transferred out.
Lasha Petree took her 18 points per game to Rutgers,
Nyjah White, 9.9 ppg, moved on to Kansas City and
Mahri Petree, 7.2 ppg, is now at UTEP. So, Andrea Gorski has had to rebuild on the fly-something that should come natural to a former point guard. Gorski apparently likes the direction things are headed:
“This will be the deepest team we have had at Bradley since I have been here since we can easily play up to 11 players in any given game,” Gorski said. “They are a no-nonsense group who are very coachable and understand the expectations we have for our program.”
Haack is joined in the starting lineup by another Twin Citian, 6’1” Junior,
Sierra Morrow. Morrow played for Minneapolis Edison and transferred to Bradley from Seward C.C. She also spent a year at North Iowa Area C.C. Morrow had 9 points and 10 rebounds against Wisconsin. The effort earned her MVC Newcomer of the Week. A third Minnesotan, 5’11” forward
Tete Danso, who played at Simley comes off the bench to play 10 minutes/game.
5’4” freshman guard
Caroline Waite, 16.3 points per game, has help fill the scoring gap left by players who transferred. The Ames, Iowa native is averaging 16.3 points per game even after a slow performance versus Northern Illinois. Point guard
Tatum Koenig is the other senior starter. The 5’7” guard is also notable for lettering in football in high school. The fifth starter is Texas Tech transfer
Daija Powell. The 6’1” Powell averages 5.8 points in 14.5 minutes/game.
Curing the Monday blahs should be easier than curing the summertime blues; but only one coach can find the cure.
WHAT DID I LEARN WATCHING BRADLEY LOSE TO NORTHER ILLINOIS?:
The Badger’s must be really, really bad.
Bradley could not defend A’Jah Davis. Davis, a 6’1” post, had 21 points and 13 rebounds.
Gabi Haack will score 20+ points.
The Braves played ineffective man defense.
Like many teams, Bradley tends toward position less basketball
PREVIOUS MEETINGS:
Bradley and Minnesota have met five times and the Gophers lead 3-2. The last meeting was in the infamous post-season WBI tournament with the Gophers winning 85-59.
NOTABLE BRADLEY ATTENDEE:
Kirby Pucket spent a year, 1980-81, playing Peoria. Then, following the death of his father, he transferred to Triton Junior College to be closer to home.
A QUICK HISTORY OF BRADLEY:
Bradley is a private university located in Peoria, Illinois with an enrollment of about 6,000.
The University owes its existence to Lydia Moss Bradley.
Lydia Moss was born in Vevay, Indiana (pronounced Veevee for those of you who haven’t traveled through small, southern Indiana river towns) in 1816. In 1837 she married Tobias Bradley. Following the death of her mother in 1839, Lydia inherited the family farm.
In 1847, probably bored stiff by running a farm in Vevay, the Bradley’s decided to join Lydia’s brother in Peoria. They use the proceeds of the sale of their property to relocate to the soon to be booming port city on the Illinois river. The Bradley’s made their fortune in land and various businesses including banking and distilling.
Tragically, the Bradley’s had six children all of whom died young. Then, in 1867, Tobias Bradley died in a carriage accident. Lydia Bradley took over the estate including a directorship on the bank board. The post-civil war boom substantially increased her wealth.
Being a woman ahead of her time, when she remarried in 1869, she had her husband sign a prenuptial agreement protecting her estate. Smart move. They divorced in 1873 and Lydia Bradley became serious about her philanthropy which included the idea of an educational institution.
Skipping ahead (for those of you who stayed with it), Bradley decided the best way to start a school was to buy one. So, in 1892, she bought the Parsons Horological School in LaPorte, Indiana and moved it to Peoria. Bradley’s original plan was orient the school toward industrial arts and home economics. But, of course, she was friends with University of Chicago founder, William Rainy Harper. Harper convinced her she had the wealth to fund a full-fledged university. Thus, in 1896, the Bradley Polytechnic Institute was chartered. Buildings were complete enough to welcome an equal number of men and women students in 1897. In 1899, Bradley transferred the rest of her estate to the school and continued to make contributions from her income until her death in 1908.
In 1920, Bradley became a four year college and added grad programs in 1946 when it officially became Bradley University.
I borrowed liberally from “Lydia Moss Bradley” in History of American Women/Philanthropists and from Bradley Universities web site.
BRADLEY RECORD (3-1):
Wins: Wright State 84-65, Upper Iowa 83-53, Wisconsin 64-57
Losses: Northern Illinois 59-80
Gabi Haack Last Four Games:
| Team | Pts | Reb | Asst | Min | Foul | | | | |
| Wright State | 14 | 5 | 8 | 34 | 3 | | | | |
| Upper Iowa | 8 | 1 | 1 | 29 | 1 | | | | |
| Wisconsin | 24 | 8 | 2 | 38 | 1 | | | | |
| Northern Illinois | 27 | 6 | 2 | 36 | 2 | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
Caroline Waite:
| Team | Pts | Reb | Asst | Min | Foul | | | | |
| Wright State | 23 | 3 | 5 | 34 | 2 | | | | |
| Upper Iowa | 24 | 0 | 4 | 30 | 3 | | | | |
| Wisconsin | 9 | 2 | 0 | 29 | 2 | | | | |
| Northern Illinois | 9 | 0 | 3 | 37 | 2 | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
Probable Starters:
| HGT | POS | YR | PLAYER | MIN | AVG | REB |
| 5’4” | G | Fr | Caroline Waite | 32.4 | 16.3 | 1.3 |
| 5’9” | G | G | Gabi Haack | 34.3 | 18.3 | 5.0 |
| 6’1” | F | So | Daija Powell | 14.5 | 5.8 | 2.5 |
| 6’1” | F | Jr | Sierra Morrow | 29.3 | 8.5 | 6.3 |
| 5’7” | G | Sr | Tatum Koenig | 25.3 | 6.8 | 3.3 |
| | | | | | |
Others:
| HGT | POS | YR | PLAYER | MIN | AVG | REB |
| 5’10” | F | Fr | Nika Dorsay | 8.8 | 4.5 | 2.5 |
| 6’2” | F | Fr | Abbie Draper | 11.8 | 3.8 | 3.5 |
| 5’10” | G | Sr | Chloe Rice | 16.8 | 3.3 | 2.8 |
| 5’11” | F | So | Tete Danso | 10.3 | 2.0 | 3.5 |
| 6’2” | C | Fr | Callie Ziebell | 3.3 | 0.5 | 1.0 |
