×

Bradley downs Drake for 1st NCAA berth

Braves pull away from shorthanded Bulldogs in MVC finale

MOLINE, Ill. — Gabi Haack hit six 3-pointers and scored 22 points to lead Bradley to its first NCAA Tournament with a 78-70 win over Drake in the championship game of the reconfigured Missouri Valley Conference Tournament on Sunday.

Haack had a pair of 3-pointers in a 14-2 run in the fourth quarter that gave the fifth-seeded Braves a 76-66 lead with 2:37 to play. Drake, the second seed, was 2 for 6 with four turnovers in the last seven minutes.

Bradley was scheduled to play league champion and 17th-ranked Missouri State in the semifinals on Saturday but the Bears, probably an NCAA Tournament lock with a 21-2 record, pulled out over a positive COVID-19 test in the Bradley party. The game was deemed no contest and the tournament was reseeded, as determined before the tournament, with the Braves playing — and beating — sixth-seeded Loyola on Saturday night while second-seeded Drake got a bye into the finals.

The start of the semifinal game and consequently the championship game were pushed back a couple hours.

Drake only had eight players for the championship because three players were out for contact tracing.

Lasha Petree and Emily Marsh both scored 12 points for Bradley (17-11), which was in its first MVC tournament championship. Mahri Petree added 11 and Nyjah White 10 off the bench.

Grace Berg scored 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Bulldogs (16-11), who have played in 12 NCAA Tournaments, including the last three that were played. Maggie Bair had 14 points and 10 rebounds and Monica Burich and Sarah Beth Gueldner both added 11 points.

Bradley finished 12 of 26 from 3-point range while Drake was just 4 of 19.

Bradley went 8 of 17 from 3-point range to just 2 of 10 for the Bulldogs and the Braves led 40-37 at the half.

Five of the 3s, three by Hack on consecutive possessions late in the first quarter, helped the Braves lead 23-18. The lead reached 13 on a Marsh 3 midway through the second quarter stretch the lead to 13 but Drake closed on a 12-2 run.

Missouri Valley Conference Tournament

At TaxSlayer Center, Moline, Ill.

First Round

Thursday, March 11

Southern Illinois 90, Indiana St. 89, OT

Valparaiso 65, Evansville 52

Quarterfinals

Friday, March 12

Missouri St. 70, Southern Illinois 59

Bradley 62, Northern Iowa 59

Drake 71, Valparaiso 60

Loyola 61, Illinois St. 60

Semifinals

Saturday, March 13

Missouri St. withdraws, Drake advances

Bradley 70, Loyola 56

Championship

Sunday, March 14

Bradley 78, Drake 70

——

Bradley 78, Drake 70

BRADLEY (17-11) — Haack 7-14 2-3 22, Mahri Petree 4-7 2-2 11, Lasha Petree 3-12 6-6 12, Koenig 3-6 0-0 9, Marsh 5-7 0-0 12, Rice 0-2 0-0 0, Danso 0-0 0-0 0, Ufochukwu 1-2 0-0 2, Fitch 0-2 0-0 0, White 5-12 0-0 10. TOTALS 28-64 10-11 78.

DRAKE (16-11) — Wooldridge 2-6 2-2 6, Negaard 1-8 1-1 3, Burich 5-10 1-2 11, Gueldner 4-12 0-0 11, Berg 8-15 6-7 23, Becker 1-3 0-0 2, Mertz 0-0 0-0 0, Bair 6-7 2-3 14. TOTALS 27-61 12-15 70.

BRADLEY 23 17 16 22 — 78

DRAKE 18 19 21 12 — 70

3-Point Goals–Bradley 12-26 (Haack 6-11, Koenig 3-4, Marsh 2-3, M.Petree 1-2, Rice 0-1, L.Petree 0-5), Drake 4-19 (Gueldner 3-9, Berg 1-4, Wooldridge 0-1, Burich 0-2, Negaard 0-3). Rebounds–Bradley 33 (L.Petree 6), Drake 38 (Berg, Bair 10). Assists–Bradley 17 (White 6), Drake 17 (Wooldridge, Berg 4). Total Fouls–Bradley 16, Drake 14. Fouled Out–none.

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $4.38/week.

Subscribe Today