Women’s basketball (16-17) defeated Bradley University (20-13) 63-60 in the first round of the Women’s National Invitational Tournament at the Smith Center Thursday night, sending them into the second round of competition where they’ll face the University of Southern Indiana (21-10) on Monday.
Despite trailing for most of the game, the Revolutionaries rallied back late cutting into Bradley’s lead and ultimately retaking it with under a minute to go in the game. Sophomore guard Gabby Reynolds led the Revs with a double-double putting up 21 points and pulling down 10 rebounds.
The win Thursday marks the team’s first post Atlantic-10 tournament victory since their victory over Villanova University in the second round of the WNIT in 2014. The Revs will now face off against Southern Indiana with a trip to the Super 16 on the line.
The WNIT is currently the third most prestigious postseason NCAA women’s basketball tournament behind the NCAA women’s basketball tournament and the Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament. This year’s NIT bracket features 48 teams, 16 of which received a first round bye.
After the game, Head Coach Ganiyat Adeduntan said that she was proud of the team’s growth throughout the season which pushed them to be invited to postseason play.
“The ultimate goal is to make sure every time we step on the court, we put out a great product that people can be excited and proud of, and tonight was a great representation of that,” Adeduntan said.
The Braves got off to a hot start on Thursday, sinking their first 3 three-pointers to start the game and taking an early 9-2 lead. Bradley shot 50 percent from three in the first half, sinking 6 of 12 from beyond the arc.
The Braves maintained their lead throughout the rest of the quarter, sinking a shot as the buzzer sounded to head to the second half up 32-25.
Out of the locker room, the Braves continued their momentum extending the lead to double digits — 39-29 — off a triple from senior guard Kaylen Nelson with 7:14 to go in the third quarter. Nelson and freshman guard Maya Foz combined for 41 of Bradley’s 60 points in the game.
The Revs went with a 6-0 run to bring the game within four points just a little over a minute later. Nelson hit another three-pointer to extend the Braves’ lead to 46-37.
Reynolds responded with an individual 6-0 run hitting a pair of three-pointers on back-to-back possessions. The Revs managed to tie the game at 58 on a layup from sophomore guard Jaeda Wilson, but went into the final quarter down 51-48.
Reynolds recaptured the lead for the Revs on a pair of free throws that put them back up 54-53 with 7:28 to go. Bradley built their lead back up to 4 with just over 3 minutes to go.
Junior forward Kamari Sims drove to the lane cutting the lead to 2 down 58-60 with 1:57 left. On the next defensive possession the Revs came up with a key stop, giving them a chance to retake the lead the next trip down the floor.
Adednutan called timeout down 2 with position and 49 seconds to go. With the shot clock winding down, Sims drove to the basket, scored and drew a foul. She converted the free throw to give the Revs a 61-60 lead, their first since the 6:33 mark in the quarter.
The Revs came up with another stop on the defensive end of the floor, followed by a layup to bring the lead to 3. The Revs played tight defense the rest of the way to secure the victory, with the final Braves shot coming up short.
The Revs will travel to Evansville, Indiana to play Southern Indiana in the second round of the WNIT on Monday at 7 p.m.
