The sports axiom the first one is always the sweetest, is frequently used when discussing the first of multiple championships. Well, after Saturdays 5 p.m. game between Illinois State and Bradley in Peoria, one of those teams is going to feel like a champion. Although both are winless in the Missouri Valley Conference, each team believes the first win could lead to several more. Add the tradition of the I-74 rivalry and the Fox Sports Net live telecast, and the victory will be just that much sweeter.
The Redbirds, 2-9, 0-2 in the Valley, are hoping to go forward with some momentum from a good second half in Thursdays loss at Northern Iowa. The Birds out-scored the Panthers 30-26, only committed four turnovers and saw the best offensive outputs of the season from sophomores Jaci McCormack (16) and Michelle Harakas (15). Bradley, 4-8, 0-3, is looking to reestablish its promise without two-time all-Missouri Valley Conference guard Sara Bailey, who left the team before the Braves 80-62 Thursday loss to Indiana State.
Redbird coach Jenny Yopp thinks Bradley still has plenty of ingredients to make a successful team.
They still have a very talented team, said Yopp. Sometimes, when your back is against the ball, you scrap and claw a little bit harder and kids will step up from that. They lost a talented player, no question, but they still have a talented team with players we know are capable.
Former Illinois State assistant Paula Buscher, Bradleys head coach, thinks the 40-mile proximity of the two schools and the traditional rivalry always makes the ISU-Bradley contests special in their own right.
The Illinois State-Bradley rivalry means you can throw out the records; throw out the past games, said Buscher. Thats what makes the rivalry so special.
Both teams will look for aggressiveness as a symbol of good things on Saturday and better things to come.
If we have the same kind of aggressiveness and energy we had at Northern Iowa, and improve our scoring, we can have a great ballgame, said Yopp. But discipline will be the deciding factor. We will have a great atmosphere, plus aggressiveness and intensity on both ends of the court. I think for both teams it will boil down to having the discipline to make the right plays, and not having discipline breakdowns that lead to missed opportunities.
Yopp, whose team committed a season-low 10 turnovers at Northern Iowa, expects a different defense than the Birds saw in Cedar Falls. Since Buscher arrived, Bradley has played defense in the attack mode.
We expect ball pressure, said Yopp. How we handle it will be critical to the outcome of the game for us. Taking care of the ball as well as we did at Northern Iowa will hopefully get us as many layups as we had at Northern Iowa; only this time, we expect them to go down (instead of rimming out of the basket).
The Redbirds also expect to play at home next weekend, with Southwest Missouri State at 7:05 p.m. Thursday and Wichita State at 7:05 p.m. Saturday in Redbird Arena
