With the Red-White Scrimmage coming up shortly on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2019, that can only mean that another Bradley basketball season is ready to begin.
The Bradley University women’s basketball team had themselves an offseason like none any of them have ever had, highlighted by a trip to Portugal for three games and other festivities from Aug. 4-12.
The trip to Portugal marked only the second international summer trip for the Braves in program history, coming after several years of planning. The only previous international trip came in the summer of 2004, with a trip to France and Amsterdam.
The Braves defeated all three teams they played on the trip: Seleção ABP, Lucitanos, and the Lisbon All-Stars.
“[The trip was a] good experience for our team,” said Coach Andrea Gorski. “Good bonding experience, good culture experience… all around great experience.”
The trip also came with plenty of time for the team to bond and enjoy themselves in Portugal.
“My favorite part was definitely the surfing,” said freshman forward Veronika Roberts. “Seeing everyone try to do it, because none of us have ever done that before.” Senior guard Amber Bozeman seconded the surfing as being her favorite part.
Back in Peoria, training and conditioning continued as normal after the trip, in addition to welcoming the new faces.
“It’s been a lot different,” said Roberts about her transition to the collegiate level. “Here we’re doing drills all the time, practices are a lot longer… I definitely like it a lot more than high school.”
One common goal among the coaches and players this offseason has been an emphasis on strength training before the season.
Recruiting for the 2020 class began almost immediately after the 2019 class finished up, with Coach Gorski and others making a trip to Dallas this weekend for recruiting.
“It’s really probably two weeks that we have as an offseason,” said Gorski.
This summer also included the Skill Camp and Elite Camp in July and August, respectively, both hosted by Coach Gorski.
The season for the Braves begins with an exhibition against Illinois-Springfield on Nov. 3. The regular season begins with a road trip through Michigan, playing Oakland and Michigan On Nov. 8 and Nov. 10.
The Braves look to improve even more on last season’s 20-10 campaign, including a 10-8 MVC record and a defeat against rival Illinois State in the quarterfinals of the Missouri Valley Tournament.
The Red-White scrimmage begins at 6pm on Tuesday, Oct. 15 with a three point shooting competition featuring both men’s and women’s basketball players.