Content created by Austin Crawford, Jake Masters, and Cody Schindler.

When visitors walk into the Bradley Women’s Basketball offices, those guests will see a large sign that says “Bradley Built,” in large red and white letters. For second-year coach Andrea Gorski, it is all about building a culture at her alma mater.

“You look at what you want to do your second year, and you want to continue that culture,” Gorski said. “We added six newcomers, and I think they’ve done a good job of picking up on it (the culture) and they are running with it.”

The Braves will try to replace Leti Lerma, who departed Bradley as the school’s all-time leading rebounder. And while Gorski emphasized that she has been impressed with all of the newcomers, 5’11 freshman Nyjah White may be tasked with replacing Lerma.

“Nyjah is a pure athlete,” Gorski said. “She came into the weight room and was dominating the conditioning drills right off the bat.”

Also among the newcomers is Shunsheere Kent, a junior college transfer from East Georgia State. Kent averaged 15.8 points per game last season, and was named the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association Player of the Year. Gorski has been impressed with the effort from the JUCO transfer.

“She adds athleticism to our team,” Gorski said. “And even though she’s to new to the team, she’s been a really good leader for us as well.”

And while newcomers will need to have a significant impact for the Braves, the team does return 4 of last year’s 5 top scorers, including Anneke Schlueter, who led the team in three-point makes last season.

Also returning is Danielle Brewer, a 5’10 senior guard from Coatesville, Indiana. Gorski once referred to Brewer as a “swiss army knife,” when referring to Brewer’s versatility. For Brewer, it’s all about helping the team win in her final season on the Hilltop.

“The coaching staff calls on me to play defense,” Brewer said. “Offensively, I’m a shooter on the wing, but I can also attack.”

Brewer is also one of the Braves that played under two head coaches in her time at BU. She has seen Coach Gorski change the vibe around the team.

“Our culture has a lot less complaining,” Brewer said. “We are focused on hard work, and effort in practices.”

The Braves finished 12-19 (7-11) in Gorski’s first season, which was good enough for 7th place finish in the Valley. Last year, the Valley sent two schools to the NCAA tournament, including the Drake Bulldogs, who went undefeated in conference play. Gorski, who was also an assistant at SIU, understands just how competitive the MVC is.

“You really don’t have any nights off in the Valley,” Gorski said. “I think we’ll have to watch out for those Iowa teams again (Drake and Northern Iowa), and Missouri State returns everyone.”

Brewer has now been through the Valley slate three times, and she sees what separates the teams at the top of the pack.

“The top teams in the Valley are really defined by the way they play transition basketball,” she said. “They make you switch gears, and that’s really difficult in the 4th quarter when you’re tired.”

As the regular season looms for Bradley, Coach Gorski hopes to continue to climb atop the Valley.

“We want Bradley to be a women’s basketball school,” Gorski said.

As Gorski looks to improve the team on the court, she also hopes that the student body will take notice.

“We want to get the Coliseum rocking. Our team is going to be a lot of fun to watch.”

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