DeLAND, Fla. – Bethune-Cookman was unable to battle back from an early deficit Thursday afternoon as the Wildcats women's basketball team dropped a 71-36 decision to Bradley in the second game of the Hatter Classic hosted by Stetson inside Insight Credit Union Arena at Edmunds Center.
 

FIRST QUARTER
Bradley (6-4) ran out to a 22-5 lead after the opening quarter as Bethune-Cookman was limited to a 1-for-18 shooting performance from the field across the opening 10 minutes. The Braves countered with a 54.5 percent shooting touch which included a pair of three-pointers from one of the team's top performers in the form of Soleil Barnes.
 
After falling behind 6-0, Bethune-Cookman (2-8) forward Asianae Nicholson connected on a layup with 6:40 left in the quarter to open the Wildcats account. Nicholson would add a pair of free throws to close the gap at 8-4, before a Carlie Vick layup began a 14-0 Braves run. During the run, Claire McDougall recorded a three-pointer alongside Barnes, the team's leading scorer.
 
For B-CU's Nicholson, she supplied all five of the Wildcats opening quarter points after recording her third free throw of the period as she hit on 1 of 2 at the charity stripe with just one second remaining.
 
SECOND QUARTER
The second quarter would see the Cats fall further behind after the Braves outscored the Maroon and Gold 16-4 in the period.
 
Freshman center Mya Johnson ended a lengthy scoring drought for the Wildcats with her layup just over six minutes into the period. Bradley kicked off the quarter with a 10-0 scoring run using three-pointers from Tamia Perryman and Ellie McDermid during the spell. Johnson's layup cut into the lead at 34-7, while another Nicholson basket made it 36-9 just before the Braves' Mariam Coulibaly closed the half with a layup of her own with under a minute play.
 
For the half, B-CU shot just nine percent from the field, and was held to its lowest scoring output since an eight-point opening half versus Texas State on December 19, 2014 – also as part of the Hatter Classic.
 
THIRD QUARTER
The Wildcats produced their best scoring quarter of the afternoon in the third behind a 6 of 11 production shooting from the floor accounting for a 54.5 percent clip which resulted in 14 points for the Maroon and Gold.
 
After Kayla Clark secured a free throw early, guard Daimoni Dorsey pulled up on a jumper that was good just inside the three-point line allowing B-CU to get within 38-12 less than two minutes into the period. Cassandra Hawthorne, playing in her second contest of the season, joined freshman Janessa Kelley and Dorsey for a 6-0 Wildcats run. After another Dorsey jumper with 3:06 remaining, B-CU had clawed back to within 49-22.
 
However, the Braves would close the quarter on a 7-0 run using another Barnes three-pointer as well as a layup by Ruba Abo Hashesh off an Amy O'Hara assist. That allowed Bradley to take a 56-23 lead into the final period.
 
FOURTH QUARTER
The fourth quarter saw Nicholson get back into the scoring column with five points, as the Ohio native was joined by Johnson with four points of her own. The Cats shot 35.3 percent from the field with another six baskets from the floor, as both Johnson and Nicholson combined for four of those field goals. Freshman guard Jordan Brooks joined Chariot Johnson for the other two made shots for the Cats.
 
But it would be the Braves outscoring the Cats by a 15-13 margin to widen the lead for the final 71-36 decision. In the period, McDermid scored six points for Bradley with Kaylen Nelson and Perryman also adding three points apiece, respectively.
 

Bradley was led in scoring by Nelson (12) and McDermid (11), while it was McDermid's five rebounds joining Vick's five to finish as the team's leaders on the boards. Barned had four assists and shot 3 of 5 from long range for the Braves.
 
Bethune-Cookman failed to hit a three-pointer for the first time since 2023, as B-CU ended the afternoon 0-for-12 from beyond the arc. The Cats leaned on Nicholson's fifth double-double of the season – and her second in as many games, as she finished with a team-high 12 points and 15 rebounds (six offensive). Johnson and Dorsey each ended the game with six points apiece.
 

Bethune-Cookman faces South Alabama on Friday, Dec. 20, closing out the Hatter Classic back at Insight Credit Union Arena at Edmunds Center. The game is slated for a 1:30 p.m. tip-off.
 
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