PEORIA, Ill. – The Omaha women's basketball team fell short at Missouri Valley opponent Bradley 69-56 Friday evening in the team's first game of the season.

Inside the First Quarter
Omaha and Bradley battled back-and-forth for most of the first quarter.  Tied at 8-8 with 2:27 remaining in the period, the Mavericks ended the quarter on an 8-3 run to lead 14-11.  Claire Killian and Jess Walter led the Mavericks with four points, while Romekia Wallace grabbed three boards.  UNO shot 46.2 percent (6-of-13) from the field and held Bradley to 22.2 percent (4-of-18).

Inside the Second Quarter
The Mavericks held the lead until 2:25 left in the half when Chelsea Brackmann gave the Braves a 19-18 lead.  Omaha tied things at 22-22 with 33 seconds remaining in the half on a 3-pointer by Vidal.  Brackmann hit a free throw with 13 seconds left to put Bradley up one at the half, 23-22.  UNO shot 33.3 percent (3-of-9) from the floor and kept Bradley under 30 percent shooting (4-of-16).

Inside the Third Quarter
Bradley shot 66.7 percent (10-of-15) from the field, and limited Omaha to just 23.5 percent (4-of-17) in the third quarter.  After Jay Bridgeman tied the game at 25-25 with 7:46 left in the period, the Braves used an 11-3 spurt to take an eight-point lead.  A three-point play by Vidal cut the lead to five with 3:49 remaining in the quarter.  Bradley closed the period on a 13-6 run to lead 49-37 heading into the fourth quarter.

Inside the Fourth Quarter
The Braves went up 17 with 8:34 remaining in regulation on a bucket by Anneke Schlueter at 54-37.  Vidal and Courtney Vaccher combined for eight points and cut the lead to 11 midway through the period.  The Mavericks were unable to cut the lead to single digits and saw the Braves increase the lead to 18 with under 90 seconds left on a Shunseere Kent layup.  A pair of Walter free throws and a Killian trey made the final 69-56.

The Leaders
Omaha: Amber Vidal scored a game-high 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the floor and was perfect from the free throw line (5-of-5).  Jess Walter added 11 points, five assists and four rebounds.  Ellie Brecht grabbed a team-best seven boards, while Romekia Wallace added six rebounds.  Clair Killian chipped in nine points in her first start.

Bradley: Vanessa Markert led the Braves with 19 points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots.  Shunseere Kent added 17 points and six rebounds.

Inside the Box Score
•    Omaha shot 35.2 percent (19-for-54) in Friday's game, while Bradley shot 43.5 percent (27-for-62) from the field.
•    The Mavericks were 2-for-16 (12.5 percent) from 3-point range, while the Braves managed only a 4-for-16 effort (25 percent) from deep.
•    Bradley held a slight 39-36 edge in rebounding over Omaha, but forced the Mavericks into 18 turnovers and committed only 11.
•    The Braves blocked nine shots, while UNO managed two blocks.
•    Amber Vidal tied a career-high with 20 points.
•    Ellie Brecht matched a career-best seven rebounds.

Up Next
Omaha returns to action on Monday, Nov. 13, visiting Kansas State.  Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan, Kan., and the game will be televised on K-StateHD.TV.  Donny Baarns will have the radio call on 1180 Zone 2 and links to live stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com.