Seven days after the Southern Hoiho guard was fouled out of the game against the Tokomanawa Queens, Bradley came up with a game-winning play against the same opponents in Wellington yesterday.
Her team leading by one point with less than 30sec to play, Bradley picked the ball from Florencia Chagas.
Battling for the ball on the ground, Chagas was called for a technical foul — which meant she was fouled out — and sent Bradley to the free throw line.
Bradley polished those off for the Hoiho, and Samantha Bowman had a couple more for the Hoiho to win 88-83.
It was the best performance of the season from the fifth-placed Hoiho, who caused an upset against the top-of-the-table Queens.
Even with WBNA player Jordan Horston, who missed the Queens’ 83-82 win against the Hoiho last week, the Queens could not dominate the game.
Bradley was unstoppable, finishing with 28 points, eight assists and nine steals. Ahlise Hurst against showed her flair with 18 points.
Chagas was key for the Queens with 21 points, and Horston finished with 20 points, seven rebounds, eight assists and two blocks.
The Queens came out firing, finding Tamari Key in the paint. Chelsea D’Angelo banked a three, and finished a nice reverse lay-up, to give the Southern Hoiho a 21-19 lead at the break.
The Hoiho defence was solid, disrupting the channels and hustling for every ball. Natalie Chou, who had the big task on Horston, was brutal and forced the Queens into turnovers.
The Hoiho made sure of them and jumped to a seven-point lead.
The momentum was all with the visitors until Horston blocked Zoe Richards’ shot.
It helped the Queens claw back and find their rhythm.
But the Hoiho really controlled the tempo of the game, making the most of the fast breaks that they created.
Quick transition and ball movement kept things ticking for the Hoiho and they held a 46-38 lead at halftime.
The Queens made a rapid start looking to close the gap.
Under all sorts of pressure, Bradley scored a nice jumper to settle the Hoiho. Their ball distribution around the arc was sharp to find Hurst.
Just when it looked like the Queens had found their groove, D’Angelo put a stop to it. She banged a three and then stripped the ball from the Queens.
Tyler Mitchell scored a deep two, off one foot, on the buzzer for the Hoiho to lead 67-63 at the break.
