PEORIA, Ill. – Senior Leti Lerma (Muscatine, Iowa/Muscatine) had 21 points and 17 rebounds, while junior Anneke Schlueter's (Ulm, Germany/Max-Weber-Schule) three-pointer with 1:04 to play gave Bradley the lead for good as the Braves completed a regular-season series sweep of Missouri State with a 62-56 victory Friday night at Renaissance Coliseum
 
Bradley (10-15 overall, 6-8 MVC) led for nearly the entire first half, extending the advantage to as many as six points in the second quarter before taking a 26-22 lead into halftime.  The Braves held their largest lead of the contest at 31-24 in the opening moments of the third quarter on a Schlueter three-pointer. 
 
Missouri State (13-11 overall, 9-4 MVC) never let Bradley put the game out of reach, however, and pulled even at 39-39 to end the third period.  The teams traded baskets for much of the fourth, with the final 10 minutes featuring 10 lead changes and three ties. 
 
Aubrey Buckley split a pair of free throws with 1:14 on the clock to break the eighth tie of the night and put the Bears in front 53-52. 
 
On the next trip down the floor, Lerma found Schlueter in the corner for her second three-pointer of the night as the Braves grabbed a 55-53 advantage with 1:04 to play.  Schlueter came up with a steal on the next Missouri State possession and a pair of Lerma free throws with 42.4 seconds remaining made it a four-point Bradley cushion (57-53). 
 
Missouri State's Liza Fruendt had a driving layup with 33.0 second to cut the lead for the Braves to two (57-55).  Both teams split free throws over the next eight seconds to keep the margin at two points.  Schlueter split two free throws with 21.0 seconds, pushing Bradley's lead to 59-56 and the Braves got another stop on the defensive end.  Lerma added a free throw of her own with 7.1 seconds on the clock and two more Schlueter free throws with 2.5 ticks left gave Bradley the 62-56 win.
 
"There was no way she was going to miss this game and you can't say enough about Leti's performance tonight" said Bradley head coach Andrea Gorski.  "They (Missouri St.) have some great one-on-one type players and we did a decent job of limiting their opportunities early in the game.  We were able to limit our turnovers in the second half and I think that really was the difference in the game."
 
Bradley moved within a half game of fourth in the MVC standings and matched the longest win streak in Renaissance Coliseum history at four with the victory.  In addition, the Braves swept the regular-season series from Missouri State for the first time since 2008-09. 
 
Schlueter scored 18 of her game-high 22 points in the second half and also had three steals to pace three Bradley players in double figures.  Lerma, who missed Sunday's game at Drake because of an injury, returned to the lineup to make 11-of-14 free throw attempts and collected 21 points and 17 rebounds for her 10th double-double of the season.  Junior Danielle Brewer (Coatesville, Ind.) added 10 points. 
 
Fruendt led Missouri State in scoring with 15 points and seven rebounds.  Buckley had 12 points, while Danielle Gitzen scored 10 points off the bench. 
 
Bradley returns to the court Sunday, hosting Wichita State in a 2 p.m. game at Renaissance Coliseum.  The Braves will host a free youth clinic (K-8th) following the game against the Shockers.  In addition, Sunday's game will feature a special promotion from Hy-Vee with former Bradley women's basketball player and Hy-Vee Registered Dietitian Brooke Bisping assisting as the Braves try to break the world record for most people simultaneously making sandwiches.  Hy-Vee will provide kits for everyone to make a sandwich at halftime.