Southern Illinois SIU 9-7, 4-1 MVC

Bradley BRAD 9-6, 3-1 MVC

Southern Illinois SIU

9-7, 4-1 MVC

Final

Jan. 12, 2018

Bradley BRAD

9-6, 3-1 MVC

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	3	4	F
Southern Illinois SIU	19	16	13	15	63
Bradley BRAD	11	16	18	17	62

Box Score

SIU Edges Bradley Women’s Basketball 63-62

Box Score

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | 1/12/2018 10:09:00 PM

PEORIA, Ill. -- After falling behind by as many as 15 points in the first half, Bradley Women's Basketball rallied to take a lead in the closing seconds of Friday's Missouri Valley Conference home opener against Southern Illinois only to have the Salukis pull out a 63-62 victory over the Braves at Renaissance Coliseum.

Bradley (9-6 overall, 3-1 MVC) entered the contest as one of two unbeaten teams in Valley play and was looking to match the best start to conference play (4-0) in program history.

Southern Illinois (9-7 overall, 4-1 MVC) forced the Braves into nine first-half turnovers and Bradley shot just 33.3 percent in the opening half as the Salukis were staked to a 15-point advantage (30-15) midway through the second quarter. Bradley made a late push to close the half, thanks in part to seven points from senior Anneke Schlueter during a 12-3 run which included a Gabi Haack three-pointer and Danielle Brewer layup. The Braves managed to pull within six points in the final minute of the second and trailed 35-27 at halftime.

A 7-2 BU spurt to open the third quarter forced a Southern Illinois timeout less than three minutes into the second half. Shunseere Kent opened the scoring with a layup and junior Vanessa Markert answered a Saluki hoop with a jumper in the lane. Haack's third three-pointer of the night forced the SIU timeout after Bradley pulled within three at 37-34.

Bradley, which played without leading rebounder Chelsea Brackmann because of an injury, eventually tied the game at 41-41 on a Markert three-point play with 3:47 to play in the third quarter, but SIU would hold a 48-45 lead heading to the fourth.

With the score tied at 50-50 early in the fourth, Bradley took its first lead (52-50) since the opening minutes of the contest on a Nyjah White jumper after a Brewer steal. Southern Illinois answered, however, and would go on to build a 57-54 lead nearing the midway point of the fourth quarter.

Schlueter, who scored a game-high 14 points off the bench, knotted the score for the eighth time of the night with a three-pointer as Bradley pulled even at 57-57 closing in on four minutes to play. After a defensive stop, Kent split a pair of free throws to put the Braves back in front again (58-57) with 3:20 left.

Southern Illinois got a foul late in the shot clock on the next possession and Abby Brockmeyer made two free throws to give SIU the lead again at 59-58 with 2:53 to play.

The lead would see-saw back and forth in the final minute. Schlueter had a steal near midcourt and the Braves once again had the advantage at 60-59 on her breakaway layup. East Peoria, Ill., native, had an answer for Southern Illinois with her pull-up jumper in the lane with 32.2 seconds left putting the Salukis in front again 61-60.

With 23.4 seconds, Brewer drove to the hoop for a layup as Bradley led again at 62-61. A rebound ended up being the difference in the game, as SIU's Nicole Martin got an offensive rebound on her own miss on the ensuing Saluki possession and made a pair of free throws with 6.4 seconds left to give her team a 63-62 lead. The Braves had one more shot, but Brewer's three-pointer from the wing was off the mark as the Salukis hung on for the 63-62 win to snap a four-game Bradley win streak.

"They (SIU) had 16 offensive rebounds and you're not going to win a basketball game giving up 16 extra possessions," said Bradley head coach Andrea Gorski. "Anneke Schlueter stepped up big in the second half. (She) had a big steal that and layup that could have won the game for us, we just didn't get the box out when we needed it. If you want to be a champion you have to do all the little things like box out, and we just weren't tough enough today."

Schlueter was 6-for-6 from the free throw line and collected 14 points and three steals to lead Bradley. Markert added 13 points and a team-high six rebounds. Haack was 3-for-5 from three-point range and finished with 11 points, while Kent joined the group in double figures with 10 points. The Braves shot 45 percent from the field in the second half and had just one turnover in the final 20 minutes.

Bradley closes out a two-game home stand Sunday with a 2 p.m. game against Missouri State, which posted a 56-50 victory at Illinois State Friday night.

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