PEORIA, Ill. -- Bradley limited Evansville to just 51 points and held the Purple Aces to a season low 28.8 percent shooting from the field, but victory wasn't in the cards for the Braves as Bradley committed 18 turnovers and managed just 49 points in a 51-49 loss in Missouri Valley Conference women's basketball action Saturday afternoon at Robertson Memorial Field House.

The Braves (6-14 overall, 2-9 MVC) started out cold, shooting just 26.7 percent from the field in the first half, and trailed 33-22 at the break. Bradley shot 42.9 percent in the second half, however, and held Evansville to 26.1 percent shooting over the final 20 minutes to crawl back into the game.

Rebekah Parker scored on three consecutive possessions to open the second half for the Aces to help Evansville build a 39-26 lead with 17:48 to play. Junior Ashley Chelleen scored six of her eight second-half points in the next six minutes to help spark a 14-2 second half run by the Braves that cut the UE lead to 41-40.

Bradley held Evansville without a field goal for a near 10 minute stretch in the second half, before an Ashli Senff three-pointer with 7:52 to play put the Aces ahead 46-42. Junior Amy Peters made three of four free throws in the next minute of play to cut the deficit back to one point at 46-45, but Evansville pushed the lead back to four points at 50-46 with 4:16 to play on a Rebekah Parker layup.

Neither team scored for the next two minutes, before Alex Liberatore split a pair of free throws with 2:13 remaining. The Braves got a pair of stops on the defensive end and pulled to within 50-49 with 46 seconds on the clock on a Chelleen layup.

Jen Brown was whistled for a foul with 36 seconds left and Megan Liffick missed the front end of a one-and-one, but Olivia Grant pulled down an offensive rebound for Evansville. Parker was fouled with 7.2 seconds left and made the first free throw of a one-and-one to push the Evansville lead to 51-49. Parker missed the second free throw, and Grant hauled down her sixth offensive board of the game to help seal the victory for the Aces.

Peters led the Braves with 11 points, hitting 9-of-10 free throw attempts. Chelleen scored eight points and grabbed eight of her game-high nine rebounds in the second half. She also collected one assist, one blocked shot and two steals in the second half of play. Bradley committed 18 turnovers and made just one of 10 three points attempts, while shooting 63.6 percent from the free throw line (14-for-22).

Evansville (11-9 overall, 7-4) made the most of its trips to the free throw line, connecting on its first 14 attempts of the game and 15-of-18 overall. The Aces, which came into the game averaging nearly 19 turnovers a game, committed just 13 turnovers and snagged 19 offensive rebounds, while owning an 11-6 edge in second chance points. Parker led Evansville with a game-high 21 points.

Bradley returns to action Friday when the Braves face league-leading and preseason Valley favorite Indiana State at 6:05 p.m. (CDT) in Terre Haute, Ind.