PEORIA, Ill. -- Senior Erika Nelson scored 16 of her 18 points in the first half and fellow senior Ashley Chelleen tossed in 15 second-half points en route to a 19-point outing, to help lead the Bradley women's basketball team to a 67-65 victory over Evansville, Saturday night at Robertson Memorial Field House.

Neither team led by more than seven points in a seesaw battle that included 16 lead changes and a total of 10 ties. Nelson connected on each of her first four three-point attempts of the game and scored 16 points in the opening half of play, helping Bradley to a 35-32 at the half.

Evansville (11-6 overall, 4-2 MVC) was able to keep Nelson in check in the second half, limiting her to just two points and a total of two shots in the final 20 minutes of action. Chelleen picked up the scoring slack in the second half for Bradley, hitting 4-of-8 shots and 7-of-9 free throw attempts to help the Braves to the win.

Evansville held a 45-44 lead with 15:29 to play when Chelleen scored nine consecutive points for the Braves, capped by a three-point play, to put Bradley ahead 53-49 with 11:33 to play. The Purple Aces pulled even with Bradley (57-57) with 8:18 to play on a Robyn Jenning's three-pointer, but Bradley's defense held Evansville to just two points over the next 8:08 of play.

Chelleen put Bradley ahead 60-59 with a free throw at 4:05 and senior Amy Peters pushed the lead to three points (62-59) with a layup with 2:28 remaining. Peters hauled down an offensive rebound with just under one minute to play forcing, the Purple Aces to foul. Junior Devyn Flanagan made a pair of free throws with 52.2 seconds on the clock to give the Braves a 64-59 advantage.

Bradley (6-10 overall, 2-3 MVC) would make just 2-of-5 free throw attempts in the next 38 seconds, but Evansville went 0-for-2 from the field and missed the front end of a one-and-one as the Braves built a 66-59 lead with 13.9 seconds left.

Evansville didn't give up, however, as Ashli Senff nailed a three-pointer from the corner with 9.5 seconds to play cutting Bradley's lead to four points (66-62). Nelson split a pair of free throws with 8.5 seconds remaining to make it a five-point game (67-62) and leaving the door open for a possible Aces comeback.

Jennings made a three-pointer and was fouled on the play with 3.4 seconds to pull the Purple Aces to within two points (67-65). She missed the free throw and junior Devyn Flanagan pulled down the rebound to seal the victory for the Braves, who ended a three-game home losing streak.

Chelleen matched a season-high with 19 points and also added seven rebounds, two assists, two blocks and two steals. Nelson added 18 points and five rebounds as the duo helped pace four Braves in double figures. Flanagan and Peters each added 11 points. Peters, who hit 4-of-5 shots from the field, also had seven boards, two assists and one block off the bench.

Evansville had five players in double figures, led by Senff's 14 points off the bench. Jennings added 13 points, while Courtney Felke (12 points), Rebekah Parker (11 points and 10 rebounds) and Ashley Austin (10 points) each reached double digits in scoring for the Aces.

Bradley will return to action Friday at Wichita State at 7:05 p.m.