PEORIA, Ill. ? Bradley was expecting to benefit from a little southern hospitality on its first-ever trip to the state of  Arkansas, but host Arkansas-Little Rock was not very accommodating as the Trojans downed the Braves 65-40 in non-conference women's basketball action Saturday at the Jack Stephens Center. 

UALR (5-2 overall) was one of the top defensive team's in the nation last year and the Trojans picked up where they left off, limiting the Braves to a season-low 40 points and 30.4 percent shooting.  Bradley (2-5 overall) also committed 26 turnovers in the contest and was outrebounded by UALR 40-33.

The Braves scored the first point of the game on a Monica Rogers (Forsyth, Ill./St. Teresa/Hampton) free throw, but UALR would respond with an 11-2 run keyed by two three-pointers by Peoria, Ill., native Nikya Hughes as the Trojans took an 11-3 lead.  A Kim Sitzmann three-pointer with 5:17 left in the first half capped a 9-0 spurt that pushed the UALR advantage to 17 points (28-11).  The Trojans would lead by as many as 18 in the first half and held a 36-20 lead at the break.

Bradley was held to two points over the first 7:30 of the second half, allowing UALR to extend its lead to 24 points (46-22) with 12:30 remaining.  The Braves would never cut the deficit to under 22 points as the Trojans cruised to the 65-40 victory.  Bradley shot 25.9 percent (7-for-27) from the floor, including 11.1 percent (1-of-9) from beyond the arc and committed 13 turnovers in the second half.

Senior Rachel Merriman (Peoria, Ill./Notre Dame/Illinois Central) and sophomore Skye Johnson (Olympia Fields, Ill./Marian Catholic) led the Braves with eight points each.  The duo hit 7-of-11 shots from the field and each came away with three steals.  Sophomore Jenny Van Kirk (Waconia, Minn./Waconia) and junior Megan Klingler (Lawrence, Kan./Lawrence/Coffeyville) tied for the team lead with six rebounds apiece.

Hughes led UALR with 15 points and snagged nine rebounds.  Chastity Reed added 13 points and 10 rebounds off the bench as four Trojans scored in double figures.  UALR shot 41.1 percent from the field, including 38.5 percent from three-point range. 

Bradley returns to action Wednesday when the Braves play Loyola at 7:05 p.m. in Chicago, Ill.