Box Score CHICAGO, Ill. ? The Braves scored the first 12 points of the game and never looked back, routing Chicago State 70-44 Thursday night at the Jones Convocation Center in non-conference women's basketball action. Bradley picked up its third straight win and won back-to-back road games by 20 or more points for the first time since the 1985-86 season.
BU (5-5 overall) opened the game with a 12-0 run, holding Chicago State (4-6 overall) scoreless for the first 6:44 of the game. The Braves led 26-16 when senior Devyn Flanagan (Riverton, Ill./Riverton) scored six points to highlight a 10-0 spurt that pushed Bradley's lead to 36-16.
Bradley shot 57.1 percent from the field in the opening half of play and took a 38-21 lead into the break. The Braves held the Cougars to 28.6 percent shooting in the first half and Chicago State's leading scorer, Jasmin Dixon, was 1-for-7 with two points in the first 20 minutes of action.
Dixon heated up in the second half, scoring the first eight points of the period to help the Cougars trim Bradley's lead to 38-29. Flanagan knocked down a three-pointer from the right wing with 16:14 to push the Braves lead back to double digits (41-29) and spark a 21-3 BU run that extended the lead to 59-32 with 7:10 to play.
Flanagan scored seven points during the nine-minute run that put the game out of reach and finished with a game-high 17 points. She moved up three spots on Bradley's career scoring list into 19th place, passing former teammate Erika Nelson.
Sophomore Skye Johnson (Olympia Fields, Ill../Marian Catholic) added 12 points on 5-for-6 shooting to go along with three blocked shots and four steals. Junior Monica Rogers (Forsyth, Ill../St. Teresa/Hampton) was also in double figures with 10 points in addition to tying for game-high honors with eight rebounds.
The Braves cooled off in the second half, shooting just 30 percent and finished the game with a 43.1 field goal percentage. Bradley dominated the glass, outrebounding Chicago State 47-29. The 44 points scored by the Cougars were the fewest surrendered by the Braves since a 52-43 home win against Southern Illinois on Feb. 2, 2006 and is the third lowest point total for a BU opponent on the road in program history. Bradley has won each of its last three games by 21 or more points, marking the first time the Braves have won three or more games by 20 points or more since February 1980.
Courtney Waldon hit 4-of-4 three-pointers in the second half and led Chicago State with 16 points. Dixon finished with 13 points as the duo combined to hit 12-of-23 shots, while the rest of the Cougars were just 5-for-32 from the field.
Bradley returns to action Friday, Dec. 28, when the Braves play host UC Davis at 7:05 p.m. at Robertson Memorial Field House.
