PEORIA, Ill. -- Bradley needed another stellar defensive effort and used a 35-24 edge in rebounding to end a three-game losing streak with a 58-51 victory over preseason Missouri Valley Conference favorite Drake Sunday at Robertson Memorial Field House. The win secured Bradley's first regular-season sweep of the Bulldogs since the 1991-92 season.

The Braves (8-14 overall, 4-7 MVC) surrendered a season-low 51 points and have held five consecutive opponents to 69 points or less and seven of the last eight foes to under 70. The Bulldogs made just 1-of-8 three-point attempts and were limited to their lowest point total in the series history. The previous low for points for Drake in the series was a 52-point effort on February 23, 1989 when the Bulldogs downed Bradley 52-51 in Des Moines, Iowa.

After Drake (7-14 overall, 2-9 MVC) scored the first two points of the game nearly two minutes into the contest, Bradley scored 13 consecutive points during a 16-2 Braves run that gave BU an early 19-6 advantage. Seniors Jen Brown and Amy Peters both hit a pair of three-pointers to highlight the run as five different players combined for Bradley's first 16 points. Drake would respond with a 13-3 run to pull to within three points at 22-19 with 9:11 remaining in the half.

Peters ended the run with her third three-pointer of the game and followed that with another basket to push the Braves advantage to 27-19 with 7:57 remaining. Peters finished the opening half with 13 points, hitting 5-of-6 shots from the field to help Bradley to a 33-25 lead at the break.

The Braves held a 37-25 lead in the early moments of the second half, but Drake used a 13-4 run, capped by a Lindsay Whorton three-pointer with 12:15 to play to pull the Bulldogs to within three points at 41-38. Bradley led 47-42 after a Kelly Krumwiede layup with 8:11 on the clock, before a near five-minute scoring drought allowed Drake to score five straight points and pull even at 47-47 with 4:45 remaining.

With the score knotted at 49-49, senior Erika Nelson put the Braves back in front for good with an eight-foot jumper with 2:09 to play and junior Devyn Flanagan added a pair of free throws on Bradley's next possession, giving BU a 53-49 lead with 1:41 to play. The Braves made five of six free throw attempts in the final minute of play to hold off any Drake rally attempts.

Peters hit 6-of-10 shots, including all three of her three-point attempts, and finished with game highs of 19 points and eight rebounds. Nelson was the only other Bradley player in double figures, adding 14 points. Brown had eight points and also added four steals to help highlight the Braves defensive efforts.

Brandy Dahir and Lindsay Whorton entered the game averaging a combined 30.4 points per game for Drake, but were limited to 17 points on 6-of-21 shooting. Dahir was held four points below her average and had a team-high 13 points on 5-of-12 shooting. Whorton, who was averaging 13.3 points per game, was held to four points on 1-for-9 shooting, but added four assists. Drake finished the game shooting 45.1 percent and was 22-for-45 (48.9 percent) at one point, before missing five of its final six shots in the final 4:45 of play. Bradley shot 50 percent in the first half and finished the game shooting 41.9 percent.

Bradley will return to action Friday when the Braves face Southern Illinois at 7:05 p.m. in Carbondale, Ill.