Box Score DES MOINES, Iowa ? Seniors Ashley Chelleen and Erika Nelson combined for 20 points in the first half, helping Bradley to a 33-32 halftime lead over Illinois State Friday night in the Braves State Farm Missouri Valley Conference quarterfinal match up against the Redbirds in Des Moines, Iowa, but Illinois State used a 22-5 second-half run to take control of the game and post a 75-60 victory over Bradley to end the Braves season.
Chelleen finished with a career-high 23 points on 9-of-15 shooting and also added seven rebounds, three assists, three steals and one blocked shot to help lead the Braves, who finished the season with a 12-19 record. Nelson hit 5-of-9 three-point attempts and had 19 points as the duo finished with 42 of the Braves 60 points.
Bradley shot just 36.4 percent in the first half, but committed just four turnovers in the first 20 minutes of action and owned a 33-32 lead at the break. Illinois State led by as many as nine points in the first half, boasting a 26-17 lead with 6:16 remaining in the half. Nelson hit one of her five three-pointers to spark an 11-0 Braves run that gave Bradley its first lead of the night at 28-26 with 2:41 in the half.
Illinois State (21-9 overall) held a 32-28 lead heading into the final minute of the half, but Nelson hit a layup with 51 seconds left and Chelleen had a steal and three-pointer with 13 seconds to give the Braves a 33-32 lead at halftime.
Chelleen had a basket on the Braves first possession of the second half giving Bradley a 35-32 lead, but Megan McCracken hit three three-pointers and MVC Player of the Year Kristi Cirone had six points to highlight a 22-5 ISU run that gave the Redbirds a 54-40 advantage with just over 10 minutes to play.
Bradley was unable to cut the Redbirds lead under 10 points the rest of the game as ISU advanced to Saturday's semifinal with a 75-60 victory against the Braves.
The Braves committed 10 turnovers in the game, but shot 35 percent from the floor and were outrebounded 39-25 by the Redbirds. Illinois State shot 62.5 percent from the field in the second half and shot a blistering 58.8 percent from beyond the three-point arc in the game, connecting on 10-of-17 from long range.
Three Illinois State players scored in double and five players finished with nine points or more, with McCracken leading the way with 20 points. Cirone had 12 points and five assists and Tiffany Hudson added 10 points off the bench for the Redbirds.
Chelleen finished her career as Bradley's career scoring leader in MVC Tournament games, breaking Tammy Van Oppen's old mark of 55 points. She also moved into 15th on the career scoring list, ending her career with 925 points.
The contest also marked the final career games for Chelleen and Nelson and fellow seniors Amy Peters and Jen Brown. Brown finished the season with a team-high 99 assists, making her the first player in school history to lead the team in assists all four years. Nelson finished the year with 78 three-pointers, which is tied for the 12th best season total in MVC history, while Peters joined Michelle Nason as the only two players in program history to have two seasons with a 40 percent three-point field goal percentage.
