Box Score SPRINGFIELD, Mo. ? Bradley trailed by 21 points at halftime, but rallied to pull to within five points with less than one minute remaining before falling to host Missouri State 73-66 Thursday night in Missouri Valley Conference women's basketball action at Hammons Student Center.
It was a tale of two halves as Bradley had arguably one of its worst halves of the season to open the contest and trailed 46-25 at the break. The Braves shot just 26.5 percent from the floor and committed 14 turnovers in the opening 20 minutes of play, while the Bears capitalized on Bradley's offensive struggles by shooting 51.5 percent from the field in first half, including 6-of-9 from beyond the three-point arc.
Missouri State (8-15 overall, 6-6 MVC) pushed its lead to 22 points in opening moments of the second half, before Bradley finally got things on track offensively. BU (9-14 overall, 3-9 MVC) trailed 57-37 with 11 minutes to play, when the Braves would mount an impressive comeback attempt.
Senior Rachel Merriman (Peoria, Ill./Notre Dame/Illinois Central) would help fuel a 15-4 BU run with six points, two steals and one rebound to help the Braves cut the deficit to single digits at 61-52 with just under five minutes to play.
The Bears kept Bradley at bay and led 67-56 with just under two minutes remaining, before the Braves would make one last push to try to claw back into the contest. Merriman found sophomore Jenny Van Kirk (Waconia, Minn./Waconia) wide open for her second three-pointer of the half with 1:16 to play to make it an eight-point ball game (67-59).
Sophomore Skye Johnson (Olympia Fields, Ill./Marian Catholic) came away with one of her career-high six steals near mid-court and senior Devyn Flanagan (Riverton, Ill./Riverton) made a layup to make it a two possession ball game (67-61) with just over one minute remaining.
Missouri State's Jasmyne Watson made a pair of free throws with 43 seconds on the clock to push the Bears lead back to eight points, but the Braves weren't done as sophomore Renee Frericks (Wyoming, Minn./Forest Lake) swished a three-pointer from the wing with 35.4 seconds to pull BU to within five at 69-64.
Watson made another pair of free throws and the Braves missed a pair of shot attempts on their next possession before Quincy, Ill., native Tiff Terwelp helped seal the victory with a pair of free throws with just under 10 seconds to play. Merriman made a layup with 3.4 seconds left for her 11th point of the half, but Bradley would run out of time as the Bears held on for the 73-66 victory.
After struggling offensively in the first half, Bradley shot 45.2 percent in the second stanza, including 4-of-10 from beyond the three-point arc. The Braves also limited Missouri State to 32 percent shooting in the final 20 minutes, but the Bears were able to make 10-of-13 free throw attempts in the second half to close out the game.
Four Bradley players scored in double figures, with junior Kelly Krumiwede (Glen Ellyn, Ill./Glenbard West) leading the way with her third double-double of the season and second in the last three games, finishing with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Van Kirk and Merriman both matched Kurmwiede for team-high honors with 11 points.
Merriman also added six assists and a career-best six steals. Johnson was also in double figures with 10 points and had a career-high six steals, helping Bradley to a season-best 20 steals on the night. Flanagan finished with nine points to pass former teammate Ashley Chelleen for 15th place on Bradley's career scoring list. She needs 51 points to catch Andrea McAllister for 14th on the Braves scoring chart.
Missouri State committed 29 turnovers, but outrebounded BU 42-38 and forced 25 Bradley turnovers. Michigan State transfer Maggie Dwyer scored a game-high 20 points, while freshman Marisha Brown added 12 points. Terwelp pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds and also added five assists and seven steals.
The Braves close out a season-long three-game road swing Saturday with a 1:05 p.m. game at Wichita State.
