PEORIA, Ill. ? Bradley shot 53 percent in the first half of play and trailed 39-36 at the break, but the Braves shot just 29 percent in the second half and went scoreless from the field during a six minutes and 40 second span to allow Drake to blow open a four-point game and cruise to a 77-63 victory Thursday in Missouri Valley Conference women's basketball action at Robertson Memorial Field House.

The Braves (9-16 overall, 3-11 MVC) opened up the game on fire, scoring 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting  in the first 4:36 of play to take an early 15-10 lead.  Drake (16-8 overall, 9-4 MVC) also had hot hands in the first half, however, shooting 64 percent in the opening half of play.  The Bulldogs led 31-24 in the first half, before consecutive baskets by junior Megan Klingler (Lawrence, Kan./Lawrence/Coffeyville C.C.) sparked a 10-0 run that put the Braves in front 34-31 with just under three minutes remaining in the period.  The Bulldogs would hit each of their final four shots of the half and force two BU turnovers in the final minutes of the period to take a 39-36 lead at the break.

Drake would push its lead to eight points (48-40) in the first few minutes of the second half, but Bradley hung close and trailed 54-50 with just under nine minutes left on the clock.  The Braves would go cold from the field, however, missing their next seven shots and turning the ball over four times over the 6:40 of play.  The Bulldogs took advantage of Bradley's cold shooting, hitting 6-of-8 from the field during the span.  Senior Lindsay Whorton highlighted a 16-4 Drake run with a pair of three-pointers as the Bulldogs' lead ballooned to 70-54 with 2:53 remaining.

Freshman Sonya Harris (Riverdale, Ill./Thornton) hit a shot in the lane and scored five of the next seven points to spark a 7-0 BU spurt that cut the deficit to single digits at 70-61 with 1:13 to go, but Drake made 5-of-6 free throws in the final minute and a Kristin Turk layup with under 10 seconds helped close out the 77-63 Bulldog victory.

After shooting 53.1 percent from the field in the first half of play, Bradley managed to hit just 9-of-31 shots (29.0 percent) in the second half and committed 10 turnovers after halftime.  Drake shot a blistering 64 percent in the first half and was 14-for-27 (51.9 percent) from the floor in the second 20 minutes of action. 

Harris led the Braves with her second double-double of the season, finishing with a team-high 15 points and game-high 10 rebounds in 17 minutes off the bench.  Sophomore Skye Johnson (Olympia Fields, Ill./Marian Catholic) added 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting and also matched career highs with six assists and six steals.  Junior Kelly Krumwiede (Glen Ellyn, Ill./Glenbard West) also added 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting.  The trio combined for 43 of Bradley's 63 points and shot 51.4 percent from the field. 

The preseason Missouri Valley Conference favorite, Drake had five players reach double figures in scoring.  Lauren Dybing paced the Bulldogs with 18 points and seven rebounds.  Preseason all-Missouri Valley Conference selection Jill Martin had 12 points, nine boards and five steals, while Kristin Turk hit 5-of-7 shots and scored 11 points off the bench.  Jordann Plummer added 10 points and eight assists off the bench and Monique' Jones hit 4-of-5 shots from the field and finished with 10 points.

Bradley returns to action Saturday, when the Braves play host to Creighton at 2:05 p.m. at Robertson Memorial Field House.