Box Score CARBONDALE, Ill. ? Freshman Raisa Taylor (Decatur, Ill./Eisenhower) scored a season-high 28 points and senior Devyn Flanagan (Riverton, Ill./Riverton) made a pair of free throws with 8.9 seconds left to help Bradley pick up its first Missouri Valley Conference road victory of the season with a 77-72 win at defending regular-season Valley champion Southern Illinois. The victory gave the Braves a regular-season sweep of the series and moved BU into sole possession of eighth place in the conference standings.
Only five Bradley players scored in the game, but the group combined for the most points scored by the Braves since a 79-70 victory against UC Davis on Dec. 28 as Bradley ended a seven-game road losing streak. Taylor had not scored more than 15 points in a game this season, but hit 10-of-15 shots en route to a season-best 28 points to pace four Bradley in double figures in scoring.
Southern Illinois (8-17 overall, 4-11 MVC) built a 10-point first-half lead at 30-20 with 5:54 remaining in the opening period. Bradley (11-16 overall, 5-11 MVC) would close the half with a flurry, scoring 18 points in the next 4:03 of play. Flanagan opened the spurt with a basket and capped an 18-3 Bradley run with a three-point play with 1:01 left in the half to help Bradley to a 38-33 lead. Junior Kelly Krumwiede (Glen Ellyn, Ill./Glenbard West) scored eight of her 14 points during the near four-minute stretch that helped the Braves take a 40-35 lead into the locker room.
The Braves shot 55.6 percent in the first half of play, but committed 13 turnovers in the opening 20 minutes of play. Bradley dominated down low, outscoring SIU 22-14 in the paint and outrebounding the Salukis 22-9 in the first half.
Jayme Sweere scored 14 points in the second half for Southern Illinois and helped SIU take a 60-56 lead with 9:07 to play. The Salukis led 61-58, when Flanagan scored five points and dished out an assist to highlight a 12-2 Bradley run that put the Braves back in front (70-63) with 3:45 remaining.
Southern Illinois would chip away at the BU lead, cutting the deficit to one point at 73-72 after a Jasmine Gibson free throw with 49 seconds left. Taylor would answer with her 10th basket of the game when she hit a shot in the lane with the shot clock winding down to push the Braves advantage back to three points 75-72 with just over 20 seconds to play.
Flanagan would help seal the victory when she came up with a steal and made a pair of free throws with 8.9 seconds left as Bradley won its first road game since a Dec. 20 victory at Chicago State.
Taylor's 28 points are a season-high for the Braves and most points by a Bradley player since Erika Nelson scored 31 points on Jan. 19, 2007. She also added six rebounds and hit 8-of-10 free throws. Flanagan scored 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field, while Krumwiede matched her 14 points and snagged a game-high nine boards. Freshman Sonya Harris (Riverdale, Ill./Thornton) added 12 points, six rebounds and three blocked shots off the bench. Sophomore Skye Johnson (Olympia Fields, Ill./Marian Catholic) was the only other Bradley player to score as she finished with nine points and three assists.
Bradley entered the game as the worst free throw shooting team in the Missouri Valley Conference, but made 20-of-24 free throw attempts and outrebounded the Salukis 42-27 on the afternoon. The Braves limited Southern Illinois, which was third in the Valley in three-point field goal percentage, to 26.3 percent shooting beyond the arc. SIU struggled from the line, making just 56.5 percent (13-for-23) of its free throw attempts.
Sweere led the Salukis in scoring with 22 points, while junior Jasmine Gibson was also in double figures in scoring with 21 points. The duo combined for 18-of-34 shooting, while the rest of the team was 9-for-28 from the field.
The Braves will play their final road game of the regular-season Saturday, when Bradley visits Evansville for a 2:05 p.m. game at Roberts Stadium.
