Box Score EAST PEORIA, Ill. - Despite limiting Missouri to 27 percent shooting, Bradley was unable to overcome a poor shooting second half and 26 turnovers on the night as the Tigers edged the Braves 52-46 Tuesday at Lorene Ramsey Gym. Senior Jenny Van Kirk (Waconia, Minn./Waconia) paced Bradley with a season-high 15 points.
The Braves (2-5 overall) got off to a slow start, making just one of seven from the field to open the game as Missouri (5-2 overall) built an early 11-3 advantage. With Bradley trailing 22-15, Van Kirk (Waconia, Minn./Waconia) helped key an 8-0 BU run to close the half with four points and one assist as the Braves took a 23-22 lead into the break.
Bradley was able to overcome 14 first-half turnovers, by holding Missouri to 27.3 percent shooting in the opening half. After the 1-for-7 start to the contest, the Braves made 7-of-13 to close the half and shot 40 percent in the first 20 minutes of action.
BU led 32-29 after a Katie Yohn (Elgin, Ill./St. Edward) jumper in the lane, but the Braves make just one field goal over the next six minutes as Mizzou used a 10-3 spurt to take a 39-35 lead with 8:31 to play.
Missouri held a 49-46 lead after a Raisa Taylor (Decatur, Ill./Eisenhower) free throw with 2:25 to play, but the Braves went scoreless on their final five possessions and the Tigers were able to hold on for a 52-46 victory.
Bradley shot just 28 percent in the second half and finished the game 15-of-45 from the field (33.3 percent). The Braves did turn in one of their best defensive efforts of the year, limiting the Tigers to 26.9 percent shooting. The 26.9 percent for Mizzou is the lowest field goal percentage for a BU opponent since Southern Illinois shot 23.4 percent on Jan. 31, 2003.
Missouri was able to offset the poor shooting performance by outrebounding Bradley 49-41, which included 26 offensive rebounds. Mizzou turned the 26 offensive boards into 21 second chance points and also boasted a 17-5 advantage in points off turnovers.
Van Kirk led Bradley with a season-best 15 points. Junior Sonya Harris (Riverdale, Ill./Thornton) matched a career-high with 16 rebounds, but was limited to six points.
Senior Jessra Johnson paced Missouri with 17 points as she became the 27th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points. RaeShara Brown was also in double figures for the Tigers with 10 points to go along with three assists and five steals.
Bradley will have a week off for finals before returning to action Dec. 17 at Northern Colorado in the first outing of a season-long five-game road swing. Game time in Greeley, Colo., is 8:05 p.m. (CST).
