NORMAL, Ill. ? Bradley jumped out to an early lead, but had no answer for two-time MVC Player of the Year Kristi Cirone, as she scored 24 second-half points to power league-leading Illinois State over the Braves 82-61 at Redbird Arena Thursday night. The loss ended Bradley's six-game win streak and moved BU into a tie with Drake for third in the Missouri Valley Conference standings.
The Braves (19-7 overall, 10-5 MVC) got off to a quick start, scoring the first seven points of the contest and jumped out to an 18-6 lead less than seven minutes into the contest. Bradley led 20-10 when the Braves would go cold from the field. Bradley scored just two points over a near nine-minute span and Illinois State capitalized with a 15-2 run to take a 25-22 lead with just over four minutes remaining in the opening half.
With Bradley trailing 27-22, sophomore Raisa Taylor (Decatur, Ill./Eisenhower) scored on a put-back and knocked down a three-pointer to spark a seven-point BU spurt which put the Braves ahead 29-25, but Cirone hit a pair of three-pointers and dished out an assist to highlight a 13-4 ISU run to close the half as the Redbirds took a 38-33 lead into the break.
The Redbirds (23-4 overall, 14-1 MVC) pushed the lead to nine points (48-39) early in the second half, before freshman guard Hanna Muegge (Hopkins, Minn./Hopkins) nailed a pair of three-pointers during an 8-0 Bradley run which trimmed the ISU lead to 48-47 with 14:32 to play.
Illinois State held a 54-49 advantage when Cirone had a driving layup and found Nicolle Lewis at the top of the key for an open jumper as the Redbirds extended the lead back to nine points (58-49) with nine and a half minutes remaining.
A pair of free throws by senior Monica Rogers (Forsyth, Ill./St. Teresa/Hampton) and a basket by sophomore Sonya Harris (Riverdale, Ill./Thornton) pulled the Braves to within five points (58-53), but Washington, Ill., native Maggie Krick followed up an Emily Hanley basket in the lane with a fast-break three-pointer to push the lead to double digits (63-53) with just under eight minutes on the clock.
Cirone nailed back-to-back three-pointers to push ISU's lead to 71-55 and the Braves would get no closer than 14 points the remainder of the game as Illinois State claimed its 12th consecutive victory with the 82-61 win.
Rogers led the Braves with 14 points to pace three Bradley players in double figures, while Taylor added 12 points and junior guard Skye Johnson (Olympia Fields, Ill./Marian Catholic) chipped in with 10 points. Bradley committed just 11 turnovers, but shot 39.1 percent from the field as the Redbirds ended the Braves six-game win streak. Harris had eight points and game-highs of nine rebounds and five blocked shots.
Cirone hit 8-of-10 shots in the second half and scored 23 of her game-high 34 points after the break. Lewis added 15 points and Krick finished with 11 points and game-high seven assists.
Bradley returns to action Sunday at Indiana State in the final road game of the regular season. The Braves and Sycamores will tip things off at 1:05 p.m. (CST) in Terre Haute, Ind.
