CARBONDALE, Ill. ? Bradley turned in its best defensive effort of the season, limiting Southern Illinois to 48 points and 28.8 percent shooting, as the Braves topped the Salukis 60-48 at SIU Arena Thursday night.  Currently fifth in the Valley standings, Bradley improved to 15-6 overall and 6-4 in Missouri Valley Conference play. 

Both teams got off to slow starts offensively as the Braves held a 9-8 lead nearly seven minutes into the contest.  Southern Illinois (6-13 overall, 2-8 MVC) went cold from the field, going nearly eight minutes without a field goal as the Braves stretched their lead to 16-9 with midway through the first half. 

Katrina Swingler ended the Salukis drought with a field goal to pull SIU to within four points (16-12), but Bradley countered with a 12-2 run capped by a Monica Rogers (Forsyth, Ill./St. Teresa/Hampton) three-point play to push the Braves advantage to 28-14 with 2:34 left in the half.  Bradley held SIU to 22.7 percent shooting and just five first-half field goals as the Braves took a 32-19 lead into the break.

Bradley held the Salukis scoreless for the first four minutes of the second half to extend the lead to as many as 17 points (36-19).  A 10-2 SIU spurt pulled the Salukis to within nine points (38-29), but the Braves quickly pushed the advantage back to 16 points. 

Southern Illinois made another push, outscoring the Braves 11-2 over a near five-minute stretch to pull to within seven points (47-40) with just under seven minutes to play. 

The Braves held a 50-42 advantage with 5:40 remaining, but that would be as close as Southern Illinois would get.  Free throws by Rogers and sophomore Raisa Taylor (Decatur, Ill./Eisenhower) gave Bradley a 54-42 lead with five minutes left and the Braves went on to cruise to the 60-48 road win.

Rogers finished with a game-high 20 points and Taylor finished with her first career double-double, collecting 16 points and a career high 10 rebounds.  Taylor, who had a career-best 28 points on 10-of-15 shooting last year at Southern Illinois, made 6-of-8 shots from the field Thursday and is averaging 22.0 points and shooting 16-for-23 (69.6 percent) in two games at Southern Illinois.  The Braves held a 42-27 advantage on the glass and shot 48.9 percent from the field, while holding a 30-12 edge in points in the paint.

Freshman Alex Hart led Southern Illinois in scoring with 10 points, while Jasmine Gibson added 10 points.  The Salukis shot 28.8 percent in the game and made just 14-of-28 free throw attempts.