TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- Indiana State's Brittany Schoen hit three consecutive three-pointers to help the Sycamores erase a five-point Bradley lead in the second half and hit another trey later in the game to lead Indiana State to a 62-58 win Sunday afternoon at the Hulman Center.
The Braves (19-8 overall, 10-6 MVC) trailed by as many as eight points in the first half (12-4), but battled back and took a 28-25 lead on a Hanna Muegge (Hopkins, Minn./Hopkins) jumper from the free throw line with 3:21 left in the first half. Indiana State (14-13 overall, 10-6 MVC) answered with a three-pointer by Amanda Pedro and the Braves went back in front 30-28 on another Muegge basket with 1:50 remaining in the first half. The Sycamores took a 32-30 lead into the break after Shannon Thomas made a layup as time expired.
Sophomore Sonya Harris (Riverdale, Ill./Thornton) scored less than 10 seconds into the second half to tie the game at 32-32 as she helped the Braves eventually build a 47-42 lead with seven minutes remaining in the contest. Schoen answered with the first of three consecutive three-pointers to highlight a 9-2 Indiana State run which put the Sycamores in front 51-49 with just under five minutes to play.
Bradley tied the game for the seventh time on a Skye Johnson (Olympia Fields, Ill./Marian Catholic) jumper to knot the score at 51-51. Amanda Pedro put Indiana State back in front with a free throw (52-51) and followed a Bradley turnover with a three-pointer to give the Sycamores a 55-51 advantage.
Harris cut the Indiana State lead in half with a layup, trimming Indiana State's lead to 55-53 with 2:46 remaining. Indiana State missed a three-point attempt on the other end, but pulled down the offensive board. Another Sycamore missed three-point attempt was rebounded by senior Monica Rogers (Forsyth, Ill./St. Teresa/Hampton), but Indiana State senior Leah Phillips poked the ball loose and out of bounds off Rogers. Schoen knocked down her fourth three-pointer of the half on the next play to give Indiana State a 58-53 lead with 1:22 to play.
Harris answered with another layup to pull the Braves to within three points (58-55) with just over one minute on the clock, before Bradley was forced to extend the game by fouling. Indiana State's Sarah Paul missed the front end of a one-and-one with 22 seconds left, but Bradley's three-point attempt was off the mark. Paul made a pair of free throws with 5.3 seconds remaining to push Indiana State's lead to 59-55 and junior Renee Frericks (Wyoming, Minn./Forest Lake) hit a running three-pointer from just beyond half court with 0.9 seconds left on the clock to once again pull Bradley to within two points at 60-58. Paul added a pair of free throws with 0.1 seconds remaining to put the finishing touches on the 62-58 win for the Sycamores.
Frericks connected on 4-of-10 three-pointers and led the Braves with 15 points. Harris added 10 points, 12 rebounds, five steals and a career-high seven blocked shots. Rogers finished with her team-leading ninth double-double, collecting 10 points and 10 boards.
Bradley limited Indiana State to just eight field goals and 30.8 percent shooting in the second half, but the Sycamores were 5-for-14 from beyond the arc and finished the game 9-for-23 (39.1 percent) from three-point range on the afternoon. Schoen led Indiana State with 14 points off the bench, while Pedro added 12 points.
The loss dropped the Braves into a tie with Indiana State for fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference standings. Both Bradley and Indiana State are one game behind Drake (17-10 ovearll, 11-5 MVC) for third place. Bradley returns to action Thursday when they play host Missouri State in a 7:05 p.m. game at Lorene Ramsey Gym.
