ST. CHARLES, Mo. -- Bradley used a 14-0 run to build a 20-point first-half lead, but 14 BU turnovers in the second half, help fuel an Evansville rally as the Purple Aces topped the Braves 84-81 in overtime in the semifinals of the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament at the Family Arena Saturday.
The Braves (21-10 overall) appeared to be bound for the first ever appearance in the championship game of The Valley tournament after racing out to a 20-point first half lead. Bradley scored the first points of the game and never trailed in the first half. With the Braves holding a 22-16 lead, freshman guard Michelle Lund (Sioux City, Iowa/Bishop Heelan) sparked a 14-0 BU run with a three-pointer. Sophomore Raisa Taylor (Decatur, Ill./Eisenhower) scored eight of the next 10 points to highlight the spurt which gave Bradley a 36-16 lead with 4:11 to play in the first half.
Trailing 40-23 at the half, Evansville (14-18 overall) scored the first eight points of the second half to trim the Braves lead to single digits (40-31) less than two minutes into the period. The Purple Aces eventually whittled Bradley's advantage to four points with 6:23 left in regulation when the Braves responded with nine consecutive points capped by a Lund breakaway layup to put Bradley ahead 59-46 with four minutes to play in the second half.
Evansville answered with seven consecutive points to pull to within six points and trailed 62-55 with 1:40 left in regulation following a Taylor free throw. A Robyn Jennings three-pointer cut Bradley's lead to four points (62-58) and Jennings followed a BU turnover with a pair of free throws.
The Braves missed a pair of free throws with 1:12 on the clock and Evansville's Amy Gallagher connected on a pair of free throws with 1:11 left to knot the game at 62-62. Bradley went back in front on a Monica Rogers (Forsyth, Ill./St. Teresa/Hampton) basket in the lane and followed an Evansville miss with a pair of free throws with 39.6 seconds on the clock to take a 66-62 lead.
Purple Aces' senior Ashley Austin answered with a three-point play on the other end to pull Evansville to within one point (66-65), but Taylor pushed Bradley's lead back to three points with a pair of free throws with 18 seconds left. Evansville's Jordan Lewis tied the game at 68-68 with just the third UE three-pointer of the contest with 9.2 seconds remaining and the Braves were unable to make a shot as time expired as the two teams went to overtime tied at 68-68.
Bradley held a 75-73 lead in the overtime period after a pair of Rogers' free throws, but Evansville answered with four consecutive points to take a 77-75 lead with 1:22 to play. The Aces pushed the lead to four points on a Stephanie Bamberger free throw with 18.5 second remaining, before junior Skye Johnson (Olympia Fields, Ill./Marian Catholic) knocked down a three-pointer to make it a one-point contest (80-79). Bamberger sealed the game for Evansville, going 4-for-4 from the free throw line in the final 10.3 seconds to close out the 84-81 overtime win.
Taylor made 6-of-9 shots from the field and scored a game-high 24 points, while also dishing out a career-high five assists. Rogers added her team-leading 10th double-double of the year, finishing with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Johnson (12 points and seven assists) and Lund (11 points) were also in double figures. Bradley shot 43.9 percent from the field and 40 percent from three-point range, but committed 26 turnovers in the contest.
Jennings led Evansville with 19 points and nine rebounds, while Austin added 14 points. Lewis scored all of her 13 points in the second half and Amy Gallagher collected nine points, seven rebounds, six assists and three steals after the first half to help fuel the Aces comeback. The ninth-seeded Purple Aces advance to tomorrow's 3 p.m. championship game after winning their third game in three days.
Bradley, which advanced to the MVC Tournament semifinals for just the second time in program history, will find out Monday if it will receive its first post-season bid in school history. The WNIT field will be announced Monday night, following the announcement of the NCAA Tournament.
