Box Score NORMAL, Ill. - After a hot start offensively, a cold shooting second half did Bradley in as defending Missouri Valley Conference regular-season champion and I-74 rival Illinois State topped the Braves 83-69 in the Valley opener for both teams Thursday at Redbird Arena.
Both teams got off to hot starts offensively, with Bradley making 11-of-17 (64.7 percent) and Illinois State connecting on 7-of-11 (63.6 percent) in the first nine minutes of play. The teams combined for 48 points in the opening nine minutes of action and the Braves held a 26-22 lead at the 11-minute mark.
BU (7-5 overall, 0-1 MVC) and ISU both cooled off down the stretch in the first half, but the Redbirds (8-3 overall, 1-0 MVC) outscored the Braves 21-14 to close the period and took a 43-40 lead into the locker room. Senior Raisa Taylor (Decatur, Ill./Eisenhower) led Bradley at the break with 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting and also had three assists and a steal in the opening 20 minutes.
The lead changed hands 21 times throughout the course of the game, but a second-half run by the Redbirds proved to be the difference.
Junior Leah Kassing (Mt. Sterling, Ill./Brown County) scored five points in the opening minutes of the second half to help Bradley go in front 53-51. The Braves scored just three points during a near seven-and-a-half minute stretch and ISU's Katie Broadway highlighted a 16-3 Redbird run with eight points to help Illinois State to a 67-56 lead with 6:30 to play.
The Redbirds pushed the lead to as many as 12 points (72-60), before a pair of free throws by Taylor and a baseline hookshot by junior Latasha Hollingshed (Bellwood, Ill./St. Joseph/Illinois Central) pulled BU within eight points (72-64) with just under four minutes remaining. The Braves got no closer, however as Illinois State pushed the lead back to double digits and improved to 6-0 at home this season with the 83-69 victory.
Bradley shot 54.8 percent in the first half and made 4-of-10 three-point attempts, but cooled off to just 30 percent in the second half and went 0-for-7 from beyond the arc after the break.
Illinois State entered the game as the top rebounding team in The Valley, but Bradley held a 40-30 edge on the glass. The difference in the game proved to be turnovers, with the Redbirds turning 22 BU turnovers into a 20-11 advantage in points off turnovers.
Taylor finished with 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting to pace the Braves. Hollingshed added 12 points on 6-for-11 shooting and tied junior MacKenzie Westcott (Williamsburg, Iowa/Williamsburg) for game-high honors with eight rebounds. Westcott added seven points, four assists and two steals.
Four Illinois State players scored in double figures and six players scored nine or more points for the Redbirds. Broadway and Emily Hanley each had 15 points to lead ISU while Hannah Spanich had 12. Amanda Clifton added 11 points, five assists and three steals.
Bradley returns to action Saturday when the Braves play a 1:05 p.m. (CST) game at Indiana State. The contest against the Sycamores will be broadcast in the Peoria area on 1290 AM WIRL.
