Box Score EAST PEORIA, Ill. - Drake led by as many as 11 points in the first half, but Bradley rallied from a halftime deficit for the second consecutive game to top the Bulldogs 63-55 Sunday at Lorene Ramsey Gym. With the victory, the Braves moved into a tie with Creighton for second-place in the standings at 10-4 and completed a sweep of the regular-season series with Drake.
After freshman Katie Yohn (Elgin, Ill./St. Edwards) scored a basket on the opening possession, Drake answered with a 13-2 run to take a 13-4 lead four minutes into the contest. The Bulldogs made 6-of-12 shots to open the game and held a 20-9 advantage just eight minutes in.
Bradley (14-10 overall, 10-4 MVC) limited Drake (13-12 overall, 6-9 MVC) to 4-of-15 to close the period as the Bulldogs scored just two points over a near seven-minute stretch. Yohn highlighted an 11-2 BU run with five points as the Braves pulled to within two points at 22-20 with five minutes left before the break. Yohn put BU in front (26-24) with 2:10 left in the opening half with her 14th point of the game, before Drake scored the final four points of the half to take a 28-26 lead into the locker room.
Bradley opened the second half with a 7-2 spurt and took a 33-30 lead in the opening minutes of the second period. Drake went back in front 35-33, but senior Renee Frericks (Wyoming, Minn./Forest Lake) opened a 19-4 BU run with a three-pointer with 15:37 to play. Frericks hit two more triples to highlight the run which gave the Braves a 52-39 advantage with 7:28 to play.
Drake answered with eight consecutive points to start a 12-2 Bulldog run to cut Bradley's lead to 54-51 with four minutes remaining, but Bradley forced the Bulldogs into 2-for-6 shooting with five turnovers down the stretch. Junior Sonya Harris (Riverdale, Ill./Thornton) ended the Drake run with a three-point play with 3:38 remaining and the Braves made all six of its free throws in the final 2:22 to close out the 63-55 victory.
After Drake's hot start from the field, the Bulldogs shot 31.7 percent (13-for-41) in the final 32 minutes of the game.
Yohn led the Braves in scoring with 16 points and also had four steals in 37 minutes of play. Frericks scored all 12 of her points in the second half, while Harris had nine points, three boards, two assists, two blocks and two steals after the intermission and finished with 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting.
Kristin Turk led Drake with game highs of 22 points and eight rebounds, while Rachael Hackbarth added 15 points for the Bulldogs.
The Braves wore special pink uniforms as part of the team's seventh annual Pink Zone game. Bradley, which is 6-1 in Pink Zone games, made 6-of-23 three-point attempts and raised nearly $7,000 for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation through head coach Paula Buscher's Coaches' Challenge. Donations are still being accepted and anyone interested in participating should call (309) 677-3617.
Bradley returns to action Thursday when the Braves face I-74 rival and league-leading Illinois State at 7:35 p.m. at Redbird Arena. The game will be broadcast in the Peoria area on 1290 AM WIRL and will be televised on WTVP.
