The Braves will be the #4 seed in next week's State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, losing a tie breaker to Missouri State via the MVC power rating system.  Bradley will face #5 seed Northern Iowa Friday at 2:30 p.m. at the Family Arena in St. Charles, Mo.

Missouri State (20-9 overall, 12-6 MVC) came into the game averaging a 77.4 points per game, but the Braves limited the Bears to their lowest point total in league action and fewest points since a 60-64 setback to Kansas State on Dec. 5. 

The Bears raced out to an early lead and broke open a one-point game with a 14-2 run to take a 23-10 lead midway through the first half.  Missouri State later extended the advantage to as many as 14 points (32-18) in the first half and held a 36-24 lead at the break.

After shooting 31 percent in the first half, the Braves scored on four of their first six possessions to pull to within six points at 38-32.  Missouri State was leading 50-43 with 12 minutes to play when the Braves used a 10-1 run to take a 53-51 lead.

Junior Raisa Taylor (Decatur, Ill./Eisenhower), who scored 14 second-half points, hit a shot in the lane and freshman Olivia Allen (Kildeer, Ill./Lake Zurich) found sophomore Leah Kassing (Mt. Sterling, Ill./Brown County) in the paint for a bucket to open the run.  Taylor assisted an Allen layup after a Kassing steal and Taylor had a layup of her own with 9:31 remaining to give Bradley its first lead of the game at 51-50.  After a Missouri State free throw to tie the game at 51-51, Allen had a breakaway layup to put Bradley back in front (53-51).

Missouri State answered with a 9-2 spurt to go back in front 60-55 with six minutes left on the clock.  Taylor ended the run with back-to-back breakaway layups and sophomore MacKenzie Westcott (Williamsburg, Iowa/Williamsburg) came away with a steal and found Allen for a breakaway layup of her own to give Bradley a 61-60 lead with 3:13 to play. 

After the teams traded baskets Jamine Gibson's layup with 2:09 on the clock put Missouri State in front 64-63.  With the shot clock winding down freshman Katie Yohn (Elgin, Ill./St. Edward) found junior Sonya Harris (Riverdale, Ill./Thornton) cutting to the basket for a layup which put Bradley in front 65-64 with 1:43 remaining.  The Braves clamped down defensively as Missouri State came up empty on its last three possessions.  Bradley forced a shot clock violation with 35.6 seconds to play and a Missouri State desperation three as time expired was off the mark as the Braves rallied for the 65-64 win.

Taylor scored 14 second-half points, en route to a game-high 21.  She made 10-of-14 shots from the field and also added three assists and a steal.  Allen added 10 points and two assists in the second half and finished with 12 points and three assists in 18 minutes off the bench.  The contest marked the final home games for Bradley seniors Renee Frericks (Wyoming, Minn./Forest Lake) and Jenny Van Kirk (Waconia, Minn./Waconia).  Frericks finished with four points and seven assists, while Van Kirk added eight rebounds, two assists, one block and three steals.

Bradley matched the school record for conference wins in a season, matching the 12-6 league record of the 1989-90 team.  The Braves also matched the best conference finish in program history as they tied Missouri State for third in the league standings.  Bradley also tied for third place during the 1991-92 season.

The Braves made 19-of-30 field goals in the second half and finished the game shooting 46.8 percent from the field.  Missouri State made 7-of-15 three-point attempts (46.7 percent) on the afternoon, but made 17-of-45 (37.8 percent) inside the arc.