PEORIA, Ill. -- Senior MacKenzie Westcott's (Williamsburg, Iowa/Williamsburg) shot at the buzzer was off the mark as the Bradley women's basketball suffered its first loss of the 2011-12 season with a 59-58 setback against in-state foe Eastern Illinois Tuesday at Renaissance Coliseum.

In a game that featured 15 lead changes and eight ties, Bradley had several opportunities to seal the game in the closing minutes, but a Kelsey Wyss three-pointer with 9.6 seconds remaining proved to be the difference as Eastern Illinois (2-0 overall) pulled out the win.

The Braves (1-1 overall) led by as many as seven points in the game, but trailed by seven (52-45) with just under eight minutes to play.  EIU's lead was 54-48 with six minutes remaining when senior Leah Kassing (Mt. Sterling, Ill./Brown County) highlighted a 10-1 Bradley run with seven of her game-high 15 points to give BU a 58-55 lead. 

Kassing started the run with a three-point play and Westcott split a pair of free throws with 5:07 on the clock to pull Bradley within two (54-52).  Eastern Illinois split a pair of free throws and sophomore Catie O'Leary (Janesville, Wis./Parker/Wisconsin) found Kassing in the lane for a layup to trim the Panther advantage to one (55-54).

Westcott put Bradley in front 56-55 with three minutes to play with a layup and Kassing followed a defensive stop with another bucket to give the Braves a 58-55 lead with 2:21 remaining. 

Bradley came up empty on its next possession and EIU's Mariah King split a pair of free throws to cut the BU lead to two (58-56).  The Braves missed a jumper from the wing with the shot clock winding down on the next trip down the floor, but got another stop on the defensive end with less than 30 seconds to play. 

Junior Katie Yohn (Elgin, Ill./York) missed the front end of a one-and-one with 24.8 seconds left and Wyss knocked down a three-pointer from the corner with 9.6 seconds on the clock to put Eastern Illinois in front 59-58.

Westcott got a good look on a shot at the buzzer, but her pull-up jumper from the elbow was off the mark as Eastern Illinois ended Bradley's three-game win streak in the series with the 59-58 victory. 

Kassing finished one point away from a career high, scoring a game-high 15 points on 7-of-12 from the field to go along with six boards and three steals in 19 minutes.  Westcott had 11 points, 11 rebounds, three assists a block and a steal for her fifth career double-double, while Yohn joined the duo in double figures with 10 points. 

Sydney Mitchell led Eastern Illinois with 15 points off the bench.  Ta'Kenya Nixon had 14 points, seven boards, five assists and six steals to help pace the Panthers. 

Bradley opens a four-game road trip with the first of three games in three days Friday at 5 p.m. (CST), facing Winthrop in the first game of the Winthrop Classic in Rock Hill, S.C.