PEORIA, Ill. -- Senior Leah Kassing (Mt. Sterling, Ill./Brown County) turned in her third straight double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds, but Missouri State closed the first half with a 17-2 run and snapped BU's five-game win streak with a 79-70 win in the Missouri Valley Conference opener for both teams Thursday at Renaissance Coliseum.

In a game featuring the top two scoring teams in the Valley, Missouri State (8-3 overall, 1-0 MVC) scored 19 points in the first five minutes of the game and held a 23-13 advantage less than eight minutes into the contest.  Bradley (9-4 overall, 0-1 MVC) answered with a run of its own with Hanna Muegge (Hopkins, Minn./Hopkins) and Katie Yohn (Elgin, Ill./St. Edward) opening an 11-2 BU run with back-to-back three-pointers.

The Braves pulled within a point at 25-24 after a Muegge free throw with just under six minutes remaining.  BU, which made just one field goal in the final nine and a half minutes of the first half, missed a free throw attempt to tie the game at 25-25 and Missouri State closed out the period with a 17-2 run to take a 42-26 lead into the break.

Kassing scored the first points of the second half and assisted a Catie O'Leary (Janesville, Wis./Parker/Wisconsin) hoop to help spark a 16-5 Bradley run to start the stanza.  Muegge hit another three and O'Leary scored five during the run as the Braves pulled within five points (47-42) with 12:20 remaining. 

Missouri State pushed the lead back to double digits, but Kassing scored eight consecutive points during an 8-2 BU spurt which trimmed the Bears advantage to 65-58 with just over four minutes to play.  The Lady Bears made 11-of-12 free throws in the final four minutes of play and the preseason MVC favorites finished the game 31-of-38 from the free throw line as Missouri State held off the Braves for a 79-70 road victory.

Bradley shot 32.8 percent from the field, despite Kassing's 8-for-11 shooting.  She paced the Braves with 19 points and 12 boards for her third consecutive double-double and fifth in the last six games.  Kassing, who had 15 points, seven rebounds and two assists in the second half, has a team-high six double-doubles on the year.

Yohn was the only other Bradley player in double figures, collecting 16 points in 34 minutes of play.  She moved up four spots on BU's career scoring list with the 16-point effort, passing Roxanne Grabow for 20th on the scoring chart.  

Christiana Shorter attempted 17 of Missouri State's 38 free throws and finished with a game-high 24 points to pace the Lady Bears.  Jaleshia Roberson was a perfect 10-of-10 from the charity stripe and finished with 19 points as the duo of Shorter and Roberson combined to make more free throws (20) than the Braves (19).  Casey Garrison entered the game as the MVC's leading scorer with a 19.9 points-per-game average, but was held to 12 points.

Bradley returns to action Saturday, hosting Wichita State in a 2 p.m. game at Renaissance Coliseum. Braves Club members are invited to a pre-game party which will begin at noon in the Braves Club Room at Renaissance Coliseum.