Box Score SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Junior MacKenzie Westcott (Williamsburg, Iowa/Williamsburg) scored a career-high 19 points to pace four Bradley players in double figures and help Bradley to a 73-68 win at preseason Missouri Valley Conference favorite Missouri State Friday.
The Braves (11-10 overall, 4-6 MVC) battled from behind most of the night, but used a late 10-0 run to pull out their first conference road win of the season. The win snapped Missouri State's eight-game home win streak and moved Bradley into a three-way tie with Wichita State and Drake for sixth in the Valley standings.
BU led 56-51 with 8:15 to play when Casey Garrison, the defending Valley Player of the Year, fueled a 10-0 Missouri State run with back-to-back three pointers. The Braves answered with a 10-0 run of their own, however, to pull out the victory. Junior Hanna Muegge (Hopkins, Minn./Hopkins) started the run with a jumper and junior Latasha Hollingshed (Bellwood, Ill./St. Joseph/Illinois Central) made a pair of free throws with 3:15 remaining to trim the Bears lead to one (61-60).
Westcott buried a three-pointer from the top of the key as the shot clock expired to put Bradley back in front 63-61 with 1:53 to play and Muegge followed with another three-pointer to beat the shot clock to push the Bradley advantage to 66-61 with just under a minute remaining.
Missouri State (16-6 overall, 7-3 MVC) pulled within three points (69-66) with 19 seconds left on a Jaleshia Roberson three-pointer, but the Braves were a perfect 4-for-4 from the line in the closing seconds to seal the 73-68 victory.
Westcott made 6-of-8 from the field and finished with a career-high 19 points and 10 rebounds to lead BU. Hollingshed added 14 points, seven boards and a career-high four assists, while senior Raisa Taylor (Decatur, Ill./Eisenhower) had 11 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and three steals. Muegge, who made her first start in 11 games, scored all 10 of her points in the second half.
Taylor scored her 1,000th career point midway through the second half and is now 15th on Bradley's career scoring list with 1,002 points. The Braves made 6-of-10 second-half three-pointers and were 18-for-25 from the free throw line in the final 20 minutes to pull improve to 3-2 in their last five games in Springfield, Mo.
Jasmine Malone and Garrison paced Missouri State in scoring with 17 points each, while Christiana Shorter collected 14 points and 10 rebounds. Bradley held the Bears to 31.5 percent shooting, including 25.7 percent in the second half.
Bradley closes out a three-game Missouri Valley Conference road swing Sunday with a 2:05 p.m. game at Wichita State.
