CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- Northern Iowa's K.K. Armstrong had 25 points and a career-best eight steals to help power the defending Missouri Valley Conference regular-season champion Panthers to a 71-57 victory against visiting Bradley Friday at the McLeod Center.

Bradley (11-8 overall, 2-5 MVC) matched a season-high with 27 turnovers and Armstrong scored 20 of her game-high 25 points in the final 23 minutes of play for UNI, who improved to 12-6 overall and 5-2 in Valley action.

Freshman Shronda Butts (Des Moines, Iowa/East) gave the Braves a 13-7 lead on a layup early in the contest, but the Panthers answered with a 13-2 run to go ahead 20-15 and later closed the half with an 8-0 spurt to take a 33-24 lead at the break. 

BU chipped away at the UNI advantage early in the second half and trailed 44-38 with 14:14 to play after a Kelsey Budd (Prairie du Sac, Wis./Sauk Prairie) layup.  UNI's Brooke Brown hit of her three 3-pointers on the night to open a 7-0 Panther run as Northern Iowa stretched the lead back to double digits (51-38) nearing the midway point of the second half.

A Katie Yohn (Elgin, Ill./St. Edward) three-pointer at the eight-minute mark cut the deficit to 10 points (59-49), but the Braves made just 3-of-11 shots and committed seven turnovers in the final 7:20 of play as UNI closed out a season-long, three-game home stand with the 71-57 win.

Bradley outrebounded the Panthers 49-33, but UNI turned 27 BU turnovers into 23 points and Northern Iowa held the Braves to 33.9 percent shooting. 

Senior Leah Kassing (Mt. Sterling, Ill./Brown County) led Bradley in scoring with 15 points and also grabbed 10 rebounds for her ninth double-double of the year.  Budd turned in her first career double-double, collecting 12 points and a career-best 10 boards. 

Yohn scored all 10 of her points in the second half as she and Kassing accounted for 23 of BU's 33 second-half points.  Senior MacKenzie Westcott (Williamsburg, Iowa/Williamsburg) tallied nine points, 12 rebounds and career-best five blocked shots.

UNI shot 40 percent from the field, but made 22-of-29 from the free throw line despite entering the game shooting 59 percent from the charity stripe in MVC play.  Armstrong finished with 25 points, seven boards and eight steals to lead four Panthers in double figures. 

Bradley continues a three-game road swing next Friday with a 7 p.m. game at Drake.  The game will be broadcast on WIRL 1290 AM.