CHARLESTON, Ill. -- Freshman Jenny Smith (Pewaukee, Wis./Arrowhead) made a pair of free throws with 1.6 seconds left and scored six of her eight points in the final four minutes of the game to help Bradley rally for a 66-65 victory against Eastern Illinois Monday at Lantz Arena.

The victory was first-year head coach Michael Brooks' first victory as head coach of the Braves and extended BU's win streak in regular-season non-conference road games to six games.

Bradley (1-1 overall) got revenge for a one-point home loss to the Panthers last year, after EIU (0-2 overall) hit a three-pointer with 9.6 seconds left to edge the Braves 59-58 at Renaissance Coliseum last November.

The Braves scored the first seven points of the game and led 37-32 at the break, but Eastern Illinois used a 13-3 run midway through the second half to erase a seven-point BU advantage and go in front 54-51.

The Panthers stretched their advantage to six points (59-53) with 6:20 to play before Bradley made a late push.  Smith, who missed her first two free throw attempts in the game, made a pair of free throws with 3:57 to play to pull Bradley within three at 61-58.

Junior Kelsey Budd (Prarie du Sac, Wis./Sauk Prairie) followed a pair of EIU free throws with a driving layup from the corner and she found Smith for a layup with 2:33 to play to cut the Panthers' lead to 63-62 with two and a half minutes left.

Budd, who finished with a team-high 17 points, gave Bradley a 64-63 lead with a runner in the lane with two minutes to play. 

Both teams came up empty on their next two possessions before Mariah King made a pair of free throws with 10 seconds left to put Eastern Illinois back in front 66-65.

Last year, Bradley had the final possession of the game trailing by one, but a potential game-winning shot came after the buzzer and was waved off.

Facing the same situation Monday, the Braves used their final two timeouts with seven seconds on the clock to set up an inbounds play on the sideline.  Sophomore guard Shronda Butts (Des Moines, Iowa/East) drove the lane from the right wing and found Smith on the opposite block where she was fouled with 1.6 seconds to play.  The frosh made the first free throw to tie the game at 66-65 and following an EIU timeout calmly stepped to the line and knocked down the second attempt to give her squad a 66-65 road victory.

Budd led three Bradley players in scoring with 17 points and also added five assists.  Senior Brooke Bisping (Morton, Ill./Morton) and junior Catie O'Leary (Janesville, Wis./Parker/Wisconson) both added 10 points.  Senior Katie Yohn (Elgin, Ill./St. Edward) scored seven points to move into a tie with Devyn Flanagan for 13th on the all-time scoring list at 1,032 points.

King made 11-of-21 shots and matched a career-high with 30 points to pace the Panthers.  Ta'Kenya Nixon added 11 points, four assists and five steals.

Bradley continues a season-long, five-game road swing Thursday with a 7 p.m. game at Illinois.