PEORIA, Ill. -- Bradley used a quick start and a strong defensive effort to post a convincing 66-52 victory against visiting Illinois-Chicago Tuesday at Renaissance Coliseum in the final non-conference home game of the year.  The win was Bradley's third straight home victory and seventh consecutive win against an in-state non-conference foe.
 
Despite a two-week layoff from competition due to finals, Bradley (6-4 overall) picked up where it left off before the break by scoring 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting in the first 4:30 of the game and jumped out to a 15-4 advantage by the first official timeout.  The Braves were coming off a 112-point effort in a double overtime loss at Wisconsin-Milwaukee last time out on Dec. 4 and had averaged 88.5 points per game over the last four contests.
 
BU extended the lead to as many as 13 points in the opening half, but cooled off making just 6-of-22 down the stretch and took a 32-24 lead into the break.   
 
UIC (2-7 overall) pulled within eight points several times in the second half, but senior Katie Yohn (Elgin, Ill./St. Edward) helped put the game out of reach.   Yohn found Jenny Smith (Pewaukee, Wis./Arrowhead) cutting to the hoop for an easy basket and Yohn followed up with a three-pointer with 6:30 to play to give BU a 54-38.  Junior Kelsey Budd (Prairie du Sac, Wis./Sauk Prairie) later capped a 9-2 BU run with a driving layup to extend the advantage to 18 points (56-38) nearing the five-minute mark.
 
The Braves stretched the advantage to as many as 21 points (64-43) in the closing minutes as Bradley cruised to its third win in the last four games. 

The Flames shot 31.3 percent from the field in the second half and the 52 points by UIC were a season-low for a Bradley opponent.  BU's 58 rebounds were the most since hauling down 58 boards at Missouri State on Dec. 29, 2001.  In addition to the defensive effort, Bradley was perfect from the free throw line (10-for-10) for the third time in program history (minimum 10 attempts). 

Smith led the Braves in scoring with 12 points in 19 minutes of play to lead five BU players with eight points or more.  Yohn added 11 points, three assists and three steals.  Sophomore Shronda Butts (Des Moines, Iowa/East) had nine points and a career-best eight rebounds to go with her game-high five assists.  Budd also had nine points and three steals, while sophomore Michelle Young (Woodbury, Minn./Woodbury) added eight points off the bench.

Helping contribute to UIC's struggles from the field was an 0-for-16 start to the game from three-point range.  The Flames hit 2-of-3 shots from beyond the arc in the final minutes to close the game 2-for-19 from long range.  UIC also struggled at the line, making just 8-of-20 free throw attempts.  Katie Hannemann turned in a double-double to lead the Flames, collecting game highs of 17 points and 10 rebounds. 
  
Bradley closes out the non-conference portion of the schedule Friday with a 7 p.m. game at Western Illinois.  The WIRL 1290 AM pre-game show will begin at 6:40 p.m.