DES MOINES, Iowa -- Bradley erased an 18-point deficit to pull even with Drake in the closing moments of Friday's Missouri Valley Conference game at the Knapp Center, but Drake scored the final four points of the contest to edge the Braves 66-62.

A sluggish offensive start to the game for Bradley helped Drake to a 39-21 lead in the final minutes of the first half and the Braves (7-10 overall, 1-5 MVC) trailed 41-28 at the break.

Drake (6-12 overall, 1-6 MVC) maintained a double-digit lead through the early going of the second half, before Des Moines, Iowa, native Shronda Butts helped fuel a late Bradley run.  The Bulldogs shot 51.6 percent from the field in the first half of play, but were held to 25.9 percent shooting in the second half and went the final eight minutes of the game without a field goal.

With the Braves trailing 61-47 with just under six minutes to play, Bradley went on a 15-1 run to pull even with Drake nearing the one minute mark.  Junior Kelly Frings (Milwaukee, Wis./Pius XI) followed a Fantasia Vine (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton North) free throw and a defensive stop with a put-back basket. 

Another defensive stop was followed by a Butts free throw and hoop after a miss on the second free throw attempt as the Braves trimmed the advantage to 61-53 with 4:42 left.  Layups by senior Katie Yohn (Elgin, Ill./St. Edward) were sandwiched around a Drake free throw and a pair of Vine free throws with 2:23 to play made it a one-possession game (62-59) for the first time since 14:40 remaining in the first half.

A driving layup by Butts with 1:51 on the clock pulled Bradley within one point (62-61) and she later tied the game when she split a pair of free throws with 1:14 to play.

Drake's Kyndal Clark came up big for the Bulldogs down the stretch, however, making a pair of free throws with 52 seconds left.  Frings pulled down an offensive rebound for Bradley on the ensuing possession, but Clark came up with her seventh steal of the game as Frings tried to go up with it. 

Clark made two more free throws with under 20 seconds to play and Bradley missed a pair of shots in the closing seconds as Drake earned its first league win of the season.

Butts scored a game-high 29 points on 12-for-24 shooting to lead Bradley.  The loss was Bradley's fourth in Missouri Valley Conference play by five points or less.

The Braves return to action Sunday, playing a 2 p.m. game at pre-season Missouri Valley Conference favorite Creighton in Omaha, Neb.