PEORIA, Ill. -- Junior Michelle Young (Woodbury, Minn./Woodbury) scored 13 of her game-high 19 points in the second half and helped highlight a 23-3 second-half Bradley run with 11 points and an assist as the Braves topped Illinois-Springfield 74-50 at Renaissance Coliseum Friday in an exhibition game.
Illinois-Springfield connected on 8-of-13 three-point attempts in the first half and the score was knotted at 32-32 at the break. Bradley held a 38-37 lead early in the second half and the Braves were ahead 44-40 after the Prairie Stars 10th three-pointer of night, when the Braves put the game out of reach with a decisive 23-3 run.
Young got things started with a basket nearing the 15-minute mark and sophomore Jenny Smith (Pwaukee, Wis./Arrowhead) had a hoop in the lane, before Young found senior Kelsey Budd (Prairie du Sac, Wis./Sauk Prairie) open for a three to give BU a 51-40 advantage. Young split a pair of free throws with just under 13 minutes to play and senior Catie O'Leary (Janesville, Wis./Parker/Wisconsin) added a basket of her own.
Another Budd three-pointer stretched the lead to 57-40 and Smith hit senior Kelly Frings (Milwaukee Wis./Pius XI) with a pass under the hoop for a layup as Bradley scored 15 consecutive points to open the 23-3 spurt.
After a UIS three-pointer ended a 6:10 scoreless stretch, Young had back-to-back layups and a Bradley steal led to another Frings' breakaway layup. Young added another pair of free throws at the 6:20 mark to push the BU lead to 67-43. Illinois-Springfield played Bradley even down the stretch as the Braves claimed the 74-50 exhibition victory.
Young was 6-for-10 from the field and also had two steals to go with her game-high 19 points as she paced three Bradley players in double figures. Budd added 11 points, eight assists, two blocks and three steals and collected seven points and six assists in the second half. Senior Alyson Spinas-Valainis (Davenport, Iowa/Assumption) finished with 10 points as all five BU starters scored eight or points.
Frings helped Bradley force 23 turnovers, coming up with five steals in addition to her nine points and eight rebounds in her first game against outside competition since missing the final 13 contests of the 2012-13 season due to injury. O'Leary was also near a double-double with eight points and eight rebounds.
The Braves outscored Illinois-Springfield 40-4 in the point and held an 18-0 advantage in fastbreak points. After the Prairie Stars made 8-of-13 three-pointers in the first half and 10-of-17 to open the game, UIS connected on just 2-of-10 from beyond the arc in the final 15 minutes. Megan Bergerud led Illinois-Springfield with 15 points.
Bradley opens the 2013-14 regular season next Friday with an 11 a.m. contest against Big Ten Conference foe Illinois at Renaissance Coliseum. Area school children will be in attendance for “Field Trip Day” as the Braves open a season against a BCS Conference opponent for the first time since hosting Missouri to start the 1999-2000 season.
