ST. CHARLES, Mo. -- Senior Katie Yohn scored 14 of her game-high 16 points to help Bradley pull within two points with five minutes to play, but Illinois State ended the game with an 11-2 run to top the Braves 59-48 in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament quarterfinals Friday night at the Family Arena.

Bradley (14-16 overall) built an early 15-9 lead with freshman Jenny Smith capping an 11-3 BU spurt with a put-back basket with 7:43 to play in the opening half as the Braves held the Redbirds without a field goal for just over nine minutes.

Illinois State (22-9 overall) closed the first half with a big run, however, scoring 17 consecutive points and holding Bradley without a field goal the final 7:43 of the period.  The Redbirds took a 26-15 lead before a Shronda Butts' free throw with 49 seconds left ended a near seven-minute BU scoring drought.

The Redbirds stretched the lead to as many as 12 points in the opening minutes of the second half, before Bradley rallied.  Yohn had back-to-back hoops to open a 12-2 Bradley spurt and freshman Jenny Smith followed Illinois State free throws with a three-pointer.  Junior Kelsey Budd had a steal and breakaway layup before she found Yohn for a three-pointer at the five-minute mark as the Braves pulled within two points at 46-44. 

Illinois State would answer, scoring on three consecutive possessions to quickly push the advantage to 54-46 heading into the final minute and the Redbirds made five of six free throws in the final 40 seconds to close out the victory. 

Yohn finished with a game-high 16 points and also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds in the final game of her career.  She came up with four steals and finished the year with 70 thefts for the most steals in a season by a Bradley player since Skye Johnson had 71 steals in 2008-09.  Yohn also moved into sole possession of seventh on the Bradley career steals list, closing her career with 199 career thefts. 

Bradley, which shot 21.4 percent from the field in the first half, shot 36.4 percent in the second half and forced 20 Illinois State turnovers.  The Redbirds held a 48-31 advantage in rebounding, however, and shot 42.6 percent in the contest.  Illinois State advanced to Saturday's 4 p.m. semifinal and will face #2 seed Creighton with the victory.

Janae Smith led Illinois State with 14 points to pace four Redbirds in double figures.  Jamie Russell added 12 points, while Candace Sykes had a double-double off the bench (10 points & 10 rebounds).  Alexis Jenkins was also in double figures with 10 points to go with a game-high five assists to help lead Illinois State.

Bradley finished the season with a 14-16 overall record with Friday's contest marking the final games for Bradley seniors Brooke Bisping and Katie Yohn.