PEORIA, Ill. -- Bradley had a 10-point lead on Chicago State with 11 minutes to go, but the Braves went cold from the field; making just two of 16 shots down the stretch as the visiting Cougars rallied to pull out a 62-59 victory Thursday afternoon at Renaissance Coliseum.

With a season-best crowd of 1,541 on hand for Field Trip Day presented by Prairie Farms, Bradley recovered from a slow start to go on a 12-2 run to take a 12-6 lead less than five minutes into the contest.  The Braves led by as many as seven (22-15) in the opening period, before Chicago State chipped away at the Bradley lead and hit a buzzer-beater to end the half which cut the BU lead to 32-31 at the break.

A pair of steals and breakaway layups by junior Sameia Kendall (Kansas City, Kan./Raytown/Johnson County) helped fuel a 10-1 Bradley run early in the second half.  Senior Michelle Young (Woodbury, Minn./Woodbury), who tied for game-high honors with 16 points, capped the run for the Braves with her second three-pointer of the contest to give her squad a 52-42 lead nearing the 11-minute mark.

Young tallied one of her five steals on the day and assisted another Kendall breakaway layup to push the Bradley advantage to eight points (54-46) with 9:51 left on the clock. 

The Braves missed their next six shots from the field, however, and went nearly four minutes without scoring as Chicago State took a 56-54 lead with 6:51 to play after a 10-0 run by the Cougars. 

Back-to-back hoops by Kendall and Young briefly gave the Braves a 58-56 lead, but Young's jumper in the lane with 4:19 to go was the final basket of the day for Bradley as the Braves made just two of 16 from the field over the final nine and a half minutes.  Chicago State made a pair of free throws next trip down the floor and the Cougars followed a BU shot clock violation with a Layne Murphy layup with 3:21 left to take a 60-58 lead. 

Sophomore Whitney Tinjum (Stacy, Minn./Chisago Lakes/Washington State) split a pair of free throws with 3:05 on the clock to cut the Chicago State lead to one (60-59).  The Braves came up empty on the next four possessions and Murphy split a pair of free throws for the Cougars with 27.0 seconds to play to make it a two-point Chicago State lead at 61-59.

A Bradley three-point attempt was off the mark and Chicago State split another pair of free throws with 8.5 seconds left.  A last-second three-pointer by the Braves was short as the Cougars held on for the 62-59 road win.

Bradley forced 30 Chicago State turnovers and held a 27-12 advantage in points off those miscues.  The Cougars countered with 55 percent shooting, including 56.3 percent from the field in the second half.  Chicago State outrebounded the Braves 38-33. 

Young paced three Bradley players in double figures with 16 points.  Tinjum added 10 points in 23 minutes in her debut as a Brave, while sophomore Leti Lerma (Muscatine, Iowa/Muscatine) collected 10 points off the bench.  Freshman Danielle Brewer (Coatesville, Ind.) snagged a season and game-high 10 rebounds to go with five points, three assists and three steals.

Paris Williams led Chicago State with 16 points, while Konner Harris added 13 points of her own in 39 minutes of action.  Murphy finished with 12 points and a team-high nine rebounds for the Cougars. 

Bradley continues an eight-game home stand Sunday with a 2 p.m. game against defending Mid-American Conference champion Bowling Green at Renaissance Coliseum.