ST. CHARLES, Mo. – Bradley committed a season-low nine turnovers and had four players score in double figures, but the Braves couldn't overcome a poor shooting first half and foul trouble as they fell to Loyola 75-69 Thursday at Family Arena in the opening round of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.

Junior Michelle Young (Woodbury, Minn./Woodbury) and senior Kesley Budd (Prairie du Sac, Wis./Sauk Prairie) each scored 15 points to lead Bradley (8-22 overall) and combined for nine of the team's season-high 13 steals.

The first half featured five lead changes and five ties in the first 12 minutes of the game before foul trouble limited Bradley down the stretch in the opening 20 minutes.  The Braves had a nine-minute stretch without a rebound and Loyola (11-20 overall) limited the Braves to 22.2 percent shooting in the first period in addition to the Ramblers boasting a 32-16 rebounding advantage at the half.  Despite the offensive struggles, Bradley trailed by just seven (37-30) at halftime thanks in part to making 12-of-14 first-half free throw attempts.

The Braves made 7-of-10 shots to open the second half and chipped away at the Rambler lead to pull within two points at 54-52 nearing the nine-minute mark.  Loyola's Becca Smith had a steal and fastbreak layup to five the Ramblers a 56-52 lead with 8:50 to play and Bradley trailed 65-58 with 3:25 on the clock after a Bailey Farley three-pointer.

Freshman Leti Lerma (Muscatine, Iowa/Muscatine) had a driving layup to make it a two-possession game and Budd made a pair of free throws with 2:14 to play to pull the Braves within three points (65-62) closing in on the final two minutes.  Budd split a pair of free throws with 1:19 to play after a Loyola miss to trim the Rambler lead to 65-63, but Bailey Farley hit a three-pointer on Loyola's next trip down the floor to make it a five-point game (68-63) and Smith made a pair of free throws for the Ramblers with 41 seconds to play after a Bradley missed three.

A Catie O'Leary (Janesville, Wis./Parker/Wisconsin) three-pointer with 36 seconds left cut the deficit to four (70-66), but Loyola made 3-of-4 free throws in a 10-second span and a Molly Crosby layup with 11 seconds left sealed the 75-69 victory for the Ramblers. 

After struggling from the field in the first half, Bradley made 7-of-10 shots to open the second half and was 14-for-31 (45.2 percent) in the final 20 minutes.  The Braves struggled from the free throw line in the second half, however, making just 9-of-18 free throws after halftime. 

Young made 7-of-11 free throw attempts and finished with 15 points and a game-high six steals.  Budd was 9-of-10 from the charity stripe and collected 15 points, five boards, five assists and three steals in the final game of her career. 

Senior Alyson Spinas-Valainis (Davenport, Iowa/Assumption) and O'Leary each had 13 points in their final outings, while senior Kelly Frings (Milwaukee, Wis./Pius XI) was 4-for-6 from the field and added nine points, 10 rebounds, two assists, two blocks and one steal off the bench.

Smith paced Loyola in scoring with 19 points and also had seven rebounds and seven assists to pace four Ramblers in double figures.  First-Team All-Valley performer Troy Hambric had 12 points and nine rebounds, while Molly Crosby (12 points & 10 rebounds) and Farley (12 points) were also in double figures.

With the victory, Loyola advanced to Friday's noon quarterfinal game against #1 seed Indiana State.