NORMAL, Ill. – Bradley led I-74 rival Illinois State for most of the night, but needed a Fantasia Vine (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton North) go-ahead layup with 1:33 to play and Whitney Tinjum (Stacy, Minn./Chisago Lakes/Washington) steal and free throws in the closing seconds to seal a 58-55 victory against the Redbirds Friday night at Redbird Arena.

After a slow start to the game, Bradley took control with a 15-2 first-half run to build a 19-8 advantage 11 minutes into the contest.  The Braves held Illinois State without a field goal for a near 11-minute stretch during the opening period and took a 34-24 halftime lead into the locker room.

Bradley and Illinois State traded baskets early on in the second half, but a pair of Illinois State three-pointers in the opening minutes helped the Redbirds cut the Braves' lead in half (43-38) less than five minutes into the period.

Senior Michelle Young (Woodbury, Minn./Woodbury) gave Bradley a 47-38 lead with a fastbreak jumper in the lane with 12:25 remaining, before the Braves went cold from the field.  Bradley missed its next five shots and had just one hoop during a seven-minute span as Illinois State pulled within two points (49-47) on an Octavia Crump basket near the six-minute mark.

Illinois State's Taylor Stewart had a steal at mid-court and breakaway layup to tie the score at 51-51 and a put-back basket by ISU's Katy Winge with 3:13 left gave the Redbirds their first lead (53-51) since the 17:33 mark of the first half. 

Tinjum answered with her third three-pointer of the game to put Bradley back in front 54-53 with 2:21 on the clock, but Crump added her game-high 21st and 22nd points of the night with another basket on Illinois State's next trip down the floor as the Braves trailed 55-54 with two minutes left. 

Vine pulled down an offensive rebound on Bradley's next possession and put the Braves ahead for good at 56-55 with a driving layup.  Vine, who drew a charge with 0.9 seconds left in Bradley's one-point win at Loyola Sunday, drew Crump's fifth foul on a charge on the ensuing Redbird possession. 

With 5.4 seconds left, Illinois State had one more chance as the Redbirds had the ball under the Bradley hoop, when Tinjum came up with a steal near midcourt on an inbounds play.  Bradley's leading scorer with 17 points, Tinjum made a pair of free throws with 3.7 seconds left to give the Braves a 58-55 lead and seal the victory.

Bradley, which has won three consecutive games against Illinois and four of the last five against the Redbirds, won back-to-back games at Redbird Arena for the first time since claiming four straight road games in the series between 1991-92 and 1994-95. 

Tinjum had 17 points, eight rebounds and two steals to help lead the Braves.  Freshman Anneke Schlueter (Ulm, Germany/Max-Weber-Schule) added 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting and Young was also in double figures with 10 points.  Sophomore Leti Lerma (Muscatine, Iowa/Muscatine) led Bradley on the glass with a game-high 11 rebounds off the bench.

Bradley shot 43.6 percent from the field and the Braves were 6-for-13 from three-point range for a season-high 46.2 percent from beyond the arc.

Crump had a career-high 22 points to lead Illinois State, while Mary Sims joined in her double figures with a career-best 13 points. 

Bradley closes out a three-game road swing Sunday with a 2 p.m. game at Southern Illinois.