PEORIA, Ill. -- Western Michigan shot over 60 percent in the second half and used a 16-0 second-half run to pull away as the Broncos spoiled Bradley's Field Trip Day with a 72-59 victory over the Braves Tuesday afternoon at Renaissance Coliseum. 

Playing before their largest home crowd in almost a year, which included approximately 1,000 area school children, Bradley (1-3 overall) got out to strong start and led 17-13 after the first quarter thanks in part to seven points from junior Whitney Tinjum (Stacy, Minn./Chisago Lakes/Washington State).

Western Michigan (3-2 overall) outrebounded Bradley 13-9 in the second quarter and scored 12 of its 19 points in the paint as the Broncos scored the final six points of the period to take a 32-29 lead into halftime. 

Sophomore Tamya Sims (Milwaukee, Wis./Oak Creek) opened the third quarter with a driving layup to help Bradley cut the Western Michigan lead to 32-31, but a Bronco layup and three-pointer on the next two possessions quickly pushed the lead to six at 37-31 just over two minutes into the period.

Bradley trailed 39-37 with 5:23 left in the third after a Leti Lerma (Muscatine, Iowa/Muscatine) layup before a drought for the Braves allowed Western Michigan to pull away.  The Broncos forced four turnovers and Bradley was 0-for-10 from the field over the next seven-plus minutes as Western Michigan went on a 16-0 run to extend the lead to 55-37 with just under nine minutes to play. 

Lerma scored nine of her game-high tying 15 points in the fourth, but Western Michigan shot 64 percent in the final stanza and made 7-of-7 from the free throw line to walk away with a 72-59 victory. 

Three Braves finished in double figures, paced by Lerma's season-best 15 points off the bench.  She also had seven rebounds and four steals in 25 minutes.  Tinjum scored 14 points and sophomore Anneke Schlueter (Ulm, Germany/Max-Weber-Schule) joined the duo in double figures with 12 points.  Sims collected nine points, seven rebounds, two blocks and three steals. 

Western Michigan was 15-for-24 from the field (62.5 percent) in the second half and shot 53 percent for the game.  Alex Morton led the Broncos in scoring with 15 points along with tallying six rebounds and four assists.  Meredith Shipman (14 points) and Miracle Woods (13 points) were also in double figures.  Teagan Reeves helped Western Michigan to a 40-34 rebounding advantage, finishing the day with eight boards in addition to a game-high five blocks. 

Bradley closes out a three-game home stand Saturday with a 7 p.m. contest against Eureka at Renaissance Coliseum.