PEORIA, Ill. -- Bradley hit five second-quarter three-pointers to build a 31-24 halftime lead and junior Leti Lerma (Muscatine, Iowa/Muscatine) scored 11 of her team-high 19 points in the third quarter to help power the Braves to a 68-60 victory over visiting Kent State Tuesday night at Renaissance Coliseum.

After Bradley (4-4 overall) opened the game 0-for-5 from beyond the three-point arc in the first quarter, sophomore Anneke Schlueter (Ulm, Germany/Max-Weber-Schule) knocked down three of Bradley's five three-pointers in the second period.  The Braves trailed 12-10 at the end of the first despite forcing nine Kent State turnovers in the opening 10 minutes. 

The Bradley three-point barrage in the second, capped by an Emily Eshoo (Naperville, Ill./Benet Academy) triple with under one minute, sent the Braves into the locker room with a 31-24 advantage. 

Lerma scored six of Bradley's first eight points in the third quarter and tallied 11 points, three rebounds, one assist and one block in the stanza.  A Lerma layup with 1:57 to play in the third gave the Braves their largest lead to that point at 50-47 and Schlueter's fourth three-pointer of the game closed the quarter as Bradley led 55-42 after 30 minutes of play.

Bradley had its biggest lead of the contest nearing the six-minute mark of the fourth at 59-44 after a Tamya Sims (Milwaukee, Wis./Oak Creek) steal and breakaway layup.  The Braves managed just one field goal in the final six minutes of the game, however, and Kent State (3-5 overall) used an 11-2 spurt to pull within six (61-55) with 1:18 left. 

Schlueter made four free throws in a 15-second span and the Braves held Kent State to just two field goals in the final minute to top the Golden Flashes 68-60. 

Lerma matched a season-high with 19 points on 8-for-13 shooting and also had a team-best seven rebounds.  Schlueter hit four three-pointers for the fourth consecutive game and added 18 points, three assists and two steals.  The four three's pushed Schlueter's team-leading three-point total to 23 and she is the first Brave with a three-point basket in each of the first eight games of a season since 2008-09. 

In addition to the high scoring pair, Sims tied a Renaissance Coliseum with a career-best six blocks as she tallied the most blocks in a game by a Brave since Sonya Harris had six rejections against Wichita State on March 4, 2010. 

Kent State's Jordan Korinek entered the game averaging 18.6 point per game, but was held to six points.  Larissa Lurken paced the Golden Flashes in scoring with a game-high 25 points, while Naddiyah Cross joined her in double figures with 10 points off the bench.

The Braves forced 24 Kent State turnovers and held the Golden Flashes to 37 percent shooting.  After opening the game 5-for-18 from the field, Bradley shot 50 percent over the final 30 minutes and finished the game at 43 percent.   

The Braves will have a break for finals before opening a three-game road swing Saturday, Dec. 19 at nationally ranked (#19/23) Iowa.