PEORIA, Ill. -- Freshman Danielle Brewer (Coatestville, Ind.) came off the bench to hit three three-pointers and scored all 11 of her points in the second half to help spark Bradley to a 56-50 victory over Evansville Sunday afternoon at Renaissance Coliseum.

Bradley turned in one of its best defensive efforts of the year, limiting Evansville to 31.5 percent shooting and the Braves outrebounded the Purple Aces 41-32.  UE's Sara Dickey entered the game as the second leading scorer in the MVC, but was held to 11 points on 3-of-15 shooting. 

Both teams struggled offensively early on, with the teams combining for four baskets in the first eight minutes of the contest and Bradley led 7-6 almost halfway through the opening period.  A 9-0 Bradley run, which featured six points from senior Michelle Young (Woodbury, Minn./Woodbury) and a three-point play by freshman Tamya Sims (Milwaukee, Wis./Oak Creek) helped the Braves build a 16-9 advantage.  The Braves went on to take a 22-18 halftime lead.

Back-to-back Brewer three-pointers near the 13-minute mark of the second half gave Bradley its largest lead of the afternoon at 34-25.  The Bradley lead was 39-31 before Evansville made a run of its own.  A 4:13 scoring drought for the Braves helped fuel a 9-0 Aces run which put UE in front 40-39 with six minutes on the clock. 

Evansville led 42-41 when Brewer knocked down her third three-pointer of the half to put the Braves back in front 44-42 with 4:20 to play.  An Evansville foul while Brewer's shot was in the air resulted in Sims making a pair of free throws for a rare five-point possession and Bradley took a 46-42 advantage into the final four minutes of the contest.

Sophomore Whitney Tinjum (Stacy, Minn./Chisago Lakes/Washington State) had a fast-break layup after a Bradley steal to give the Braves a 48-42 lead with 2:30 to play, but a Kat Taylor three-pointer on Evansville's next trip down the floor kept it a one possession game at 48-45. 

The Purple Aces pulled within two points (50-48) on a Khristian Hart three-point play with 1:06 remaining. Bradley was a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line in the final minute, however, to hold off Evansville 56-50.  UE was 0-for-3 from the field and 2-for-3 from the line with two turnovers in the final 60 seconds.

Young finished with a team-high 14 points on 6-for-11 shooting as she pushed her career scoring total to 994.  Brewer, who was 3-for-4 from three-point range in the second half, finished one point short of matching a season-best with 11 points off the bench. 

Sims added nine points and a season-high 12 rebounds to help lead Bradley on the glass in addition to tallying two blocks and one steal.  Tinjum came off the bench for the first time this season and contributed nine points, eight boards and a season-best three assists in the win.

Taylor made 6-of-8 from the field and scored 15 points off the bench to lead Evansville.  Dickey joined her in double figures with 11 points. 

Bradley opens a two-game road swing Friday with a 7 p.m. game at Missouri State in Springfield, Mo.