DES MOINES, Iowa – Bradley turned in its highest scoring game of the year in Missouri Valley Conference play behind a team-best 18 points from sophomore Whitney Tinjum (Stacy, Minn./Chisago Lakes/Washington State), but Drake shot 63 percent in the second half and topped the Braves 86-70 Thursday at the Knapp Center.

The loss locked up the #8 seed for Bradley in next week's Missouri Valley Conference Tournament and the Braves will face #9 seed Loyola next Thursday at 4 p.m. in the opening round.

Bradley got off to a slow start offensively and Drake, which sealed a second-place conference finish with the win, took control of the game with an early 15-0 run to go in front 19-4.  The Braves held the MVC's leading scorer Lizzy Wendell to two points in the first 13 minutes, but Drake was able to extend the advantage to as many as 19 points in the first half and took a 39-27 lead into halftime.

The Braves got within 10 points in the opening minutes of the second half, before Drake answered with a 10-0 run to go in front 51-31 less than four minutes into the period.  Wendell, who scored 10 points in the second half, pushed the Drake lead to 23 points (64-41) with a three-pointer with just under nine minutes left.

Bradley forced several Drake turnovers down the stretch and was able to whittle the deficit to 13 points (78-65) on a Danielle Brewer (Coatesville, Ind.) three-pointer with 2:47 to play.  The Bulldogs scored on four of their next five possessions, however, to close out their eight consecutive home victory.

Tinjum paced four Bradley players in double figures with 18 points and also had a team-high eight rebounds.  Junior Fantasia Vine (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton North) added 12 points, two assists and four steals off the bench as the pair combined for 30 points off the bench.  Senior Michelle Young (Woodbury, Minn./Woodbury) added 10 points, two assists and two steals, while freshman Tamya Sims (Milwaukee, Wis./Oak Creek) had seven of her 10 points in the first half and also grabbed seven boards for the Braves.

Freshman Becca Jonas led Drake with 19 points, while Wendall finished with 17 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals after the slow start.  Caitlin Ingle nearly had a triple-double, collecting 15 points, nine rebounds and nine assists.

Bradley closes out the regular season Saturday with a 2 p.m. game at Northern Iowa.  Saturday's contest will be carried on WMBD 1470 AM with the pre-game show starting at 1:40 p.m.