SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Bradley scored the first eight points of the game and led for most of the contest, but Missouri State held the Braves to just 23 second-half points and the Bears rallied for a 59-56 victory Sunday afternoon at JQH Arena.

After an 8-0 run to open the game, Bradley extended the lead to as many as 15 points in the first half.  Missouri State held the Braves without a field goal for the first six and a half minutes of the third quarter as the Bears trimmed what was a 33-18 halftime lead by Bradley to five (34-29) before a Leti Lerma (Muscatine, Iowa/Muscatine) layup ended the drought.

Back-to-back hoops by junior Whitney Tinjum (Stacy, Minn./Chisago Lakes/Washington State) capped an 8-2 Bradley spurt in the closing minutes of the third quarter which pushed the Braves lead back to double digits at 44-33.

Freshman Emily Eshoo (Naperville, Ill./Benet Academy) had a three-point play to open the fourth quarter and she found Schlueter for a corner three on the next trip down the floor after a defensive stop to give the Braves 50-36 advantage nearing the eight-minute mark. 

Missouri State answered with nine straight points in under two minutes to pull within five closing in on six minutes to play.  Senior Sameia Kendall (Kansas City, Mo./Raytown/Johnson County) made a pair of free throws to end the MSU run and had a driving layup on the next possession to push the Bradley lead back to nine (54-45) with 4:46 left. 

The Kendall basket was the last hoop of the game, however, as the Braves went 0-for-6 from the field with three turnovers down the stretch.  Missouri State had three baskets in the next minute and a pair of free throws with 2:39 left made it a one-point game at 54-53.
 
Bradley led 56-54 after the squads traded free throws, but two Missouri State free throws with 19 seconds gave the Bears their first lead of the day 57-56.   The Braves missed a pair shots on their next possession and Missouri State added a pair of free throws with 5.4 seconds to play to make it a three-point lead.

A Tinjum three at the buzzer was off the front of the rim as Missouri State escaped with the 59-56 victory to move into a tie with Drake for first place in the Missouri Valley Conference standings. 

Tinjum scored 15 of her team-high 19 points in the first half.  Senior Kat Yelle (Geneva, Ill./Geneva/Ohio) joined her in double figures with 10 points and matched a career-high with nine rebounds. 

Tyonna Snow scored a game-high 22 points to lead Missouri State, with Lexi Hughes adding 10 points off the bench.  Bradley held MSU to 32 percent shooting in the setback. 

Bradley opens the final home stand of the season Friday with a 7 p.m. game against Indiana State at Renaissance Coliseum in the Braves annual Play 4 Kay game.  Fans are encouraged to wear pink to Friday's contest.