PEORIA, Ill. – Points were at a premium Saturday afternoon at Renaissance Coliseum, but Bradley Women's Basketball never trailed against visiting Illinois-Chicago and took control of the contest with a 13-0 run midway through the second half to top the Flames 58-48.
Bradley picked up its fourth consecutive home victory to match the longest win streak in the eight-year history of Renaissance Coliseum and improve to 4-3 overall on the season. Eleven of 12 players that saw the floor for the Braves scored, paced by junior Shunseere Kent's nine points, while senior Danielle Brewer added eight points to lead a balanced BU attack.
Bradley won a game in which it did not have a player score 10 or more points for the first time since at least the 1976-77 season and possibly the first time in program history (box scores for the 1975-76 and 1976-77 seasons are not available in the Bradley Athletics archives).
The Braves held UIC scoreless for the first four-plus minutes of the contest as the Flames opened the game 0-for-8 from the field and BU held a 7-2 advantage nearing the midway point of the opening quarter. Illinois-Chicago (3-3 overall) committed six first-quarter turnovers and shot just 19 percent (3-for-16) from the field as Bradley held 12-7 lead at the end of the first period.
A near five-minute scoring drought by UIC over the final 2:51 of the first quarter and opening minutes of the second frame allowed Bradley to build a 17-7 lead with an 8-0 run capped by a Chelsea Brackmann bucket. The Braves took a 28-23 lead into the locker room at the half.
The teams traded free throws to open the third quarter, before UIC scored on consecutive trips down the floor to trim the BU lead to one (29-28) three minutes into the second half.
After the Flames pulled even at 30-30 senior Anneke Schlueter knocked down a three-pointer to give the Braves a 35-32 lead midway through the third and fellow senior Danielle Brewer split a pair of free throws nearing the four-minute mark of the period to give the Braves a 36-32 edge. Schlueter hit an NBA-range buzzer-beating three-pointer to end the third quarter as Bradley took a 44-38 advantage into the final stanza.
A Brackmann three-point play early in the fourth quarter were the only points in the first five minutes of the fourth for either team, pushing Bradley's lead back to nine at 47-38. Brewer followed a Shareece Burrell basket with back-to-back hoops of her own and made a free throw with 2:41 left to cap a decisive 13-0 Bradley run which gave the Braves a commanding 54-38 lead. UIC ended a near nine-minute scoreless stretch with 2:18 left to play to start a 10-2 run of its own which pulled the Flames within three possessions (55-48) closing in on 30 seconds left. Senior Madison Dellamuth made three of four free throws in the final 30 seconds to seal the 58-48 Bradley victory, however.
The Bradley bench combined for 23 points, led by Schlueter's six points in her first game as a reserve since the end of her freshman season in 2014-15. Burrell provided a spark with four points, eight rebounds, one assist and two steals in 16 minutes off the bench. Brackmann finished with seven points and a season-best 15 rebounds to go with a pair of blocks and two steals to help lead Bradley. The Braves held UIC to 30.4 percent shooting and owned a 47-37 rebounding advantage.
Bradley will travel to Charleston, Ill., Tuesday for a 6 p.m. game at in-state foe Eastern Illinois.