PEORIA, Ill. -- Freshman Lasha Petree scored 29 points and had four steals, while junior Chelsea Brackmann collected 17 points and 17 rebounds to help Bradley Women's Basketball power by Oakland 73-64 Saturday afternoon at Renaissance Coliseum as the Braves improved to 6-0 on the year.
Making her first career start, Petree scored 17 of her game-high 29 points in the first half and finished with the most points in a game by a Bradley freshman since Heather Best had 31 points against Indiana State on Feb. 29, 1996. Brackmann did the bulk of her damage in the second half, collecting 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting and nine rebounds in the final 20 minutes.
Bradley (6-0 overall) remained the only undefeated team in the Missouri Valley Conference, with the six-game win streak the longest for the Braves since winning six consecutive Valley games during the 2009-10 season. In addition, the Braves have won seven consecutive non-conference games dating back to last season for the longest non-conference win streak for Bradley since winning 11 consecutive regular-season non-conference contests between the 2000-01 and 2002-03 campaigns.
A slow start by Bradley, helped Oakland (2-6 overall) jump out to an early 13-6 lead. The Braves missed their four shots of the day and went 2-for-14 to open the game before Gabi Haack scored six points in the final 1:44 of the first quarter to pull the Bradley within one at 13-12 at the end of the period.
Petree got things started for Bradley in the second quarter, scoring the first eight points of the stanza. She followed up back-to-back three-pointers with a steal and breakaway layup to help Bradley go in front 20-13. Oakland stopped what was a 14-0 BU run with a hoop, only to have the Braves answer with the next seven points.
Petree had a layup and Brackmann split a pair of free throws to extend the lead to double digits. A pair of Petree free throws gave Bradley a 27-15 advantage with 4:27 to play in the half and the Braves eventually took a 35-25 lead into the half. Petree was 3-for-4 from beyond and arc in the first half and tallied 17 points and four steals in the opening 20 minutes.
Oakland scored the first points of the third quarter, but Brackmann and Petree combined for all of Bradley's points during a 13-2 run to help extend BU's lead to 19 (48-29) with just under six minutes left in the period. Petree sparked the run with her fourth three-pointer of the day, but Brackmann had six points, five rebounds, one assist and a steal during a span of just under three-and-a-half minutes.
The Golden Grizzlies chipped away at the Bradley lead the rest of the quarter to pull within 14 (55-41) heading to the fourth. An 8-2 Oakland spurt early in the fourth cut the BU advantage to 59-52 closing in on seven minutes to play.
Oakland went 0-for-3 from the field with two turnovers over the next four minutes, however, and Bradley used another 8-0 run to put the game out of reach. Haack, who was 8-for-8 from the free throw line for the second consecutive outing, made a pair of free throws with 6:29 left to stop the Oakland run.
After Oakland missed on a three-point attempt on its next possession, Bradley had a near 90-second possession with Haack and Brackmann both pulling down offensive rebounds to help the Braves run some clock. Petree followed an Oakland turnover with a three-pointer to push the lead to 64-52. Another pair of offensive rebounds on one possession led to a Brackmann putback basket as Bradley led 67-52 with 3:45 on the clock.
Oakland managed to get back within eight points nearing the one-minute mark, but Bradley was a perfect 6-for-6 from the line in the closing minute to seal the 73-64 victory.
Petree was 5-for-8 from three-point range and was 6-for-6 from the charity stripe. Haack joined Petree and Brackmann in double figures with 10 points and tied a career-high with five assists. Senior Vanessa Markert helped pace the Bradley reserves with nine points and eight rebounds in 18 minutes of action off the bench.
Kahlaijah Dean was 8-for-9 from the field and paced three Oakland players in double figures with 20 points. Bradley forced 22 turnovers by the Golden Grizzlies and owned a 28-9 edge in points off turnovers.
Bradley closes out a three-game home stand Tuesday at 11 a.m., hosting in-state foe Western Illinois at Renaissance Coliseum for the team's annual Field Trip Day presented by Prairie Farms.