NORMAL, Ill. – Freshman Lasha Petree scored 16 of her team-high 21 points in the second half to pace four Bradley players in double figures as she helped power the Braves to a 79-68 win at I-74 rival Illinois State Saturday afternoon.
Bradley (14-4 overall, 4-3 MVC) surpassed its overall win total from last year and moved into sole possession of fourth place in the Missouri Valley Conference standings with the victory, which was BU's sixth road win (3rd in conference play) of the year.
Petree turned in her fifth 20-point outing of the year to join Judy Burns and Connie Griffith as the only freshmen in school history to have five 20-point games. She came off the bench to hit 8-of-14 shots, including 4-of-6 from beyond the arc as she finished with 21 points in 17 minutes.
Junior Chelsea Brackmann finished a rebound short of her 10th double-double of the year, collecting 16 points, nine boards, two assists, two blocks and two steals. Sophomore Gabi Haack and senior Shunseere Kent each added 13 points. Haack has now scored in double figures in 16 consecutive games to match the longest streak by a Brave since Sara Bailey had 16 straight games with 10 or more points in 2000-01.
Bradley, which matched a season low with eight turnovers, had just three turnovers in the first half and led 35-27 at the break. Illinois State (10-8 overall, 3-4 MVC) went inside to Simone Goods early in the third quarter and the Redbirds were able to pull within one (41-40) on one of her four third-quarter hoops closing in on four minutes to play in the period. Goods scored nine of her 19 points on the day during the third.
The Braves held Illinois State scoreless for the next three-and-a-half minutes, however, and Petree went on a personal 7-0 run of her own to put Bradley back in front. She followed up back-to-back jumpers with a pull-up transition three during a 90-second span to give Bradley a 48-40 lead as the Braves owned a 50-46 advantage heading to the fourth.
Petree opened the scoring in the final stanza with a three-point play and another long scoring drought by Illinois State, which lasted for the first 3:31 of the frame, allowed Bradley to take control. Kent had a hoop nearing the seven-minute mark before Petree had a steal and buried another transition three-pointer to extend the lead to 58-46.
Illinois State got as close as seven down the stretch nearing the four-minute mark, but a Haack three-point play once again gave Bradley a double-digit advantage (65-55) with 3:44 left. A three-point play by Kent later gave the Braves a 68-56 edge with 2:22 on the clock and the Braves made 11-of-12 free throws in the final two minutes to seal the 79-68 road victory.
Bradley shot 42 percent from the field and went 23-for-28 (82 percent) from the free throw line in addition to holding a 36-26 rebounding advantage. Sophomore Emily Marsh pulled down a career-best nine rebounds in her second straight start to help Bradley to advantage on the glass.
Tete Maggett led Illinois State in scoring with 23 points, while Goods (19 points) and Megan Talbot (12 points) joined her in double figures.
Bradley continues a three-game MVC road swing Friday with a 7 p.m. game at Valparaiso