PEORIA, Ill. -- Sophomore Lasha Petree was held scoreless for the first six-plus minutes of Sunday's game against Indiana State before scoring 20 points in a near eight-minute stretch and finished with a career-best 36 points to help highlight a 91-75 Bradley victory over the Sycamores Sunday afternoon at Renaissance Coliseum.
Petree, who scored 24 points in Friday's Missouri Valley Conference opener against Evansville, was one of three Braves to score at least 16 points as she helped the Braves to the seventh 2-0 start to league play in program history. Her 36 points are the most points by a Bradley player since Michelle Young tied the school's single-game scoring record of 38 points in a game at Columbia in November 2014 and ranks fourth among single-game scoring marks at BU. In addition, her 36 points are the second most in a home game in Bradley history behind a 37-point effort by Karen Anderson against St. Xavier on Dec. 14, 1981.
Bradley (11-2 overall, 2-0 MVC) extended its home win streak to 12 consecutive games to match the longest home win streak in program history. The 1979-80 squad won its first seven home games after the 1978-79 team was victorious in the final five home contests.
Junior Gabi Haack connected on her first six shots from the field, including a trio of three-pointers, and finished with 17 points. Fellow junior Nyjah White was 7-of-10 shooting and closed the day with a season-best 16 points.
Bradley shot 61.5 percent or better in each of the first three quarters and was 33-for-52 (63.5%) from the field closing in on four minutes to play before cooling off in the late stages of the contest. The Braves finished the day shooting a season-best 57.6 percent.
Haack and White combined for 11 of Bradley's first 13 points as the Braves held a 13-9 lead closing in on four minutes to play in the period. Petree took over from there, scoring nine points in the final 3:42 of the first. The Bradley lead was 19-13 with 1:35 left in the period when Petree converted a three-point play and went on to score the final seven points of the frame to help Bradley to a 26-13 lead after the opening 10 minutes. Haack scored 10 of her 17 points in the first quarter.
Petree opened the second quarter with a three-pointer and added a layup to cap a personal 12-0 run which pushed the lead to 31-13 in the opening minutes of the second. Indiana State (2-12 overall, 0-2 MVC) had back-to-back hoops before Petree's third three-pointer of the second quarter gave the Braves a 39-23 advantage nearing the five-minute mark in the stanza as she scored 20 points in a stretch of eight minutes and 20 seconds. Bradley, which shot 65.4 percent in the half, held a 46-27 lead at the break.
The Braves owned its biggest lead of the day at 64-40 with 3:41 left in the third after a Petree basket and would go on to cruise to the 91-75 victory.
Petree was an impressive 13-of-19 from the field and made four of eight three-pointers in addition to collecting three blocks to help highlight the victory. The Bradley starters were a combined 32-for-45 (71.1 percent) from the field with each scoring seven or more points. Senior Chelsea Brackmann finished with nine points and six rebounds, while sophomore Tatum Koenig dished out six assists to go with her seven points.
Bradley is 11-2 to start a season for the first time since 2008-09 (13-2) and just the third time in program history. The 2001-02 squad opened its season with nine consecutive victories and was 11-2 through 13 contests.
Jamyra McChristine finished one rebound short of a double-double and paced four Indiana State players in double figures with 19 points.
Bradley closes out a season-long, three-game home stand Friday, hosting I-74 rival Illinois State in a 7 p.m. game between a pair of teams that are 2-0 in MVC play.