CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – Senior Chelsea Brackmann returned to the lineup after missing Thursday's game at Drake due to illness to score a team-high 15 points to pace four Braves in double figures, but Bradley Women's Basketball was unable to overcome a strong second-half surge from Northern Iowa as the Panthers claimed a 64-57 victory Saturday afternoon at the McLeod Center.
Brackmann moved into 14th in career scoring at Bradley, passing Michelle Young on the all-time scoring chart with her 15-point effort and also had seven rebounds, two assists and a pair of blocks. Sophomore Tatum Koenig put in another strong effort against teams from her home state, with the West Branch, Iowa, native knocking down four three-pointers for the second straight game to finish with 14 points.
Junior Nyjah White notched her second double-double of the season (12 points & 10 rebounds), while sophomore Lasha Petree was also in double figures with 10 points.
Bradley (19-6 overall, 10-4 MVC) held Northern Iowa (16-10 overall, 8-7 MVC) to just 21 points in the first half on 24 percent shooting, but the Panthers shot 50 percent in the second half, including 6-of-11 from beyond the arc after UNI was 2-for-18 from deep in the opening 20 minutes.
In the first quarter, Bradley used a trio of three-pointers to keep pace despite shooting 29 percent from the field in the period. Koenig made a pair of trey's during the first and Petree added one of her own as the Braves trailed 14-11 after the opening 10 minutes.
Bradley opened the second quarter with a 13-2 run to go in front 24-16. Brackmann had six points during the spurt and Koenig added her third three-pointer of game to highlight the run. Points were at a premium over the final four minutes of the period, however, with the squads combining for just nine points over the final 4:20 of the half. Northern Iowa pulled to within five at 26-21 on a Nicole Kroeger three-pointer nearing the one-minute mark. A mid-range jumper by White with 43 seconds left would give the Braves a 28-21 lead at the break.
UNI was 3-of-6 from three-point range in the third quarter and held the Braves to 20 percent shooting in the period. Bradley led 36-31 after a Brackmann free throw with 4:41 left in the third, but the Panthers closed the period with a 10-2 run to take a 41-38 lead heading to the fourth.
Bradley opened the scoring in the fourth with a White layup, only to have UNI answer with seven straight to push the advantage to 48-40 nearing the six-minute mark. Back-to-back Brackmann hoops cut it to a four-point Northern Iowa lead at 48-44 closing in on five minutes to play.
Cynthia Wolf answered with a three-pointer for UNI to push the lead back to seven (51-44) and Bradley managed just one basket over a four-and-a-half minute stretch following the Brackmann hoop that cut it to four with 5:40 on the clock. The Panthers lead was back to eight (54-46) on a Karli Rucker three-pointer with just under three minutes left.
Northern Iowa made 8-of-10 free throws in the final 90 seconds to hold off the Bradley rally attempt as the Panthers improved to 10-2 at home with the 64-57 victory.
Rucker was the lone Northern Iowa player in double figures, scoring a game-high 16 points.
Bradley returns to Renaissance Coliseum for the final home stand of the year, opening the stretch Thursday with a 7 p.m. game against Southern Illinois.