NORMAL, Ill. – Sophomore Lasha Petree scored a game-high 22 points to pace four Bradley players in double figures and senior Chelsea Brackmann scored her 1,000th-career point as the duo helped the Braves complete the regular-season sweep of I-74 rival Illinois State with a 66-62 victory Friday at Redbird Arena.
Petree broke out of a slump in a big way, connecting on four three-pointers to score a game-high 22 points to help Bradley (17-4 overall, 8-2 MVC) to its third consecutive road win in the series and fifth victory in the last seven tires at Redbird Arena. The Braves remain tied with Drake for second in the MVC standings at 8-2, one game back of first-place Missouri State.
Junior Nyjah White added 17 points and a team-high eight rebounds, while Brackmann (12 points) and junior Gabi Haack (10 points) were also in double figures. Brackmann became the 20th player in program history to score 1,000 career points. Haack moved up one spot on BU's career scoring chart, passing Michelle Young for 13th and now has 1,064 career points.
Bradley shot 40 percent in the first quarter, but committed five turnovers in the opening 10 minutes. Illinois State scored the first four points of the contest before back-to-back baskets by Brackmann. A 7-2 BU spurt which included a White hoop and back-to-back three's by Haack and Petree, gave the Braves a 14-11 advantage. The teams were knotted at 15-15 at the end of the opening period.
White opened the scoring in the second with a hoop on Bradley's first possession to put the Braves back ahead 17-15. Illinois State's Lexi Wallen scored on consecutive Redbird possessions, however, as Illinois State went back front 19-17. After calling a timeout early in the second quarter, Bradley held the Redbirds without a field goal for the final eight minutes of the period.
Illinois State (13-8 overall, 5-5 MVC) led 23-22 after a pair of Tete Maggett free throws when Bradley took control with a 12-0 run. Haack started the run with a three-pointer and driving layup. Petree hit her third three-pointer of the night and Brackmann hit a mid-range jumper with 1:23 on the clock for her 1,000th-career point. A White hoop capped the spurt nearing the one-minute mark as the Braves eventually led 34-25 at the half.
Bradley managed to stretch the lead to 12 points (48-36) midway through the third quarter. White had three consecutive BU hoops and Petree added her fourth three-pointer of the game as Bradley led 48-36 with 4:46 left in the stanza. The Bradley lead was 50-39 when Illinois State used a 9-2 spurt to close the period and cut the Braves advantage to 52-48 heading to the fourth.
Illinois State held Bradley to just two points over the first four minutes of the fourth, cutting the deficit to two at 54-52. The Braves got a bit of breathing room when Brackmann got free inside for layups on back-to-back trips down the floor to push the advantage back to seven (63-56) closing in on the two-minute mark.
The BU lead was 64-58 with 35.6 seconds after White split a pair of free throws, but a quick hoop by Maggett kept the ISU hopes alive. Bradley missed a pair of free throws after a Redbird foul and Maggett had another basket with 13.6 seconds remaining to make it a two-point game at 64-62. Haack sealed the victory with a pair of free throws with 11.8 seconds on the clock as Bradley closed out the 66-62 win to improve to 5-3 in road games on the year.
Juliunn Redmond led Illinois State with 18 points and 11 rebounds off the bench, while Lexi Wallen added a double-double of her own (17 points & 10 rebounds). Maggett (12 points) and Paige Saylor (10 points) were also in double figures for the Redbirds.
Bradley returns to Renaissance Coliseum next week, opening a two-game home stand Friday, Feb. 14 with a 7 p.m. contest against Valparaiso.