Box Score CARBONDALE, Ill. - Sophomore Hanna Muegge (Hopkins, Minn./Hopkins) scored 10 consecutive points in the second half to help Bradley blow open a seven-point contest and help the Braves pull away from Southern Illinois en route to a 60-45 victory at SIU Arena Sunday.
Both teams got off to slow starts offensively, but Bradley (12-9 overall, 8-3 MVC) had an early lead at 15-12 with 7:21 remaining in the first half. Freshman Brooke Bisping (Morton, Ill./Morton) and senior Renee Frericks (Wyoming, Minn./Forest Lake) connected on back-to-back three-pointers to highlight a 12-2 BU run which pushed Bradley's lead to 27-14 with 3:45 left in the opening half. The Braves led 31-19 when SIU's Teri Oliver banked in a three-pointer at the buzzer from just beyond half court to trim BU's lead to 31-22 at the break.
Southern Illinois (4-17 overall, 3-8 MVC) scored the first four points of the second half and trailed 31-26 when Bradley used a 13-1 run capped by five consecutive points by sophomore Leah Kassing (Mt. Sterling, Ill./Brown County) to push its lead to 44-27 with 11:30 on the clock.
The Salukis answered with 10 consecutive points to pull to within seven at 44-37 when Muegge would take over. Harris hit a jumper in the lane as the shot clocked expired to end the SIU run and Muegge scored the next 10 BU points to highlight a 14-2 run as Bradley pushed its advantage to 58-39 with just under four minutes to play to put the game out of reach.
Bradley picked up its fourth consecutive road win and improved to 4-2 on the road in Missouri Valley Conference play. The win also kept the Braves in a tie with Creighton and Missouri State for second place in the Valley standings at 8-3.
Muegge scored 14 of her game-high 17 points in the second half to lead the Braves. Junior Sonya Harris (Riverdale, Ill./Thorton) was 8-for-12 from the field and finished with 16 points, nine rebounds and two blocked shots as she helped Bradley to a 43-34 rebounding advantage.
SIU's Christine Presswood was second in the MVC in scoring entering the contest, but was limited to just four points on 1-for-5 shooting. Katrina Swingler and Teri Oliver paced the Salukis in scoring with 12 points each. The Braves held Southern Illinois to 33.3 percent shooting, including just 2-of-14 from three-point range. SIU entered the game averaging six three-point makes per outing and ranked third in The Valley in three-point field goal percentage.
Bradley will close out a three-game road swing Saturday with a 3:05 p.m. game at Northern Iowa.
