SPRINGFIELD, Mo. ? Freshman guard Michelle Lund (Sioux City, Iowa/Bishop Heelan) nailed six three-pointers and sophomore Raisa Taylor (Decatur, Ill./Eisenhower) matched Lund with a team-best 18 points to help the Bradley women's basketball team to its fifth consecutive victory as the Braves topped Missouri State 68-59 Sunday afternoon at JQH Arena. BU (11-2 overall, 2-0 MVC) opened MVC play with consecutive wins for the first time since the 1996-97 season and the five-game win streak is the longest since winning nine consecutive games in 2001-02.
Both teams got off to slow starts from the field, with the Braves making just 2-of-9 from the field to open the contest. Bradley heated up, making six of its next 11 shots to take a 25-24 lead with 4:51 to play in the first half.
BU went nearly four minutes without a field goal, and the Lady Bears took advantage, using a seven point run to cut BU's lead to 25-20. Senior Monica Rogers (Forsyth, Ill./St. Teresa/Hampton) had buckets on consecutive possessions to end the drought and help the Braves to a 29-22 halftime lead.
Bradley committed seven turnovers in the first 8:30 of the second half, allowing Missouri State to trim the lead to three points (40-37) with just under 12 minutes to play. Sophomore Raisa Taylor scored five points to highlight an eight-point BU spurt to put Bradley in front 48-37.
Missouri State (4-9 overall, 0-2 MVC) made one last push, cutting the Braves advantage to 58-52 with under three minutes remaining. Junior Skye Johnson (Olympia Fields, Ill./Marian Catholic) was held to two points for the first 37 minutes of play, but came up big in the clutch with a three-pointer to open an 8-1 Bradley run which put the game out of reach.
Johnson, who finished with eight points and eight assists, got a block on the next Missouri State possession and made a pair of free throws with 1:55 to play to push BU's lead back to double digits (63-52). Taylor capped the decisive run with a three-pointer to match the Braves largest lead of the afternoon at 66-53 with 1:11 left as the Braves posted its second win in the last three trips to Springfield, Mo.
Lund connected on 6-of-11 three-point attempts, matching a season high with her six trey's and finished with 18 points. Taylor made 8-of-11 from the field to also finish with 18 points and added two assists and three steals in 25 minutes off the bench. Rogers finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds for her team-leading fifth double-double of the year.
Bradley shot 51.9 percent from the field in the second half and finished the game with a 46.4 field goal percentage. Helped by Lund's 6-for-11 shooting from beyond the arc, the Braves finished 8-for-17 from three-point range.
Sophomore Sonya Harris (Riverdale, Ill./Thornton) helped lead the Braves defensive efforts, collecting a season-high six blocks and a steal. Missouri State shot 32.8 percent from the field, including a 2-for-16 effort from three-point range. Harris also pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds as the Braves outrebounded their opponent for the 13th time in as many games.
Freshman guard Casey Garrison led the Lady Bears with a game-high 21 points in addition to her eight assists. Jasmine Malone was the only other Missouri State player in double figures, scoring 13 points.
Bradley returns to action Friday when the Braves play host to Southern Illinois at 7:05 p.m. at Lorene Ramsey Gym in East Peoria, Ill. Friday's game will be televised in the Peoria area on WTVP.
