PEORIA, Ill. -- The Indiana State women's basketball team suffered a tough road loss to Bradley, 59-54, at Lorene Ramsey Gym on Thursday night. With the loss, ISU drops to 11-8 (2-6 MVC) on the season.
Senior Kelsey Luna, playing her 100th career game, led the way with 15 points and seven rebounds. The St. Louis, Mo., native connected on three shots from long range and added six steals and a career-high-tying six assists on the night.
Sophomore Shannon Thomas also reached double-figure scoring for the Sycamores with 10 points and seven boards of her own. Sophomore Brittany Schoen and freshman Taylor Whitley added nine points apiece, with Schoen hitting three 3-pointers in the second half.
Bradley's Sonya Harris finished with 10 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks. Hanna Muegge totaled 19 points on four 3-pointers, while Katie Yohn contributed 11 points for the Braves.
ISU took a 6-2 lead on a layup from Thomas and a 3-pointer by Luna, and BU responded with five points from Muegge. After a jumper from Luna, Harris put the Braves back up by three. Thomas then hit a shot, to make it 11-10, but Bradley went on a 15-0 run over the next 10 minutes before ISU would score again. Free throws from sophomore Deja Mattox and freshman Krista Smith, as well as back-to-back jump shots from junior Kelsie Cooley and Thomas, put the score at 28-17 at the half.
The Sycamores came out shooting in the second half, overtaking the11-point deficit by the first timeout. Thomas and Cooley worked inside to combine for seven points, and Luna tied it up at 31-all with a triple. The senior hit another shot and Schoen dropped in her first trey of the night, putting ISU up by six. Consecutive 3-pointers by Muegge and Yohn tied the game again, but a second Schoen shot from downtown made it 43-42.
Bradley then took a six-point advantage in the final minutes, with Whitley and Schoen each answering to bring the Sycamores within one on two occasions. The Braves pushed it to 59-51 on four points by Muegge and two from Harris, and shots from Whitley, who finished a perfect 5-for-5 from the free throw line, were not enough to make up the difference. BU left with a 59-54 win, dashing the Sycamores' hopes of a three-game win streak after last week's victories over Evansville and Southern Illinois.
Indiana State returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 30 at Northern Iowa. Tipoff is set for 5:05 p.m. (ET) in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
