PEORIA, Ill. – Indiana State women's basketball was unable to close the regular season with a victory despite a career-night from Jasmine Elder, falling to Bradley 80-58 on Saturday.
 
Elder led the Sycamores (5-14, 2-12 MVC) on the offensive side of the court, tallying a career-high 23 points while shooting 8-of-17 from the floor and 3-of-6 from three-point range. She ended as the only ISU athlete in double-figures.
 
As a team Indiana State ended the evening 21-of-62 (33.9%) from the field and connected on 5-of-14 (35.7%) from deep, with Sommer Pitzer being the only other Sycamore to knock-down a triple.
 
Bradley (14-11, 10-8 MVC) got an impressive offensive performance from Missouri Valley Conference Preseason Player of the Year, Lasha Petree, who led all scorers with 28 points. Nyjah White and Gabi Haack each ended with double-doubles for the Braves as well at 15 points and 14 rebounds, and 14 points and 13 rebounds, respectively.
 
It was once again a dominant outing for Bradley on the boards, ending Saturday with a 55-31 advantage over the Trees. Jamyra McChristine led the Indiana State effort with seven rebounds while Adrian Folks added six and Pitzer pulled-down five.
 
Defensively, the Blue & White managed to force Bradley into 16 turnovers while also collecting 10 steals of their own. Senior Marie Hunter swiped four steals to lead ISU and Folks managed to come-up with three of her own.
 
In a complete opposite start from Friday evening, the Sycamores wasted no time to get their offense going on Saturday. After giving up an early triple, the Trees used a 6-0 run to shoot out to a three-point advantage, helped by an Elder triple. The sophomore ended with a pair of threes in the period.
 
The Braves responded, opening up a 21-15 lead late in the period, but floor general Pitzer drained a shot from two-feet behind half court as time expired to give the Blue & White momentum heading into the second period, trailing 21-18.
 
Indiana State continued to battle into the second quarter, using a quick triple and split at the charity stripe from Elder to pull within one less than two minutes into the period. The Braves would end the half on a 12-3 run, however, to take a 10-point advantage into the half. Despite the halftime deficit, the Sycamores managed to hold Bradley to just 4-of-14 (28.6%) from deep in the first half.
 
Cold shooting wouldn't last for the Braves, as the opposition used a 23-11 third quarter to open the game up and hold on for the victory in the Valley finale.
 
The Sycamores now turn their attention to Hoops in the Heartland in Moline, Ill., where they will play in the opening round on Thursday. If Evansville falls at Missouri State later this evening, the Trees will be locked-in as the nine seed and play Southern Illinois at 5:30 p.m. ET. If the Purple Aces are victorious, Indiana State would finish 10th and play at 8:30 p.m. ET on Thursday.
 
For the latest information on the Sycamore Women's Basketball team, make sure to check out GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.