PEORIA, Ill. – The Bradley women's basketball team outscored Illinois State, 19-5, in the fourth quarter to claim a 76-61 victory over the Redbirds on Friday night at the Renaissance Coliseum.
The Braves improve to 12-2 (3-0 MVC) on the year while ISU drops to 10-4 (2-1 MVC) in their first conference loss.
Junior Juliunn Redmond finished with a team-best 20 points and added four rebounds, shooting 7-of-12 (.583) from the floor and 3-of-4 (.750) from behind the arc.
Seniors Lexi Wallen (15 points, seven rebounds) and TeTe Maggett (10 points, eight rebounds) joined Redmond in double figures. Maggett also dished out a team-high four assists.
Bradley's Lasha Petree had a game-high 24 points and a career-high six blocks in the victory.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The 'Birds jumped out to a 22-16 lead in the first quarter, with Redmond collecting 10 of her 20 points in that period. The junior went 4-of-5 (.800) from the field and hit two triples to pace the Redbirds early.
Bradley erased the six-point lead quickly, going on a 9-2 run to begin the second period that included back-to-back field goals by Chelsea Braackman. Illinois State held on and took a 33-31 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Wallen led the Redbirds in the third quarter, recording nine points in just the first three minutes of the period. Both teams posted field goal percentages above 60 percent in the third quarter, with the Braves earning a one-point lead after a jumper by Braackman with only four seconds remaining.
After shooting 61.4% in the third period, the 'Birds went cold and did not record a field goal the rest of the game. ISU's five fourth quarter points came as a result of free throws from Redmond, Wallen and Paige Saylor.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Illinois State was limited to only five points in the fourth quarter, a team season-low for points in a period.
- The Braves capitalized on ISU's 13 turnovers, scoring 20 points from them.
- Bradley's starting five were the only contributors for the Braves, as no one from their bench scored any points.
QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH KRISTEN GILLESPIE
On leading scorer JuJu Redmond: "JuJu played really well. She stepped up and embraced the moment tonight. We need to get better, and everyone needs to get better on both sides of the ball. As a whole, we will be better the next time we play them (Bradley)."
Moving forward: "It was a physical game, but we cannot concede position. A lot of our focus was to limit their guards, but we have great film to watch after this. Tonight's game is how every game is going to be in our league this season and that's the beauty of it."
UP NEXT
The Redbirds will enjoy a break on Sunday from conference action, before continuing the three-game road trip at Valparaiso and Loyola Chicago next Friday and Sunday, respectively.
For all latest on Illinois State women's basketball, stay tuned at GoRedbirds.com and follow the team at @RedbirdWBB (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram).
GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App: Your sources for Illinois State tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
