Box Score

PEORIA, Ill. - Host Bradley overcame a slow start on the offensive end to defeat Loyola by a final score of 66-57 this evening inside Renaissance Coliseum in Peoria, Ill. With the win, the Braves sweep the regular season series with Loyola, improving to 5-20 overall (4-10 Missouri Valley), while the Ramblers drop to 4-21 (2-12 Missouri Valley).

After Becca Smith and Michelle Young traded three-pointers to open the game, Loyola took off on a 9-0 run, capped off by another Smith triple, to take a 12-3 lead with nearly six minutes gone. Bradley began to chip away shortly after, getting back to within five (14-9) on a Young jumper at the 12:35 mark. Whitney Tinjum's first triple of the evening had the Braves down by only a single point (15-14) two minutes later.

Tamya Sims rattled home a mid-range shot to tie the game at 19 all with 5:44 to play in the first half. Taylor Johnson answered back on Loyola's next possession, spotting up to knock down a three-point shot to put the Ramblers back on top by three (22-19). A Sameia Kendall old-fashioned three-point play under a minute later tied the game (22-22) again and ignited a spurt that saw Bradley score ten unanswered points to jump on top by seven (29-22) with 2:09 remaining in the half. Loyola answered back with seven of the half's final nine points to cut the Braves' lead to 31-29 entering halftime.

Despite its fast start on the offensive end, Loyola wrapped up the first 20 minutes at only 31% (9-of-29) from the field, while Bradley operated at a 41% clip (11-of-27). Smith led all scorers in the opening stanza with 15 points on five-of-eight shooting, highlighted by knocking down three-of-five shots from beyond the three-point arc. Johnson chipped in nine points and a team-high five rebounds. Simone Law and Ryaen Johnson both battled in the paint as each recorded a pair of blocks. Sims paced the Braves with 12 points in the first half.

Baskets from Johnson and Law on consecutive trips tied the game on a pair of different occasions in the early minutes of the second half before Bradley used a 13-0 run to take its largest lead of the game (46-33) with just over six minutes gone. Back-to-back layups from Molly Crosby whittled the deficit back into single digits (46-37) at the 12:28 mark of the second half. Danielle Brewer knocked down her only shot of the night on the ensuing Bradley possession to bump the lead back into double figures (49-37) at the under 12-minute media timeout (11:52).

A Johnson score out of the restart looked to give the Ramblers life as Loyola attempted to mount a comeback with the half entering its middle stages. Smith drove to the basket and converted to get the Bradley lead back down under ten points again (49-41) with 11:13 to play. Tiana Karopulos answered a Whitney Tinjum triple with back-to-back buckets of her own to cut the margin to only five points (51-46) with 8:27 remaining in regulation. Following a split at the charity stripe from Crosby that reduced Bradley's lead to four (51-47), the homestanding Braves put home seven of the next eight points to bump their lead back up to ten (58-48), the last two of which came on a Shareece Burrell drive and score, with 5:13 left in the half. Loyola could get no closer than seven points for the remainder of the game as Bradley picked up its fifth victory of the season.

Smith finished with a game-high 20 points, one off her season-high of 21, set against DePaul back on Dec. 17. She was joined in double figures by Johnson, who scored 16 points of her own. Law closed the night with a team-best ten rebounds. Sims led a group of three Braves to score in double figures with 16 points.

Loyola returns to the friendly confines of Gentile Arena on Friday evening (Feb. 27) to begin its final homestand of the regular season. In-state rival Illinois State will provide the opposition in a game slated for a 7 p.m. tip-off in Rogers Park.