MACOMB, Ill. – Brittany Demery and Anne Borgertpoepping each scored 13 points, but Western Illinois was unable to overcome a nine point halftime deficit in a 62-55 loss to Bradley on Tuesday, Dec. 7 at Western Hall.

The Fighting Leathernecks (1-7) fell behind early as the Braves (6-3) scored the first six points of the contest. Western was able to piece together a 9-0 run from the 18:06 mark to the 15:42 mark to take a 9-6 lead.

Bradley put together a 10-0 run over the next three minutes to take the lead back at 16-9. Western Illinois would respond with its own double-digit run of 11-0 to jump in front by a 20-16 score.

The four-point lead would mark the last time the Leathernecks would lead during the contest as Bradley outscored Western 16-3 over the final nine minutes and went to the locker room with a 32-23 halftime lead.

“Our kids battled tonight and played very hard but our shots did not fall tonight," said head coach Leslie Crane. "We outscored them in the second half but they held a huge advantage on the boards with their size.”

The Braves finished the first half 13-for-27 (.481) from the floor while holding the Leathernecks to just 8-for-27 (.296). Despite the first-half offensive struggles, Demery finished 4-for-4 with eight points in the first 20 minutes.

Western Illinois was able to cut the deficit to three points or less eight times in the second half, but Bradley converted 12-of-15 attempts from the charity stripe, including 7-of-8 in the final minute to secure the win.

“We always find ourselves fighting back in the second half and each game we are getting closer but we just have to get over that hump," said Borgertpoepping. "Once we can do that, we will get some wins.”

The Leathernecks finished 19-for-62 (.306) for the game, but posted a solid 14-for-19 from the free throw line. The Braves went 22-for-50 (.440) from the floor and were 16-for-20 (.800) from the line.

Demery ended the game 5-for-7 with 13 points and six rebounds while Borgertpoepping was 5-for-12 with 12 points, three boards and three steals. Michele Salvatori scored 11 points to put her in double-figures for the fifth game in a row.

“We pushed the ball more to get into a flow offensively and that created a lot of open looks," said Demery. "We executed offensively and that helped me.”

Raisa Taylor led Bradley in scoring with 22 points while Leah Klassing picked up seven points and pulled down nine rebounds. Taylor scored 18 points in the second half.

The Braves out-rebounded the Leathernecks by a 48-29 margin including 35 defensive rebounds. Despite the rebounding differential, Western Illinois forced Bradley into 28 turnovers. The Leathernecks also held Katie Yohn to just six points, eight below her season average.

“We had a lot of people score tonight and had three in double figures again. The more balanced we are, the more difficult we are to stop," said Crane. "You have to give Valencia Kelly kudos for her defensive play as of late. She was a big reason why we were able to come back tonight.”

The Leathernecks will return to against William Woods at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday at Western Hall. It will mark the fourth contest in a five-game home stand.