It was a night of streak-stopping in MVC women's basketball action, highlighted by Southern Illinois ending its 25-game road losing streak, as the Salukis toppped Evansville, 65-63.  Creighton also ended Illinois State's 15-game winning streak, as the Bluejays topped the Redbirds, 60-57, handing Illinois State just their second loss in league play.  Drake halted Indiana State's five-game winning streak, while Missouri State took out UNI, winning its 20th game for the first time since 2004-05.  In the Valley's final game on Thursday night, Bradley downed visiting Wichita State, 58-55. 

SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 65, EVANSVILLE 63
SIU (5-23, 4-14 MVC); UE (4-25, 1-17 MVC)

EVANSVILLE, Ind. - Southern Illinois' Stephany Neptune scored a career-high 28 points, including the game-winning jumper with 53 seconds left to lead the Salukis past Evansville Thursday night in Missouri Valley Conference play, 65-63.

Neptune added 17 rebounds, seven assists, two blocks and a steal to help end a 25-game road losing streak for the Salukis (5-23, 4-14 MVC) dating back to December 2008, 11 months before the senior transfer ever put on a maroon jersey.

The Purple Aces (4-25, 1-17 MVC) led by as many as eight points with just under nine minutes the play before the Salukis used an 11-to-4 run spurred by four straight Neptune buckets to pull the game within one in favor or the Aces, 59-58.

Southern would take the lead 62-61 on another Neptune jumper at 2:29, Evansville answering with a layup on its next trip down the floor.

Neptune would hit one of two free throws with two minutes left in the game to tie it at 63, before she broke the tie with her game-deciding bucket. The Aces missed two layups down the stretch to send the game to overtime, extending their largest losing streak of the season to 10 games.

Katrina Swingler and Christine Presswood pitched in 11 points each, Swingler adding six boards and Presswood two assists.

The Salukis tied a season-low 12 turnovers, with just two in the second half, out-rebounding the Aces by eight 46-to-38.


CREIGHTON 60, ILLINOIS STATE 57
CU (17-9, 12-5 MVC); ILS (22-6, 15-2 MVC)

OMAHA, Neb. - Megan Neuvirth made sure she and her fellow seniors enjoyed their Senior Night, by leading the Creighton women's basketball team with 18 points and 12 rebounds in a 60-57 win over Illinois State Thursday night at D.J. Sokol Arena.  The win snapped ISU's 15-game winning streak and gave the Jays the season sweep over the Redbirds.
 
Creighton is the only MVC team to defeat the regular-season champions his season, as the Redbirds fell to 15-2 in Valley play, 22-6 overall in defeat.  The Jays moved to 17-9 overall and remain tied for second in The Valley at 12-5.
 
The Bluejays won despite missing their first eight field goal attempts and making 1-of-14 from the field to start the game.  Illinois State had its own shooting woes, as it could not build any more than a four-point lead during Creighton's slow start.  The Redbirds were up 8-4 seven minutes into the game, but the Jays scored six straight to take their first lead of the game with 11:32 left in the half.
 
Creighton led by as many as six during the first half and took a 23-19 lead into halftime, despite shooting only 17.1 percent from the field (6-35).  ISU was just 7-of-29 (.241) and 0-for-6 from three-point range in the first half.  CU out-rebounded ISU 28-26 in the first half and converted nine Redbird turnovers into 12 points.
 
ISU came out of halftime aggressive, grabbing the first six rebounds of the half, while regaining a four-point lead just over four minutes into the stanza, up 29-25 after a pair of Nicolle Lewis free-throws.
 
Creighton answered with a 14-0 run and would never trail again.  Kelsey Woodard started the run with an old-fashioned three-point play and the Jays hit 5-of-7 shots during the run, including three-pointers from Neuvirth, Woodard and Sam Schuett.  Woodard's trey with 13:42 to play put the Jays up 39-29. 
 
ISU pulled within four, before the Jays pushed to their largest lead of the game, up 54-43 with 4:54 left.  The Redbirds responded with a 10-0 run to bring the score to 54-53 with 37 seconds left.  Neuvirth would secure the win by going 6-for-6 from the free-throw line in the final 35 seconds.  The Jays avoided disaster when they turned the ball over with six seconds to play, allowing ISU a chance to tie the game, but Katie Broadway's desperation three-point attempt was no good at the buzzer.
 
Both teams shot better in the second half, as ISU hit 14-of-29 shots (.483) after the break, compared to Creighton's 12-of-28 (.429) from the field.  The Jays hit 4-of-8 three-pointers after the half and finished 7-of-15 (.467) from long range in the game.  ISU made only 1-of-14 (.071) three-pointers in defeat.
 
Creighton shot just 28.6 percent (18-63) in the game, but made all nine of its free-throw attempts in the second half to hold on for the win.
 
Neuvirth not only led the Jays with 18 points and 12 boards for her fifth double-double of the year and 18th of her career, but she also led the team with three assists and two steals.  She made a career-high nine free-throws on 10 attempts to overcome her 4-for-15 day from the field.
 
Schuett chipped in 11 points, making all three of her three-point attempts.  Herring and Woodard each had nine points.
 
Ashleen Bracey led the Redbirds with 17 points, while Lewis had 15 rebounds and 13 points for the visitors.
 
Creighton will wrap up its regular-season with a home game against Indiana State on Saturday afternoon at 2:05 p.m.


MISSOURI STATE 95, UNI 79
MSU (20-8, 12-5 MVC); UNI (13-15, 9-8 MVC)

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - The Missouri State Lady Bears built an early double-digit lead and never let up on the UNI Panthers, running away with a 95-79 victory Thursday evening at the McLeod Center. MSU, which notched its 20th win of the season, shot a blistering .633 from the field and forced 12 UNI turnovers in the first half to establish a lead that the Panthers would never seriously threaten.Casey Garrison led all scorers with 24 points on 10-of-18 shooting, while handing out six assists and playing 38 minutes without a turnover. Christiana Shorter also came up big for MSU, posting a double-double consisting of a career-high 22 points and 10 rebounds.
 
The Lady Bears came out of the gate blazing hot, connecting on seven of their first 10 attempts from the floor to build a 17-2 lead by the first media timeout. Jaleshia Roberson kicked off the scoring with a three-pointer from the right wing, then converted an old-fashioned three-point play at the 16:09 mark to start a 12-0 run for MSU. Jasmine Malone then tossed in the first of her two three-pointers in the period to stretch the margin to 15 points with 14:12 to play.
 
MSU would push their lead to 21-4 on another Roberson basket before UNI would respond with a 6-0 spurt to climb back to within 11.
 
Another Malone triple made it a 14 point game, and a Garrison three-point play moments later would take the Lady Bear lead to 33-15 at the 7:25 mark. UNI used a 10-3 run to pull to within 11, but the Lady Bears would score 11 of the final 14 points in the half to take a 51-32 lead-their largest lead of the half-into the locker room.
 
Garrison, who handed out all six of her assists in the opening period, led all first-half scorers with 13 points, while Roberson chipped in 11.
 
After the Lady Bears got an Aly Stock jumper with 18;50 remaining on the clock to push their lead to 20, UNI got back-to-back threes from Jacqui Kalin and Nicole Clausen to pull to within 14.
 
The two clubs would trade blows throughout the half, but MSU would hold UNI at bay. The Panthers never got closer than 11 down the stretch, as the Lady Bears put the game on ice by converting 19-of-21 second-half free throw attempts.
 
MSU would finish the night 31-of-58 (.534) from the floor to go along with a 28-of-33 (.848) effort at the charity stripe. The Lady Bears capitalized on 18 UNI turnovers to finish with a 30-12 advantage in points off turnovers.
 
With the victory, the Lady Bears wrapped up at least a fourth-place finish in the MVC regular-season race, heading into Saturday's season finale at Bradley tied with Creighton for second place with an 12-5 conference mark. The win also gave MSU its first 20-win season since 2004-05.
 
Roberson and Malone also finished in double figures for the Lady Bears, tallying 18 and 14 points, respectively.
 
Kalin led UNI (13-15, 9-8 MVC) with 20 points, and Kim Wypiszinski totaled 14 for the Panthers.
 
Up next, the Lady Bears (20-8, 12-5 MVC) will close the regular season Saturday afternoon with a 2:05 p.m., contest against Bradley in East Peoria, Ill.


BRADLEY 58, WICHITA STATE 55
BU (15-12, 11-6 MVC); WSU (16-12, 8-9 MVC)

EAST PEORIA, Ill. - Junior Raisa Taylor celebrated her birthday by turning in her third career double-double as she collected 19 points and 11 rebounds to help Bradley to a 58-55 victory over Wichita State Thursday at Lorene Ramsey Gym.

With Bradley trailing 52-51, Taylor scored four of her game-high 19 points in the closing 1:38 to highlight the win.  The Braves improved to 15-12 overall and 11-6 in the Valley while locking up one of the top four seeds in next week's State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.  Bradley is fourth in the Valley standings after the victory, one game behind Creighton and Missouri State which both improved to 12-5 in the league with wins Thursday night. 

Bradley scored the first 11 points of the game and led by as many as 14 points in the first half, before Wichita State (16-12 overall, 8-9 MVC) would rally.  The Braves led 28-15 with 5:37 remaining in the first half when Wichita State capitalized on a four-and-a-half minute BU scoring drought. 

The Shockers used an 11-0 run of their own to pull to within two points (28-26) with two minutes left before halftime.  Bradley scored its final five points of the half from the free throw line and did not make a field goal in the final 6:23 of the period, but managed to hold a 31-28 lead at the break.

The Braves opened the second half with a 10-2 spurt to build a 41-30 lead in the opening minutes of the second half.  Wichita State heated up, connecting on 6-of-9 second-half three-point attempts and chipped away at BU's lead.  Bradley held a 51-42 lead after sophomore MacKenzie Westcott (Williamsburg, Iowa/Williamsburg) made a jumper in the lane near the seven-minute mark.

The Shockers took their only lead of the contest when Chynna Turner connected on a three-pointer with 1:45 to play to cap a 10-0 WSU run which put Wichita State in front 52-51.

Taylor made a pair of free throws with 1:38 to go to put Bradley back in front 53-52 and freshman Katie Yohn followed a Shocker turnover with her only three-pointer of the night to give Bradley a four-point edge (56-52) with 1:07 on the clock.

Wichita State answered with its ninth three-pointer of the game to pull to within one point (56-55), but Taylor sealed the game with a driving layup with 24 seconds remaining to put the game out of reach as the Shockers came up empty on their final two possessions.

Taylor matched a career-high with 11 rebounds and scored a game-high 19 points.  Senior Jenny Van Kirk grabbed a career-high 11 boards and also added 13 points and three assists for the second double-double of her career.  Harris added six points, nine rebounds, six blocked shots and two steals to help highlight the win.

Four Wichita State players scored in double figures, paced by Haleigh Lankster's 12 points off the bench.  Marisah Henderson dished out six assists and came away with four steals to go along with her 11 points.  The Shockers turned 22 Bradley turnovers into a 25-11 edge in points off turnovers, but the Braves dominated the glass.  BU outrebounded the Shockers 46-28 and scored 14 second-chance points.

Bradley closes out the regular season Saturday with a 2:05 p.m. game against Missouri State at Lorene Ramsey Gym. 


DRAKE 77, INDIANA STATE 58
DU (14-13, 7-10 MVC); INS (16-12, 7-10 MVC)

DES MOINES, Iowa - Junior Kristin Turk scored a career-high 28 points to lead Drake to a 77-58 Missouri Valley Conference victory over Indiana State. The Drake win snapped a five game winning streak for the Sycamores and halted a two game winless streak by the Bulldogs.
 
Turk started slow with just four points in the first half, but exploded for 24 on eight-of-11 shooting in the second half. The junior shot a career-best 10-of-17 from the floor.
 
The Sycamores were able to shave the Drake lead to one point, 46-45, at the nine minute mark of the second half, but Turk scored eight points in a 10-2 Drake run that blew the game open.
 
Seniors Jordann Plummer and Monique' Jones scored 11 points each. Plummer added nine assists and a steal. Jones pulled down six boards. Sophomore Rachael Hackbarth also scored 11 and added eight rebounds while hitting a career-best seven-of-nine free throws.
 
Neither team shot well to begin the game, with the contest's first field goal, a Jones layup, coming at the 14:36 mark of the first half. The Sycamores did not score a field goal until the 11:59 mark. Drake outshot Indiana State 43.3 percent to 24.1 percent in the first half and 43.9 percent to 31.1 percent for the game.
 
The win gave Drake a series sweep over Indiana State, its first over the Sycamores since the 2001-02 season.
 
Drake improved its record to 14-13 overall and 7-10 in the Missouri Valley Conference. The win moved the Bulldogs into a tie with Indiana State for the seventh seed in next week's State Farm MVC Tournament. Drake holds the tiebreaker by way of the series sweep.
 
The Bulldogs host Illinois State Saturday at 2:05 p.m. in their final home game. Plummer and Jones will be honored before tip for senior night festivities.