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EAST PEORIA, Ill. – Rachel Galligan led all scorers with 28 points, but Eastern Illinois women's basketball gave away 21 second-chance points and blew an eight-point halftime lead in a 71-69 loss to Bradley Wednesday evening.

 

Galligan scored 18 of her 28 in the first half. She also collected nine rebounds, moving into 10th place on the EIU all-time list. The senior registered the 150th blocked shot and 400th made free throw of her career as well.

 

Bradley (2-0) outrebounded the Panthers 44-27, including a 22-7 advantage on the offensive glass. Monica Rogers posted a 22-point, 12-rebound double-double off the bench. Sonya Harris collected six of her 12 boards off the offensive glass. She also scored five points and blocked four shots before fouling out.

 

Eastern (1-2) shot an efficient 46 percent from the field. But Bradley connected on 52 percent of its shots in the second half to finish at 44 percent for the game. Freshman guard Michelle Lund made all four of her team's 3-pointers, including a clutch trey with 2:09 remaining in the game and EIU trailing by one.

 

The Panthers have failed to hold a significant halftime lead in each of its first three games this season. Bradley, meanwhile, has rallied back from a significant halftime deficit in each of its first two games, coming back from 11 down vs. Loyola on Saturday.

 

Eastern was without senior guard Ellen Canale, who was sidelined by the flu. Lindsey Kluempers and Dominique Sims were also under the weather but gutted it out. Megan Edwards and Ashley Thomas both connected on a pair of 3-pointers and finished with 10 points apiece. Thomas also tied her career high with six assists.

 

“It's amazing that it was a two-point game,” EIU head coach Brady Sallee said. “I'm not sure how we had a chance to win it to tell you the truth. I thought they played a lot harder than we did, beat us to loose ball repeatedly. The offensive rebounds were atrocious. Yet we battled through all that stuff.”

 

The Panthers led 42-34 with 15:55 remaining in the game when Bradley put together a 16-5 run to take the lead for good. Eastern connected on only one field goal during that stretch, nearly five minutes of game action.

The Panthers return to action Monday when they host another 2008 NCAA Tournament team, SMU. The special matinee is slated for a noon tip.

More Info: Contact Ben Turner, Asst. SID