PEORIA, Ill. — Drake got off to a rough start Sunday against the Bradley Braves.

A first quarter in which the Bulldogs gave up 23 points put them in a hole they could never fully get out of in a 77-76 loss.

After taking a 9-2 lead three minutes into the game, the Drake women scored four points for the rest of the quarter. In the second quarter, Bradley grew its lead to 10 points at the break, leading 40-30 and controlling the game despite Drake shooting the ball at a higher percentage from the floor.

For the game, the Bulldogs shot 38.2 percent to 36.1 percent for Bradley. The Bulldogs had more rebounds, more points per possession, more made baskets and hit the same amount of 3-pointers as the Braves. But for some reason, it wasn’t enough for them to take the lead.

At one point, the Bulldogs trailed by 11 points early in the third quarter, but Drake was able to get the dame within three points heading into the final frame.

Drake took its last lead of the game with 1:25 remaining at 73-72, but a Bradley basket on the next possession gave the Braves the lead for good.

Becca Hittner scored a game-high 29 points for the Bulldogs, while Sara Rhine had 16 points and was the only other Bulldog to reach double-figures.

Drake is now 13-6 and 5-2 in the Missouri Valley Conference. Bradley remains atop the conference at 16-2 and 7-0.

Illinois St. 65, UNI 57

NORMAL, Ill. — One poor quarter was all it took for the Northern Iowa women’s basketball team to fall short Sunday against Illinois State, 65-57.

UNI (11-7, 3-4) gave up 24 points in the third quarter and scored just eight — and the 16-point swing took the Panthers from up five to down 11. Even outscoring the Redbirds by three wasn’t enough to overcome the deficit in the fourth quarter.

The Panthers started off strong, holding a five-point lead at the half and playing strong defense. However, the poor 3-point shooting the Panthers had over the first 20 minutes (4-for-13) was foreshadowing for the second half of play.

The Panthers — who rely on the 3-point shot a lot on the offensive end — went 2-for-15 from deep in the second half and 6-for-28 for the game, allowing the Redbirds to take control and keep the Panthers off of their game.

Lexi Wallen had 20 points to lead Illinois State, while the Panthers were led by 15 points from Bre Gunnels.

Illinois St. 65, UNI 57

At Normal, Ill.

N. IOWA (11-7, 3-4) — Gunnels 4-7 5-6 15, Maahs 4-5 1-2 9, Rucker 4-10 4-4 12, Kroeger 2-7 0-0 6, Simon-Ressler 0-1 0-0 0, Cavey 1-8 0-0 2, Wolf 4-6 1-2 11, Finley 1-4 0-0 2, Gerrits 0-4 0-0 0, Hillyard 0-2 0-0 0, Barney 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS 20-54 11-14 57.

ILLINOIS ST. (12-6, 4-3) — Talbot 0-0 0-0 0, Wallen 8-16 4-6 20, Crompton 2-5 1-1 6, Maggett 7-16 0-0 15, Saylor 2-6 1-2 6, Sims 1-1 0-0 3, Koudelka 0-2 1-2 1, Redmond 4-12 5-5 14, Call 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS 24-58 12-16 65.

UNI 14 16 8 19 — 57

ILLINOIS ST. 13 12 24 16 — 65

3-Point Goals–UNI 6-28 (Gunnels 2-2, Wolf 2-4, Kroeger 2-7, Simon-Ressler 0-1, Hillyard 0-1, Finley 0-2, Gerrits 0-2, Cavey 0-4), Illinois St. 5-10 (Sims 1-1, Redmond 1-1, Crompton 1-2, Maggett 1-3, Saylor 1-3). Rebounds–UNI 36 (Gunnels 9), Illinois St. 35 (Talbot 7). Assists–UNI 10 (Rucker 5), Illinois St. 11 (Maggett 4). Total Fouls–UNI 18, Illinois St. 15. Fouled Out–none. A–1,071.

Bradley 77, Drake 76

At Peoria, Ill.

DRAKE (13-6, 5-2) — Rose 1-4 2-2 5, Rhine 8-12 0-0 16, Monahan 2-7 0-0 4, Hittner 7-20 11-15 29, Collier 2-10 0-0 4, Wooldridge 2-3 0-0 6, Fuller 1-4 0-0 3, Negaard 1-2 0-0 3, Burich 0-2 0-0 0, Gueldner 2-4 0-0 6. TOTALS 26-68 13-17 76.

BRADLEY (16-2, 7-0) — Brackmann 2-7 2-4 6, White 5-8 0-0 10, Haack 6-13 8-8 25, L. Petree 1-13 8-9 11, Koenig 6-6 0-0 16, M. Petree 1-7 2-2 5, Wilkins 0-1 0-0 0, Marsh 1-6 2-3 4, Roberts 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS 22-61 22-26 77.

DRAKE 17 13 20 26 — 76

BRADLEY 23 17 13 24 — 77

3-Point Goals–Drake 11-33 (Hittner 4-11, Wooldridge 2-2, Gueldner 2-4, Rose 1-2, Negaard 1-2, Fuller 1-3, Burich 0-1, Monahan 0-2, Collier 0-2, Rhine 0-4), Bradley 11-28 (Haack 5-8, Koenig 4-4, M. Petree 1-3, L. Petree 1-10, Wilkins 0-1, Marsh 0-2). Rebounds–Drake 46 (Hittner 10), Bradley 40 (Haack 12). Assists–Drake 23 (Monahan 7), Bradley 14 (Marsh 4). Total Fouls–Drake 23, Bradley 23. Fouled Out–White. A–1,181.