SPRINGFIELD – With first place in the Missouri Valley Conference on the line, the No. 21/24 Missouri State Lady Bears knocked off previously unbeaten Bradley in convincing fashion Friday, topping the Braves 90-56 in front of 4,044 fans at JQH Arena.

The Lady Bears (17-3, 7-1 MVC) had six players score at least nine points, owned a 43-32 rebounding lead and dished out 16 assists against a season-low six turnovers to hand the Braves (16-3, 7-1) their first loss since Dec. 20.

After spotting BU four points to begin the game, Missouri State closed the first quarter on an 18-6 run with Brice Calip scoring eight of her 15 points, then held the Braves to 1-for-11 shooting in the second period, growing the lead to 40-20 at halftime.

Alexa Willard and Calip each scored in the first 38 seconds of the second half to make it 44-20 before Bradley ended a 10-plus minute field goal drought, and the Lady Bears led by at least 21 points the rest of the way.

MSU closed the third quarter on an 11-0 run to lead 70-35, kept Bradley without field goal for an eight-minute stretch over the final two periods, and added another 11-0 run for an 81-39 advantage midway through the final quarter.

Jasmine Franklin scored 15 points to share high scoring honors, adding a team-high eight boards that was matched by Emily Gartner. Willard scored 13, Sydney Wilson had 10, and Abby Hipp and Elle Ruffridge tallied nine apiece.

Missouri State shot 45.5 percent overall, 9-for-22 from long range and 21-for-26 at the foul line, holding Bradley to .314 from the field. The Braves, which entered the game rated 57th in the NCAA RPI, became the sixth consecutive MSU opponent and 14th in the last 16 games to score below its season average.

Missouri State hosts Illinois State (13-6, 5-3) at 2 p.m. Sunday. The Redbirds won 62-54 at Southern Illinois Friday.