WICHITA -- Wichita State (9-16, 3-10) got off to a quick start and survived a wild finish as the Shockers snapped a three-game slide with a, 56-53, win over Bradley (9-15, 3-10) Saturday afternoon on "Think Pink" day inside Charles Koch Arena.

WSU was led by Whitney Rice's career-best 18 points, the only Shocker in double figures on the afternoon. BU was led by Devyn Flanagan's 18 points, while Kelly Krumwiede chipped in 10.

The Shockers struck first opening the game on a 10-4 run on the strength of a pair of 3-pointers by Kyrie Kinder and Whitney Rice and three early Bradley turnovers. Bradley returned the favor by scoring the next five points before Rice's second 3-pointer of the afternoon gave WSU a 15-9 edge, tying its largest lead of the game to that point, with 13:30 left in the first.

Bradley managed to cut the Shockers lead to just one, 23-22, after a Devyn Flanagan basket with 5:39 left, but another 5-0 run by WSU extended the advantage back to 27-22 following a pair of Alex Bunton free throws with 3:24 left in the half.

A Rachel Merriman 3-pointer with :02 seconds left in the first cut the Shocker lead to four, and fashioned the halftime score, 29-25.

It marked Wichita State's first halftime lead in conference play this season as the Shockers shot 50-percent from 3-point range in the opening frame. WSU scored 15 points on nine Bradley turnovers while knocking down 7-of-8 free-throw attempts.

An old fashioned three-point play by Marcy Sudbeck and a Kinder free throw helped the Shockers score six of the first nine points of the second, extending the lead to seven again, 35-28, two minutes into the second.

Bradley then went seven minutes without a basket, allowing the Shockers to build the lead to 10 after a Taylor Steven 3-pointer with 13:37 left gave WSU a 40-30 edge. A Jennifer DeGarmo 3-pointer with 10:01 left gave the Shocks their largest lead of the afternoon, 43-32.

The Braves refused to go away as a four-point play by Renee Frericks cut the Shocker lead to 46-42 with under five minutes remaining, part of a 10-0 run that brought BU right back into the game midway through the half.

A pair of Skye Johnson free throws brought the Braves to within four, 48-44, with four minutes left, before a Flanagan 3-pointer cut the Shocker lead to just 50-48, with 2:52 left in regulation.

The squads then traded baskets until Rice gave the Shockers a four-point lead with a pair of free throws with a minute left, but BU answered with another Flanagan 3-pointer to cut the Shocker advantage to 54-53 with :52 seconds left to play.

Rice connected on another pair of free throws with :15 seconds left after which Bradley called its final timeout to setup the last shot, but Flangan's 3-point attempt fell short, securing the win for the Shockers.

WSU is next in action at Illinois State and Indiana State next weekend.

--Wichita State--