Box Score NASHVILLE, Tenn. – It nearly came down to the wire before a winner was decided but the Belmont women's basketball team (7-9, 4-3 A-Sun) was able to hold on for a win over rival Lipscomb (7-9, 4-3 A-Sun) on Thursday evening. The Bruins won round one of the annual Battle of the Boulevard, 56-52, at the Curb Event Center.
The Bruins opened the first stanza aggressively on both sides of the ball, pulling away for a 6-2 lead with points coming from juniors Haley Nelson (Scottsboro, Ala.) and Cacy Burtnett (Cleveland, Tenn.) barely three minutes into the contest. The rivals began trading baskets and Lipscomb used a 9-2 run to take its first lead of the half, 15-13, with 11:24 remaining. Two minutes later, sophomore Alyssa Visbeen (Franklin, Tenn.) buried a three pointer from the top of the arc to put BU back on top, 18-15. The Lady Bisons pushed to knot the score at 18 before taking over the lead with a pair of Brittany Duerk free throws.
LU would go up by as many as four before back-to-back triples by freshman Molly Ernst (Louisville, Ky.) gave the Bruins a 24-21 advantage with 2:21 left before the break. Valerie Bronson hit a three pointer from near the top of the arc to briefly give the Lady Bisons a one-point lead, 25-24, one minute later. However, Nelson nailed a pair at the charity stripe and Burtnett netted a jumper in the paint with 20.1 ticks left to send the teams to the locker rooms with Belmont leading, 28-25.
Lipscomb would score first to open the second stanza and was unable to take advantage of the suddenly molasses slow offensive effort from the Bruins. Belmont was finally sparked by a Nelson skyhook that loosed up the rim for the Bruins. A triple by Burtnett was sandwiched by a pair from Ernst to put BU ahead, 39-27, with 15:42 on the clock. The Lady Bisons bench called timeout hoping to slow the momentum but the Bruins came out of the brief break still on fire. In all, Belmont exploded for a 17-2 run, taking advantage of a six minute scoring drought by LU, to pull away 45-29, by the 12:35 mark.
The collective Bruin scoring hands cooled for a five and a half minute span but Lipscomb continued to struggle from the floor, only netting points at the free-throw line. Belmont emerged from the drought with the back end of a pair at the stripe from Visbeen with 6:54 remaining in regulation. Finally, the Lady Bisons had moved to within six, 48-42, with a 10-0 run with just over five minutes left on the clock. LU leaned on its outside shot to make up ground down in the waning minutes but Belmont continued to use the clock to its advantage.
Lipscomb attempted to surge again but Nelson was able to collect her second block of the day. Jenna Bartsokas netted a jumper in the paint but Hannah Phillips was only able to hit one at the line to bring LU to within two, 50-48, with 90 seconds left in the game. The rivals began trading baskets again until Nelson was fouled on a lay-up attempt with 57.5 ticks on the clock. She netted both to give Belmont the 53-50 lead. The Lady Bisons missed a critical three and jumper in the paint but was able to make up ground with a pair at the line from Brittany Duerk to narrow the gap to one point, 53-52, with 34.1 seconds remaining. However, senior Shaunda Strayhorn and Visbeen combined for three free throws in the final seconds to give BU the 56-52 victory.
Lipscomb shot 30.2 percent from the floor, 20.7 percent from three-point range and 77.8 percent from the free-throw line. The Lady Bisons held the advantage in steals, 10-6.
Bartsokas led LU with 15 points followed by Bowers with 12. Duerk pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds.
The Bruins shot 39.1 percent from the hardwood, 36.4 percent from behind the three-point arc and 60 percent from the charity stripe. BU held the advantage in rebounds, 37-35, and assists, 15-11. The teams were tied with two blocks apiece.
BU was led in scoring by Nelson, who scored a game-high 18 points. Also reaching double figures were Ernst, who went 4-for-8 from behind the arc for 12 points, and Burtnett, who added 11. Nelson led the Bruins in rebounds with eight. Sophomore Kristin Nash (Stone Mountain, Ga.) finished with five assists.
Belmont returns to action on Saturday, closing out a four-game homestand at the Curb Event Center. The Bruins host Atlantic Sun foe Campbell beginning at 5 p.m. The game be heard live via the internet on the Bruins Sports Network and seen live on ASun.TV. Live stats and a Twitter feed (@BelmontWBB) will also be available.
