Box Score NASHVILLE, Tenn. – After battling back from being down by as many as 13, the Belmont women's basketball team (7-10, 4-4 A-Sun) second half rally fell just short on Saturday at the Curb Event Center. The Bruins were edged, 60-57, by visiting Campbell (6-10, 5-2 A-Sun). With the loss, BU slips to third place in the Atlantic Sun race with a 4-4 record.
Campbell opened the first half with 13 unanswered points, including 11 coming off turnovers, before sophomore Alyssa Visbeen (Franklin, Tenn.) powered through the paint for a lay-up, snapping a five minute Bruin scoring drought. Senior Whitney Seals (Raceland, Ky.) drained back-to-back jumpers to make it a 13-6 game with 13:41 left on the clock, forcing the Camel bench to burn a timeout in hopes of slowing the BU surge. Belmont managed to string together a 10-2 run to pull within three, 15-12, by the 10:35 mark. Junior Tristan Daniel (Waynesboro, Tenn.) drained a triple from the top of the arc and a steal by redshirt freshman Julianne Downs (Franklin, Tenn.) helped Seals bank in another jumper to give the Bruins their first lead of the day, 17-15, barely 60 seconds later.
The Bruins pulled away by three points, 19-16, after senior Shaunda Strayhorn (Dyersburg, Tenn.) drove for a layup with eight minutes on the clock but the Camels hustled to briefly regain a one-point lead after baskets from Tonisha Baker and Jazmine Cooper. Senior Rachel Swisher (Franklin, Ky.) drilled a trey near the top of the arc and Strayhorn followed with a lay-in to give BU its largest lead of the half, 24-20, with 3:56 remaining before the break. Campbell rallied to knot the game at 24 just over a minute and a half later but shots at the charity stripe from sophomore Kristin Nash (Stone Mountain, Ga.) and senior Tereva Moore (Memphis, Tenn.) put the Bruins back on top, 26-24, with 40.6 seconds left on the clock. Courtney Cannon was able to complete a three-point play 15 seconds later and Heather Beadle pushed for a layup with 0.8 ticks left to send the teams to the locker rooms with Campbell leading, 29-26.
The Camels opened the second half similar fashion to the first, shooting at a 55.6 percent clip before freshman Molly Ernst (Louisville, Ky.) bounced in a triple from the left corner to make it a four-point game, 35-31, with 18:16 on the clock. Belmont turned almost ice cold from the floor for more than three and a half minutes before Nelson hit the second of a pair at the free-throw line with 11:38 left in regulation. CU managed to pull away by as many as XX during the span but the Bruins quickly worked to regain ground.
Nelson was fouled again inside the paint and hit the second one but it was enough to spark the Bruins to rally. Seals glided through the paint for a flying put back and juniors Cacy Burtnett (Cleveland, Tenn.) and Nelson followed with jumpers from each elbow. The Campbell bench burned another timeout but Belmont continued to surge. BU extended its run to 11-2 to move to within one, 53-52, with 5:53 left on the clock. Amanda O'Neil was only able to hit one at the line opening the door for a Nelson jumper to knot the score at 54, just 30 seconds later.
The Bruins fell into another drought, this time lasting over three minutes but the Camels were only able to pull away by four, 58-54, over the stretch. Burtnett netted a crucial three pointer to break the ice with 1:54 left in regulation, making it a one-point game, 58-57. Both teams were unable to find a shot to put the game away for good as the clock rolled into its final 60 seconds. Belmont missed a pair of shots from downtown that would have given it the lead and was forced to foul with 12.2 ticks left. Kate Cloxton hit both and a BU triple attempt was short of the rim, giving the Camels the 60-57 win.
The Camels shot 44.2 percent from the floor, 33.3 percent from three-point range and 66.7 percent from the free-throw line. CU held the narrow advantage in steals, 7-6.
Campbell was led in scoring by Baker, who scored 15 points. Cooper contributed 13 in the effort.
BU shot 35.7 percent from the hardwood, 28.6 percent from behind the three-point arc, and 64.7 percent from the charity stripe. The Bruins held the advantage in rebounds, 36-32, assists, 12-10, and blocks, 3-0.
All but one player who saw time on the hardwood contributed to the Bruin scoring tally. Belmont was led in scoring by Strayhorn, who scored with 13 points, followed Nelson, who added 12 points in the effort. Burtnett pulled down a game and season-high 10 rebounds. Seals was perfect from the floor, hitting 4-of-4, for a career-high eight points.
Belmont returns to action on Saturday, January 22 for a game at USC Upstate. Game time is set for 3:30pm CT. The contest can be seen live on ASun.TV and heard live on the Bruins Sports Network via the internet. Live stats and a Twitter feed (@BelmontWBB) will also be available.
