Box Score FT. MYERS, Fla. – Despite a tough defensive effort, the Belmont women's basketball team (4-8, 1-2 A-Sun) was unable to topple Atlantic Sun leader Florida Gulf Coast (10-0, 3-0 A-Sun) on the road Monday afternoon. Plagued by icy shooting from the floor and behind the arc, the Bruins fell, 79-39.
The Bruins opened the first stanza with a strong defensive presence on both ends of the court, keeping the game within three points for the first four minutes of action. Suddenly, the Eagles exploded for a 12-2 run to pull ahead, 16-4, three minutes later. Despite being down, Belmont remained composed and looked to upperclassman leadership to take control. Junior Cacy Burtnett (Cleveland, Tenn.) answered the call and was fouled on consecutive possessions and still managed to find the bottom of the net. She completed the three-point plays to keep BU within 10, 20-10, with 10:04 left in the first half.
Florida Gulf Coast began leaning on its outside shot down the stretch of the first half as the Bruins made it nearly impossible for them to drive and score. However, the Eagles were easily able to widen their lead with their success from behind the arc. Belmont's defensive effort kept the Eagles from scoring for stretches of upward of three minutes at a time but it was unable to fully take advantage. A pair at the charity stripe by junior Tristan Daniel (Waynesboro, Tenn.) cut the lead to 12, 26-14, but that would be as close as the Bruins would come before the break. FGCU would string together an 8-1 run to wrap the half and take a 36-16 lead into the locker room.
After the break, it would take nearly three minutes before the Bruins would find the bottom of the net courtesy of the back end of a pair at the stripe by Burtnett. Belmont continued to struggle from long range in its attempt to quickly close the gap. Junior Haley Nelson (Scottsboro, Ala.) did her part to narrow the gap, exploding for her own five point run to move BU to within 35, 60-25, with 10:20 left in regulation. A free-throw from senior Shaunda Strayhorn (Dyersburg, Tenn.) would move the Bruins to within 34 but that would be as close as they would come in the waning minutes. Nelson again boosted BU's point tally in the final 90 seconds but it would be too little too late as FGCU went on to take the game, 79-39.
Florida Gulf Coast shot 42.9 percent from the floor, 36.1 percent from three-point range and 57.1 percent from the free-throw line. The Eagles held the advantage in rebounds, 40-37, assists, 15-9, and steals, 13-4.
FGCU was led in scoring by Nicoya Jackson, who netted 17. Shannon Murphy added 12 and Sarah Hansen, Kelsey Jacobson, Courtney Chihil each contributed 11 points. Hansen led the team in rebounds with a total of eight.
Belmont shot a season-low 26.1 percent from the hardwood and 66.7 percent from the charity stripe. The Bruins also hit a season-low 6.7 percent from behind the three-point arc, going 1-15.
Nelson led the Bruins with 16 points. Burtnett was the only other BU player to reach double digits, adding 10 points in the effort. Daniel pulled down a team-high seven rebounds and led the team in assists with a total of three.
Belmont returns to action on Wednesday afternoon with a stop at Stetson. Game time is set for 4 p.m. CT and the contest can be heard live on the Bruins Sports Network and seen live on ASun.TV. Live stats will also be available.
