Box Score NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Belmont women's basketball team (7-15, 4-9 A-Sun) was unable to hold onto its first half momentum and fell to visiting Florida Gulf Coast (17-1, 10-1 A-Sun) on Monday night at the Curb Event Center in the CSS Game of the Week. The Bruins were held off down the stretch, 67-50, and slip to 4-9 in Atlantic Sun action.
The first half opened with a strong back and forth battle with a shot coming from senior Whitney Seals (Raceland, Ky.) and a free-throw from classmate Tereva Moore (Memphis, Tenn.) before Florida Gulf Coast pieced together a 9-0 run to pull away 14-4 by the 12:55 mark. Seals netted the back end of a pair at the stripe, sparking a Bruin rally that would move them to within one field goal, 14-12, with 9:15 left on the clock.
The Eagles pulled away again but a tip-in from Moore kept the game close as the clock ticked to under seven minutes. She continued to lead the comeback charge adding four more, including coming away with a steal and netting a fast break layup with 2:30 left before the break. FGCU appeared frustrated by the rejuvenated Bruins and were barely able to contain the growing momentum. Freshman Molly Ernst (Louisville, Ky.) knocked down a trey from the left corner with 51 seconds left before the break but Sarah Hansen would net the last points of the half, completing a three-point play with 9.4 ticks left on the clock. Her effort helped FGCU take a 28-23 lead over Belmont into the locker rooms.
On the opening possession of the second stanza, senior Shaunda Strayhorn (Dyersburg, Tenn.) nailed a triple from near the top of the arc to close the gap to a field goal again, 28-26. However, FGCU again went on the offensive, tallying six points over the next four minutes to take a 34-26 lead. Belmont went icy cold from the floor, allowing the Eagles to net 14 consecutive points. Finally, junior Tristan Daniel (Waynesboro, Tenn.) drove through the paint for her first points of the contest with 13:27 left in regulation, snapping the nearly six minute drought for the Bruins.
The Eagles began quickly piling on points from behind the arc and by the 7:07 mark had grown their lead to 22. Sophomore Alyssa Visbeen (Franklin, Tenn.) netted her first points of the night on a three pointer 30 seconds later. Ernst drilled a triple with 6:14 remaining but Eglah Griffin hit back-to-back three pointers, opening a 7-2 run for the Eagles that put them ahead, 66-43, with 4:12 left in regulation. Junior Cacy Burtnett (Cleveland, Tenn.) would drain a pair at the stripe to cut the lead to 21 but Florida Gulf Coast continued to take advantage of being in the bonus and easily added to its tally. Ernst dropped in another three from the corner and hit two at the free-throw line in the final 90 seconds but it was too little too late. FGCU was able to hold on for the 67-50 win.
FGCU shot 46.3 percent from the floor, 45 percent from three-point range and 53.3 percent from the free-throw line. The Eagles held the advantage in assists, 15-14, and steals, 12-4.
Sarah Hansen led FGCU in scoring with a game-high 18 points. Also reaching double digits were Eglah Griffin and Nicoya Jackson, who added 15 and 10 points, respectively. Kelsey Jacobson led the team with five rebounds.
Belmont shot 42.9 percent from the hardwood, 46.7 percent from behind the three-point arc and 53.8 percent from the charity stripe. The Bruins held the advantage in rebounds for a second game, 31-25, and blocks, 4-2.
Seals led the Bruins with a career-high 17 points. Ernst added 13 in the effort and Moore contributed eight points. Moore also led BU in rebounds, pulling down a game-high nine boards.
Belmont returns to action on Thursday for a contest at Jacksonville. Tip time is slated for 4 p.m. CT with the game being shown live on ASun.TV. The contest can be heard live via the internet on the Bruins Sports Network.
