Box Score NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Propelled by three players reaching double figures, the Belmont women's basketball team (2-3) notched a convincing 66-47 win over visiting Binghamton (0-4) on Tuesday night at the Curb Event Center.
The Bruins opened the contest with field goals from sophomore Katie Carroll (Lilburn, Ga.), senior Katie Brooks (Maryville, Tenn.) and redshirt freshman Blair Bryce (Red Oak, Texas) to take an early 6-2 lead. Belmont continued to add to its lead and behind a triple by freshman Frankie Joubran (Detroit, Mich.) and a pair at the free-throw line by sophomore Adrienne Tarrence (Bowling Green, Ky.), BU had its first double digit lead of the night, 18-8, by the 10 minute mark.
BU maintained its double digit advantage until late in the first stanza, thanks to another Brooks basket and the front end of pair at the stripe by senior Alyssa Visbeen (Franklin, Tenn.). After falling into a scoring lapse that lasted over four minutes, the Bearcats finally cut into BU's lead with a three-point play completion by Morgan Murphy, moving to within six, 21-15, with 3:54 left on the clock. Binghamton would inch as close as four, 23-19, in the final 90 seconds but senior Jordan Coleman (Orlando, Fla.) netted two at the line to maintain the cushion. Murphy was fouled but only made one of her free throws but junior Julianne Downs (Franklin, Tenn.) recorded her first points of the night at the charity stripe to inflate the BU lead back up to seven, 27-20, with 45 ticks left on the clock. Downs went on to hold for the final shot of the half with five seconds left to send Belmont to the locker room ahead, 29-20.
Coleman started hot to begin the second stanza, knocking down back-to-back jumpers in the lane and Brooks followed with one of her own to expand BU's lead to 13, 35-22, barely 90 seconds in. The Bearcat bench called a timeout hoping to slow the Bruins but they kept surging. By the 15:43 mark, Belmont had pulled away, 41-26, courtesy of shots by Brooks and Visbeen. However, the scrappy Binghamton squad was able to close the gap to nine, 46-37, four minutes later but Visbeen drilled Belmont's first triple of the half to squelch the rally.
Belmont's shooting kept distance between the teams down the stretch as Visbeen was fouled as she drove to the hoop and went on to complete the three-point play to put BU on top, 58-40, with just over four minutes left in regulation. On the next possession, Joubran put in work under the basket, grabbing her own rebound, putting it back up and finishing to give Belmont a 20-point lead, 60-40, barely 30 seconds later.
With 3:01 left on the clock, Binghamton burned its final timeout of the contest to put together a plan to stop the hot shooting Bruins and managed to come out of the brief break with only its second three pointer of the night to move within 17, 60-43, but that would be as close as the Bearcats would come for the remainder of the game despite finding the bottom of the net two more times. Belmont used the clock to its advantage in the final 20 seconds, holding for the 66-47 victory.
Binghamton shot 28.8 percent from the floor, an icy 18.2 percent from three-point range and 68.2 percent from the free-throw line. The Bearcats held the advantage in blocks, 3-1.
Only one Binghamton player reached double figures – Morgan Murphy, who added 10 points. Sharae Swinson and Jasbriell Swain led the team in rebounds, grabbing seven.
Belmont shot 43.6 percent from the hardwood, 36.4 percent from behind the three-point arc and 77.8 percent from the charity stripe.
Brooks recorded a game-high 15 points while Visbeen added 11. Coleman picked up her first double-double as Bruin with 10 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. Carroll finished with a game-high three steals.
Belmont returns to action Sunday on the road at Indiana State. Tip-off is slated for 3:05 p.m. The matchup can be heard live via the internet on the Bruins Sports Network. Live stats and video will be available as well as a live Twitter feed (@BelmontWBB).
