NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Belmont women's basketball (1-1) will make the short trip down the road for the annual Battle of the Boulevard matchup at rival Lipscomb's (0-2) Allen Arena on Thursday evening. It will mark the 71st time the programs have faced off since the rivalry began during the 1979-80 season.
Lipscomb is still on the hunt for its first win of the season, after falling to Morehead State in overtime in its home opener, 82-77, and on the road at UAB, 70-54. The Lady Bisons were picked to finish ninth in the preseason Atlantic Sun coaches poll.
Lipscomb is led in scoring by Ashley Southern, the current A-Sun Newcomer of the Week, who is averaging 21.0 points per outing. She also leads the team in rebounds, grabbing 16.0 per contest.
BU leads the all-time Battle of the Boulevard series, 42-28, and has won the last four matchups between the programs.
Belmont comes into Thursday looking to tack on another win in the Newbauer era. The Bruins won their home opener against Mercer, 69-62, earlier this week rebounding from a loss to IUPUI in the season opener.
Five Bruins reached double figures in the win over the Bears, led by junior Jordyn Luffman (Lawrenceburg, Tenn.) and sophomore Blair Bryce (Dallas, Texas), who netted 13 points apiece. Luffman also notched her first double-double of the season with a team-high 11 rebounds. Also reaching double figures were redshirt freshman Frankie Joubran (Detroit, Mich.), who added 12 followed by junior Torie Vaught (Maryville, Tenn.) with 11 and junior Katie Carroll (Lilburn, Ga.) with 10 points.
Leading BU in scoring is Luffman, who is averaging 14.5 points per game. Joubran leads the team in rebounds, pulling down 8.0 per outing. Junior Adrienne Tarrence (Bowling Green, Ky.) leads the team in assists with a total of eight while classmate Carroll leads in steals with a total of five.
Thursday's game is set to tip at 5:15 p.m. and will be carried live on ESPN3. The contest can be heard live via the internet on the Bruins Sports Network and a live Twitter feed (@BelmontWBB) will also be available.
