Box Score INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The Belmont women's basketball team (0-1) was held off by a second half surge on the road Saturday afternoon to open the 2013-14 campaign. The Bruins were tripped up at IUPUI (1-0), 80-58, in only the second meeting between the programs.
The Bruins were the first to find the bottom of the net, courtesy of a jumper by sophomore Blair Bryce (Dallas, Texas) 45 seconds in. The Jags answered back and hit back-to-back jumpers to briefly pull away before junior Jordyn Luffman (Lawrenceburg, Tenn.) netted a free throw to cap a three-point play.
The Jags took advantage of a brief scoring drought by BU and expanded its lead to six, 21-15. Solid play in the paint during her collegiate debut by freshman Lauren Thompson (Franklin, Tenn.) kept the Bruins in the game through the midpoint of the contest, however. IUPUI pulled away again, growing its lead to as many as 10, 29-19, with 6:07 remaining on the clock before the Bruins whittled the lead down to five, 29-24, after buckets from Luffman, sophomore Blair Bryce (Dallas, Texas), and a pair at the stripe by junior Adrienne Tarrence (Bowling Green, Ky.) with just over three minutes on the clock before the break.
The Jaguars were able to close out the first stanza with a 7-2 run that put them ahead by double digits again, 36-26, from multiple trips to the free-throw line.
After the break, IUPUI opened the second half with a stunning 15-1 run to pull away 51-27, by the 16:52 mark. The lone BU point came from freshman Kia Perry (Gallatin, Tenn.) at the charity stripe for her first collegiate point at the 17:33 mark before a layup by Tarrence snapped a three minute scoring drought. Unfortunately, by the midway mark of the half, IUPUI had used a 22-10 run to distance the teams for good.
As time neared expiration, Belmont saw a spark off the bench. In the final two and a half minutes, points came from Thompson, classmate Meredith Roman (Nashville, Tenn.), sophomore Natalie Cohlmeyer (Evansville, Ind.) and junior Torie Vaught (Maryville, Tenn.). The flurry closed the gap to 22 as BU went on to fall, 80-58.
IUPUI shot 50 percent from the floor, 46.7 percent from behind the arc and 61.1 percent from the free throw line. The Jaguars held the advantage in rebounds, 41-32, assists, 17-14, and blocks, 3-0.
The Jags were led in scoring by Nicole Rogers, who scored 16 points. Also reaching double digits were Mikale Rogers and Nevena Markovic, who contributed 13 and 11 points, respectively.
Belmont shot 37.5 percent from the hardwood, 17.6 percent from behind the three-point arc and 65 percent from the charity stripe. The Bruins and IUPUI were tied in steals with five each.
Luffman led all Bruins with 16 points, matching her career high. Redshirt freshman Frankie Joubran (Detroit, Mich.) pulled down a team-high seven rebounds and added five points.
Belmont returns to action on Monday, November 11 for its home opener at the Curb Event Center. The Bruins host former A-Sun foe Mercer (1-0) beginning at 5:30 p.m.
