SAN JUAN, P.R. – The Belmont women's basketball team travel to the Tropics for a pair of games this week before heading home for Christmas. The Bruins (3-8) face off against Western Kentucky (6-3) on Friday and first-time opponent UTEP (9-0) on Saturday in the Puerto Rico Classic.
WKU enters the Puerto Rico Classic sporting a 6-3 mark after winning two of its last three matchups.
The Lady Toppers have four players averaging in double digits - Alexis Govan (16.1), Chastity Gooch (15.0), Bianca McGee (12.6) and Micah Jones (10.0). Gooch also leads the team in rebounds, grabbing 10.6 per game.
Western Kentucky leads the all-time series 5-4, and has won the last five matchups. The teams last faced off during the 1998-99 season.
UTEP puts its flawless 9-0 record on the line with its games at the Puerto Rico Classic this week. The games it plays this week will only be its second and third games on the road this season.
The Miners have two players, averaging in double figures - Kayla Thornton, who contributes 17.0 and Jenzel Nash, who adds 10.7 points per outing. Thornton and Chrishauna Parker lead the team in rebounds, each grabbing 8.6 per game.
This will be first-ever meeting between the programs.
Belmont eyes its pair of games this week for wins to snap a four-game skid, including a narrow loss at Missouri late in the second half on Monday night. Three Bruins reached double digits in the effort led by junior Jordyn Luffman (Lawrenceburg, Tenn.) with 13 points, followed by junior Taylor Mills (Corryton, Tenn.) with 11 and freshman Lauren Thompson (Franklin, Tenn.) with 10 points. Mills also led BU in rebounds, grabbing seven. Junior Adrienne Tarrence (Bowling Green, Ky.) collected two blocks.
Luffman leads BU in scoring, averaging 14.0 points per game. She also leads the team in rebounds, pulling down 7.1 per contest. Tarrence leads the team in assists with a total of 40 while sophomore Blair Bryce (Red Oak, Texas) leads the Bruins in blocks with a total of seven.
A trio of Bruins in the junior class are nationally ranked this week – Jordyn Luffman is 49th in double doubles with a total of four, 46th in free-throw percentage (88.4), and 234th in rebounds per game (7.5); Adrienne Tarrence is ranked 203rd in assists per game (3.8) and Katie Carroll is ranked 225th in three-point field goals per game (1.8), in her national stat debut.
Belmont's matchup with Western Kentucky is set to tip-off at 11 a.m. CT on Friday while the game with UTEP is slated to begin at 1:30 p.m. CT on Saturday. Both games can be heard live via the internet on the Bruins Sports Network. An in-game Twitter feed (@BelmontWBB) will also be available.
