Box Score SAN JUAN, P.R. – The Belmont women's basketball team was unable to overcome spotty shooting in the second half in its first day of playing in the Puerto Rico Classic on Friday. A surge midway through the second half by Western Kentucky (7-3) pushed it to a 66-46 win over the Bruins (3-9) in the program's first meeting since 1998.
The Bruins, who traveled more than 1,750 miles to play a team located just over an hour away, found the bottom of net first behind a steal by junior Adrienne Tarrence (Bowling Green, Ky.) and a put back tip-in by freshman Lauren Thompson (Franklin, Tenn.). BU found a quick rhythm and continued to score on successive possessions, courtesy of sophomore Katherine Zander and Thompson jumping out to a promising 8-4 advantage in the first four minutes.
Belmont dominated the glass early, pulling down 14 to Western Kentucky's mere three in the first 10 minutes of play. In turn, WKU rallied around the 10 minute mark and used the momentum shift to build a seven-point lead, 24-17. BU fired back surging behind a triple and a jumper in the lane by junior Torie Vaught (Maryville, Tenn.), whose work trimmed the Lady Topper lead to two, 24-22, with 5:18 remaining in the half. Suddenly, the Bruins fell ice cold from the hardwood for nearly five minutes. However, they were able to lean on their strong defensive effort to keep the game from getting too far out of hand.
As the clock fell under one minute, BU finally snapped the dry spell with a driving layup by redshirt freshman Frankie Joubran (Detroit, Mich.) with 35 seconds left. Tarrence followed with a jumper in the lane with five ticks left to put Belmont on top 29-28 but WKU used a half court heave, its only three pointer made of the half, to send the teams to their respective locker rooms separated by two, 31-29.
Sophomore Katherine Zander (Orange Park, Fla.) opened the second stanza with a power spin move in the paint to knot the score at 31 followed by back-to-back jumpers by junior Jordyn Luffman (Lawrenceburg, Tenn.) and Thompson to give BU a 35-33 lead by the 15:59 mark. However, the Lady Toppers exploded for a 12-0 run to pull ahead 45-38 with 11:33 on the clock as Belmont struggled to emerge from another scoring drought. Finally, Joubran battled in the paint to find the bottom of the net, giving BU its first points since the 15:46 mark.
WKU continued to pile on points and used a 33-8 run to pull away late in the second stanza. The Bruins battled against a rim that seemed to narrow, scoring just eight points over a span of 15 minutes. BU saw point production in the waning minutes from freshmen Thompson and Kia Perry (Gallatin, Tenn.) but it was too little too late as the Lady Toppers pushed for the 66-46 victory.
Western Kentucky shot 49.1 percent from the floor, 33.3 percent from three-point range and 100 percent from the free-throw line. The Lady Toppers held the advantage of in assists, 14-12, blocks, 7-2, and steals, 10-6.
WKU had three players reach double digits, led by Chastity Gooch's game-high 20 points. Alexis Govan added 20 and Bianca McGee contributed 14 points. Govan grabbed a game-high nine rebounds.
Belmont shot 33.3 percent from the hardwood, 16.7 percent from behind the three-point arc, and 50 percent from the charity stripe. The Bruins held the advantage in rebounds, 38-30.
BU was led in scoring by Thompson, who scored eight points, followed Luffman with seven and Zander with six points. Thompson and Luffman also led the Bruins in rebounds, grabbing seven apiece. Junior Taylor Mills (Corryton, Tenn.) finished with four assists and two steals.
Saturday's contest with UTEP is set to tip-off at 1:30 p.m. CT. The game can be heard live via the internet on the Bruins Sports Network. An in-game Twitter feed (@BelmontWBB) will also be available.
