NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Belmont women's basketball team returns to the Show Me State for the third time this season for a midday duel on Tuesday. The Bruins (3-11) face off against Southeast Missouri State (4-9) for their second OVC matchup of the season.
The Redhawks open OVC play when they host Belmont on Tuesday. SEMO stands at 4-9 heading into league play and have lost three of their last four matchups.
SEMO is led in scoring by Olivia Hackmann and Kara Wright, who are contributing 10.5 and 10.2 points per outing. Patricia Mack leads the team in rebounds, grabbing 8.8 per game.
The all-time series is tied at 3-3. Belmont won the most recent meeting between the programs one year ago, 71-58, in Nashville.
Belmont returns to the road looking to snap its recent slump and pick up its first win in the young conference season. BU was held off in its OVC opener on the road at SIU Edwardsville over the weekend.
Senior Molly Ernst (Louisville, Ky.) and junior Jordyn Luffman (Lawrenceburg, Tenn.) lead the Bruins in scoring, averaging 15.0 and 13.6 points per contest. Luffman also leads the team in rebounds, pulling down 7.2 per outing. Junior Adrienne Tarrence (Bowling Green, Ky.) leads the team in assists with a total of 52 while sophomore Blair Bryce (Red Oak, Texas) leads BU in blocks with eight.
A pair of Bruins in the junior class is nationally ranked heading into this week's games. Luffman appears in four categories – 37th in double doubles with a total of five, 82nd in free-throw percentage (84.5), 145th in final points (180) and 241st in rebounds per game (7.3); Tarrence is ranked 212th in assists to turnover ratio (1.36).
Tuesday's midday tilt is slated to tipoff at 2 p.m. The game can be seen live on the OVC Digital Network and heard live via the internet on the Bruins Sports Network. Live stats and an in-game Twitter feed (@BelmontWBB) will also be available.
