Box Score NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Belmont women's basketball team (15-10) crushed former conference rival Lipscomb (2-20) on Monday night in the Curb Event Center in part two of the Battle of the Boulevard. The Bruins rolled by the Lady Bisons, 61-39, to pick up their eighth win in 10 contests in their final non-conference game of the year.
Lipscomb jumped out to an early 8-2 lead fueled by a pair of three pointers before the sophomore Katie Carroll (Lilburn, Ga.) drove for a layup to get the Bruins on the board. Redshirt sophomore Jordyn Luffman (Lawrenceburg, Tenn.) answered back, exploding from the floor for her own 9-2 run against the Lady Bisons that forced their bench to burn a timeout to regroup. Senior Katie Brooks (Maryville, Tenn.) got in on the action with a pair of jumpers from the left elbow, helping to push the run to 15-2 as LU struggled to emerge from an icy spell that rolled into its fifth minute. Finally, the Lady Bisons broke the ice off the rim and worked to trim BU's lead down to five, 22-17.
Sophomore Torie Vaught (Maryville, Tenn.) and junior Molly Ernst (Louisville, Ky.) answered back, hitting a jumper in the paint and drilling a triple from the top of the arc, respectively, to give Belmont its first double digit lead of the night, 27-17, with just over five minutes remaining in the half as BU continued to roll. LU continued to struggle and made only two field goals in the final six and a half minutes of the first half but it was enough to trim Belmont's lead as the teams headed to locker rooms separated by six points, 28-22.
After the intermission, the Lady Bisons immediately drained a three to cut Belmont's lead down to three, 28-25. The Bruins struggled to find the bottom of the net to open the half, going 0-3 from the floor until Luffman netted a pair at the stripe. However, it would not be until the 15:32 mark that BU would net its first field goal of the half when freshman Natalie Cohlmeyer (Evansville, Ind.) and sophomore Torie Vaught (Maryville, Tenn.) knocked down back-to-back three pointers. Senior Jordan Coleman (Orlando, Fla.) followed with a layup to expand the lead to 11, 38-27, two minutes later. Mallory Charpentier pushed for a layup that trimmed the gap to nine points but that would be as close as Lipscomb would come for the remainder of the contest.
Lipscomb attempted to spark a rally around the eight minute mark but the Bruin defense quickly put a damper on it, despite not scoring extra points. Frustration fouls began to add up for LU, sending Belmont to the stripe three consecutive times, knocking down five of six to put 17 points, 53-36, between the teams. By the two and a half minute mark, the Bruins had crossed the 20-point differential threshold and never looked back. Coleman closed the contest with her own 8-3 run to seal the 61-39 victory.
Lipscomb shot 26.5 percent from the floor, 23.8 percent from three-point range and 80 percent from the free-throw line.
LU had only one player reach double digits- Presley Stastny, who netted 14 points. Hannah Phillips led the team in rebounds, grabbing eight. Mallory Charpentier finished with three steals.
Belmont shot 31.3 percent from the hardwood, 38.9 percent from behind the three-point arc and 85.7 percent from the charity stripe. The Bruins held the advantage in all categories – rebounds, 47-37, assists, 13-6, blocks, 5-3, and steals, 13-5. BU forced 19 Lady Bison turnovers.
Luffman led the Bruins with her second double-double of the season with a game and career-high 16 in both points and rebounds. Brooks added 11 and classmate Coleman contributed 10 points. Coleman also finished with a game and career-high six steals.
Belmont returns to action on Saturday at crosstown rival Tennessee State. The contest can be seen on the OVC Digital Network and heard live via the internet on the Bruin Sports Network. Live stats, video and a Twitter feed (@BelmontWBB) will also be available.
