NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Belmont women's basketball team (6-11, 3-1 OVC) will be on the hunt for its fourth consecutive victory when it travels to face off at in-state rival UT Martin (10-6, 3-0) on Saturday afternoon.
UT Martin stands atop the West Division in the OVC, sporting an unblemished 3-0 record. The Skyhawks are 10-6 overall and return home for the first time after 10 road games.
UTM is led in scoring by the duo of Heather Butler and Jasmine Newsome, who are averaging 21.9 and 19.9 points per outing, respectively. Ashia Jones leads the team in rebounds, grabbing 5.6 per contest.
Belmont holds the all-time series advantage 16-6, and edged the Skyhawks in the Curb Event Center one year ago, 58-56. However, UTM has won two of the last three matchups.
Belmont travels to its in-state rival in the midst of a three-game win streak, including a 92-50 blowout of Jacksonville State earlier this week. BU stands second in the East Division with a 3-1 mark and a 6-11 record overall.
Against the Gamecocks, four Bruins reached double figures. Luffman dropped in a game-high 22 points after going 8-for-8 from the floor, 5-for-5 from three-point range and 1-for-2 from the free-throw line. Bryce matched her career high of 13 points, followed Joubran, who notched her first career double-double with 12 points and a career-high 11 rebounds. Mills rounded out the group with 11 points. Tarrence finished with a game and career-high nine assists, nine points and eight rebounds, inching towards a triple-double.
Junior Jordyn Luffman (Lawrenceburg, Tenn.) leads the Bruins in scoring, averaging 14.6 points, and rebounds, pulling down 7.0 per outing. Classmate Adrienne Tarrence (Bowling Green, Ky.) leads the team in assists with a total of 72. Freshman Lauren Thompson (Franklin, Tenn.) and sophomore Blair Bryce (Red Oak, Texas) lead BU in blocks with 10 and nine total, respectively.
Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m. at Martin. The contest can be seen live on the OVC Digital Network and fans can listen to Rich Tiner on the play-by-play call on the Bruins Sports Network. Live stats and an in-game Twitter feed (@BelmontWBB) will also be available.
