Box Score MARTIN, Tenn. – Despite a tremendous defensive effort, the Belmont women's basketball team was held off on the road at in-state rival UT Martin. The Bruins (6-12, 3-2 OVC) were held off, 78-53, by the Skyhawks (11-6, 4-0 OVC), snapping a three-game win streak.
The Skyhawks opened the first stanza with stiff defense and a 4-0 start before redshirt freshman Frankie Joubran (Detroit, Mich.) found the bottom of the net on a put back under the basket. Both teams leaned on stringent defense to keep the scoring pace very slow through the first five minutes. UTM pushed for a 6-2 lead during the same span.
BU trimmed the advantage to one point, 6-5, behind a three pointer by junior Jordyn Luffman (Lawrenceburg, Tenn.) but UT Martin exploded for a 6-0 run that put them on top, 15-5, by the 11:43 mark. Belmont called timeout and immediately saw freshman Meredith Roman (Knoxville, Tenn.) swish a triple from the right side of the arc to snap the cold spell, in hopes of getting BU back into the game.
Unfortunately, the Bruins continued to be plagued by spotty shooting in the face of strong defense by the Skyhawks until around the eight minute mark. The Bruins rattled off a 6-0 run to move within eight, 26-18, behind shots coming from Joubran, Luffman and freshman Lauren Thompson (Franklin, Tenn.) with just over five minutes remaining on the clock.
The Skyhawks answered back with a 7-0 run to pull away, 33-18, but the Bruins continued to put in work on both sides of the ball. Junior Adrienne Tarrence (Bowling Green, Ky.) picked up BU's first block of the half and tossed the ball to Luffman who went coast-to-coast for a layup. UTM hit another three by junior Taylor Mills (Corryton, Tenn.) knocked down a pair at the stripe and Luffman drilled her second trifecta of the half to move the Bruins within 11, 36-25, as the clock neared the final 60 seconds of the half. Another strong defensive effort saw the Bruins keep UT Martin from driving in the waning seconds. The Skyhawks were able to pull the trigger from long range once more to send the teams to their locker rooms separated by 14 points, 39-25.
The stringent defense was the name of the game for both teams as the second half started, both executing full court presses. The Bruins saw quick point production from Luffman at the stripe and classmate Katie Carroll (Lilburn, Ga.), who drilled her first triple of the contest to close the gap to 13, 43-30, by the 16:51 mark.
The Bruins played smart, drawing numerous fouls, getting into the bonus early but began running out of time as they were hampered by spotty shooting. Belmont finally emerged from a three and a half minute scoring drought on a pair of free throws by sophomore Katherine Zander (Orange Park, Fla.). UT Martin was forced to use shots behind the arc to add distance between the teams, thanks tremendous defense inside and by the 7:30 mark had grown its lead to 24, 66-42.
BU hustled to contain the hot shooting Skyhawks as regulation began drawing to a close and got as close as 24 again, 74-50, behind a jumper in the lane by junior Torie Vaught (Maryville, Tenn.) but UTM kept pouring on the points. UT Martin wrapped the final two and a half minutes on a 6-2 run to take the contest, 82-53.
UT Martin shot 57.4 percent from the floor, 52.9 percent from three-point range and 37.5 percent from the free-throw line. The Skyhawks held the advantage in assists, 21-11, blocks, 7-1, and steals, 9-4.
UTM was led in scoring by Heather Butler, who scored 22 points. Ashia Jones and Katie Schubert added 17 and 11 points, respectively.
Belmont shot 32.7 percent from the hardwood, 25 percent from behind the three-point arc and 65 percent from the charity stripe.
BU was led in scoring by Luffman, who reached double figures for the 15th time this season. Mills and Thompson added seven and six points, respectively. Luffman grabbed a game-high eight rebounds, followed by Joubran, who pulled down seven, five of which were offensive. Tarrence finished with BU's lone block of the day.
Belmont returns to action at the Curb Event Center on Monday night, hosting Murray State. Tipoff is slated for 6 p.m. The game can be seen live on the OVC Digital Network and fans can listen live via the internet to Dr. 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.
