Box Score NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Taking advantage of an opponent shooting as cold as it was outside of the Curb Event Center, the Belmont women's basketball team rolled to its third consecutive win in OVC play on Monday night. The Bruins (6-11, 3-1 OVC) routed Jacksonville State (4-13, 0-4 OVC), 92-50, marking the first time since the 2001-02 season BU scored more than 90 points in a victory.
The Bruins opened the first half aggressively on both sides of the ball with stringent defense and a quick 6-0 run in the first two and a half minutes, courtesy of buckets by redshirt freshman Frankie Joubran (Detroit, Mich.), junior Katie Carroll (Lilburn, Ga.) and Jordyn Luffman (Lawrenceburg, Tenn.). The Gamecocks called timeout in hopes of slowing the streaking Bruins but they expanded their run to 13-0 by the 15:26 mark.
Finally, JSU uncapped its rim with a free-throw at the 13:36 mark, breaking a nearly seven minute silence. However, it would not be until almost five minutes later that the Gamecocks would net their first field goal.
Belmont continued to pile on the points and lean on strong defense to keep JSU off the scoreboard. Junior Taylor Mills (Corryton, Tenn.) converted a three-point play and sophomore Katherine Zander (Orange Park, Fla.) forced a turnover and then on the opposite end battled for a put back basket to put BU on top, 29-5, with 7:36 remaining on the clock. The Gamecocks burned another timeout to regroup but the Bruins rolled on, blowing their lead up to 30, 39-9, four minutes later.
Jacksonville State showed signs of life in the final three minutes, taking advantage of being in the double bonus and finally making shots from the floor. JSU strung together an 11-0 run to move within 19, 39-20, with just 47 seconds left on the clock. Belmont turned on its burners once again and saw Carroll drain a triple from the left side of the arc 10 seconds later. The Gamecocks attempted to hold for the final shot of the half but Tarrence netted a jumper from the top of the key to send the teams to their respective locker rooms separated by 22 points, 44-22.
Belmont opened the second stanza with an 11-2 run, to pull away 55-24 four minutes in. Jacksonville State called timeout and hustled to draw shooting fouls on the next two possessions but the Bruins quickly picked up where they left off and resumed its scoring frenzy. By the 12 minute mark, BU led 65-31, after another triple by Luffman.
JSU was able to move the point differential under 30 once before the Bruins exploded again, surging to build the gap to 40 points by the six minute mark after a 10-0 run with shots coming from Joubran, Bryce, Tarrence and freshman Lauren Thompson (Franklin, Tenn.). The Gamecocks would be held to just three field goals in the final five minutes of regulation. Belmont snagged its biggest advantage of the night, 44 points, 92-48, behind a pair of free throws by sophomore Natalie Cohlmeyer (Evansville, Ind.) with 60 seconds left on the clock which would be the final points of the contest.
The point tally marked the first time since the 2001-02 season BU scored more than 90 points in a victory. It also marked the first time since the 1999-00 campaign a BU team won by more than 35 points.
JSU shot 26.2 percent from the floor, 69.2 from the free-throw line and was unable to connect from three-point range. The Gamecocks held the advantage in steals, 4-3.
Jacksonville State was led in scoring by Candace Morton and Destany McLin, who each added nine points. McLin led the team in rebounds with six.
Belmont shot 61.7 percent from the hardwood, 35.3 percent from behind the three-point arc and 70.6 percent from the charity stripe. The Bruins held the advantage in rebounds, 47-29, assists, 21-6, and blocks, 3-0.
For the second consecutive game, 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.
Belmont returns to the road for a game on Saturday afternoon. The Bruins travel to face off at in-state rival UT Martin. Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m. The matchup can be seen live on the OVC Digital Network and fans can listen to Dr. Rich Tiner on the play-by-play on the Bruins Sports Network. Live stats and an in-game Twitter feed (@BelmontWBB) will also be available.
