Box Score MACON, Ga. -- The Belmont women's basketball team (3-8) staved off a late offensive onslaught to grab an 86-83 victory on the road at Mercer (6-5) on Friday evening.
The long-time foes opened the contest trading baskets before the Bruins exploded offensively. The Bruins opened up an 8-0 run with a three pointer by senior Adrienne Tarrence (Bowling Green, Ky.), only the second of her career. Classmates Katie Carroll (Lilburn, Ga.) and Jordyn Luffman-Hartsfield (Lawrenceburg, Tenn.) followed with two more triples and sophomore Frankie Joubran (Detroit, Mich.) capped the run with a driving tip-in.
BU kept rolling, knocking down shots from all over the floor and by the 10:33 mark, was on top, 27-11. Belmont continued to expand its lead as the first half wore down. Four minutes later, the Bruins enjoyed a 23-point advantage, their largest of the contest, 42-19, after a 10-2 run. Mercer was only able to trim the deficit by three sending the teams to their respective locker rooms with Belmont leading, 48-28.
BU was only able to hold onto its 20-point lead for the first three minutes of the second stanza before Mercer began attempting to rally. The Bears were able to get back into the contest using an 11-2 run to close the gap to 63-54 by the 11:02 mark. MU continued to whittle away at the deficit, shrinking it down to eight, 69-61, two minutes later and used a jumper by Precious Bridges to make it a six-point game, forcing the Bruins to call timeout.
MU continued to threaten down the stretch and with 4:38 remaining it found itself down by only five, 74-69. One minute later, the Bears were down three, 74-71 and called a timeout to strategize. Mercer emerged from the brief break and gained the lead for the first time with 2:39 remaining led but the Bruins hustled to grab it back. The teams fell into a serious back and forth battle for the final 90 seconds of regulation. Belmont dug in its collective heels and saw freshman Sally McCabe (Mt. Juliet, Tenn.) push for back-to-back layups to put BU on top by five, 82-77.
Mercer scored again and took advantage of a too long inbounding lob by the Bruins with less than 20 seconds left to regain possession. The Bears used the opportunity to score under the basket, inching within one, 84-83, with three seconds left on the clock. Mills inbounded the ball but was intentionally fouled and sent to the line where she hit both with 1.9 ticks remaining to put Belmont ahead, 86-83. A stringent defensive effort kept the Bears from making a move as time expired, securing the win by the same score.
Mercer shot 44.3 percent from the floor, 38.5 percent from three-point range and 57.1 percent from the free-throw line. The Bears held the advantage in steals, 4-2.
The Bears saw five players in double digits, led by Precious Bridges' 21 points. Madi Mitchell and Teanna Robinson had 19 points each, and Briana Williams and Kahlia Lawrence had 12 points each. Robinson also led the team with 17 rebounds.
Belmont shot 52.6 percent from the hardwood, 64.3 percent from behind the three-point arc and 89.5 percent from the charity stripe. The Bruins held the advantage in assists, 22-20, and the teams were tied in rebounds at 39 and blocks at three.
Joubran led the Bruins with a game and career-high 22 points. She also tallied her sixth double-double of the season with 12 rebounds. Three other Bruins reached double figures - Luffman-Hartsfield dropped in 18, Carroll added 14, and Taylor Mills (Corryton, Tenn.) contributed 12 points. Mills also had a team-high seven assists.
Belmont returns to action on Monday, December 22 with a stop at Georgia. Tipoff is slated for 6 p.m. CT and the game can be seen live on the SEC Network. Fans can listen live to Dr. Rich Tiner on the play-by-play call on the Bruins Sports Network and view live stats. An in-game Twitter feed (@BelmontWBB) will also be available.
