Box Score ATHENS, Ga. -- After a promising first half on the road, the Belmont women's basketball team (3-9) was held off at No. 15-17 Georgia (12-0) on Monday night, 62-43.
The Bruins wasted little time from the opening whistle battling toe-to-toe with Georgia, their fourth-ranked opponent of the season. Sophomore Frankie Joubran (Detroit, Mich.) drove for back-to-back layups after rookie Sally McCabe (Mt. Juliet, Tenn.) put up Belmont's first points of the night.
Georgia took advantage of a three minute scoring drought to go up 12-6 by the 13 minute mark but senior Jordyn Luffman-Hartsfield (Lawrenceburg, Tenn.) drained a pair of three pointers from the same corner to knot the game at 12 just two minutes later. BU grabbed its biggest lead of the night, five, 17-12, after a triple by McCabe and a jumper from the left elbow by sophomore Lauren Thompson (Franklin, Tenn.) but it would be short lived.
Belmont slipped into another icy spell, this one lasting for over five minutes before senior Adrienne Tarrence (Bowling Green, Ky.) battled in the lane to find the bottom of the net with 3:17 remaining in the half to knot the score at 19. The Lady Bulldogs found themselves up against a rim that appeared lidded and a stringent Bruin defensive attack that kept them off the board, going 0-6, for the final four and a half minutes of the half. BU scored once more and doubled down on its defensive effort to carry its 21-19 lead into the locker room.
After the break, the Bruins were silent from the floor for the first three minutes before Joubran used a put back to get them on the board. However, by the 16:38 mark, Georgia had used a 10-2 run to go up, 29-23, over the same span. Three minutes later, Belmont trimmed the deficit to three, 33-30, but that would be as close as it could come down the stretch.
The Lady Bulldogs grabbed their first double digit lead of the game, 40-30, after a trip the free-throw line and never looked back. Belmont struggled to emerge from a scoring drought that lasted more than six minutes as UGA expanded its lead to as many as 16 points. A pair of free throws by senior Taylor Mills (Corryton, Tenn.) snapped the icy spell for the Bruins and she capitalized on a steal to score again, sparking her teammates. Georgia pushed again but Belmont was able to whittle the deficit back down to 12, 50-38, one final time before the game became out of reach. Spotty shooting continued to plague BU down the stretch, hampering its comeback effort. The Bruins netted the final field goal of the night but fell, 62-43.
Georgia shot 38.2 percent from the floor, 40 percent from three-point range and 66.7 percent from the free-throw line. The Lady Bulldogs held the advantage in rebounds, 37-33, assists, 12-10, blocks, 4-2, and steals, 15-9.
UGA had two players in double figures, led by Shacobia Barbee's 13 points. Tiaria Griffin added 11 points in the effort. Merritt Hempe and Barbee grabbed eight rebounds apiece.
Belmont shot 32.7 percent from the hardwood, 13.6 percent from behind the three-point arc and 80 percent from the charity stripe.
Joubran scored a game-high 13 points and pulled down a game-high eight rebounds. Luffman-Hartsfield and Sally McCabe each contributed seven points. McCabe also had a game-high two blocks.
Belmont will take a few days off for the Christmas holiday and return to action at the Curb Event Center on December 29 for its final non-conference matchup of the season. The Bruins host Western Kentucky beginning at 6 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on the OVC Digital Network and can be heard live on the Bruins Sports Network. Live stats and an in-game Twitter feed (@BelmontWBB) will also be available.
