Box Score NASHVILLE, Tenn.- The Belmont University women's basketball team (3-1) erased a 14 point deficit and rallied to defeat the visiting Cleveland State Vikings (0-3), 76-58 Sunday evening at the Curb Event Center. Belmont is now 3-1 for the first time since the 2009-10 season.
Lauren Thompson (Franklin, Tenn.) led the way, tying a career-high with 16 points, on 8-of-9 shooting from the field. The junior also collected seven rebounds. Rebounds were a key statistical edge that went in BU's favor, as it edged the Vikings 51-25 in that category.
"We've been a second half team this year. We fought really hard and competed in the second half at Ohio State and tonight we came back in the second and were a completely different team than we were in the first half. I'm proud of the resolve and the perseverance we showed," added Head Coach Cameron Newbauer after the come from behind win.
Darby Maggard (Larwill, Ind.) and Sally McCabe (Mt. Juliet, Tenn.) came up big in the second half as Maggard scored 15 and McCabe 10 all in the second half. Maggard added six assists and four boards.
"I'm proud of the way we fought back. In the second half we came out and buckled down and got things done," added Maggard.
Freshman Jenny Roy (Brentwood, Tenn.) was excellent on the evening, as she put up an eight point, 10 rebound game, falling just shy of the double double for the second time this season.
"It was a tough game. They were a hard opponent and they scrapped on both ends. Overall I'm proud of the way our team played and the second chance points and rebounds were really big," said Roy.
Along with rebounding, the Bruins dominated CSU in the paint. They outscored the opposition 48-10 in the painted area and had high percentage looks near the hoop all night.
BU trailed by as many as 14 points early on in the game, but stayed the course, as it erased a 14 point lead for the second straight game at home.
BU got off to a slow start at home, for the second straight game, as CSU jumped out to a 7-0 lead. Newbauer countered with a hockey-style line shift as he sent five new players into the game very early in the first quarter. Freshman Ellie Harmeyer (Kenosha, Wis.) scored BU's first seven points of the game, as she helped BU keep things close early with a nice contribution off the bench. At the end of the first, Belmont trailed 25-13. From this point on, Belmont looked like the more aggressive team, as it outscored the Vikings in each remaining frame.
Thompson was excellent in the second quarter as she scored 10 straight points for BU to help it narrow the gap to 32-27 at the half. Belmont held CSU to just seven points in the second quarter.
Maggard opened the second half with a 3-pointer to set the tone, and draw BU within two at 32-30. This was a critical score for both BU and Maggard herself, as this basket helped her find her rhythm. Maggard would connect on two more 3's and played very well in the second half. At the 7:09 mark of the third quarter, McCabe would score her first basket of the game, again a crucial one on two fronts. She finished with 10 points in the half and was a force down low. After McCabe's score knotted it at 36 apiece, Kylee Smith (Alpharetta, Ga.) scored to give BU its first lead of the game, half way through the 3rd quarter. BU showed great resilience to battle all the way back, but didn't take solace in the moral victory, and kept the foot on the gas. The Bruins trailed by just one, 46-45, heading in to the fourth.
The Bruins exploded for 31 points in the final 10 minutes to take care of Cleveland State. One of the plays that ignited the BU offense outburst occurred just 30 seconds into the final quarter, as Roy netted an and 1 score to put the Bruins up two. After the teams were tied at 50-50 at the 8:08 mark, Belmont finished with a 26-8 run to end the game. BU concluded the game with a late run in which it converted seven of its final seven attempts.
Sophomore Sierra Jones (Huntsville, Ala.) added eight points, seven rebounds and six assists, and finished several contested lay ups in the lane.
After allowing Cleveland State to score 25 points in the first quarter, BU tightened some things up on defense and allowed CSU to score just 33 points in the final three quarters. The Vikings scored just 26 points in the second half.
Newbauer spoke about the importance of Thompson's effort saying, "Lauren and Sally did a really good job. Any time you go 8-for-9 in any game, with seven rebounds, that's a big time game."
Belmont saw 11 of its first 13 points scored by substitutes.
One of the main reasons CSU was able to jump out to the large lead it did was its hot shooting early on. The Vikings shot 47% in game's first frame, knocking down five 3-pointers at a 50% clip.
Khayla Livingston paced CSU with 21 points and Ashanti Abshaw added 15.
Belmont finished the game 28-of-56 from the field for the game, and shot 4-of-7 from long range in the second half.
The Bruins face a short turnaround as they resume action Tuesday evening when they travel to Hunstville for a showdown with Alabama A&M. Tip off is slated for 7 p.m. CT.
