Box Score NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Belmont women's basketball team (11-15, 8-5 OVC) held off a scrappy Morehead State (11-14, 7-5 OVC) on Saturday afternoon in the Curb Event Center, picking up its seventh win in eight outings. The Bruins defeated the Eagles, 57-56, to improve to 8-5 in conference play.
The teams traded baskets for the first four minutes before senior Katie Carroll (Lilburn, Ga.) drained the first of a trio of first half three pointers to open a 7-0 run by Belmont. A pair of jumpers in the lane by sophomore Lauren Thompson (Franklin, Tenn.) gave BU a 17-11 advantage by the 13:46 mark.
A three minute scoring drought by the Eagles allowed BU to use a 7-0 flurry, with baskets coming from seniors Adrienne Tarrence (Bowling Green, Ky.) and Jordyn Luffman-Hartsfield (Lawrenceburg, Tenn.), to go up by 11, 24-13, by the 9:43 mark. The Bruins continued to use a tough defensive effort to keep Morehead State off the scoreboard and completely out of an offensive rhythm. The effort was so stringent, the Eagles would only be able to score a field goal once over a nearly six minute span to close the half. Another trey by Carroll gave BU its biggest lead of the half, 16 points, 38-22, with 30 seconds left. The absolute offensive silence by the Eagles was finally halted with a free throw with three seconds remaining sending the teams to the locker rooms separated by 15, 38-23.
The Eagles netted two quick baskets to open the second stanza, hoping to build momentum and regain ground. The effort worked and as the Bruins fell silent for four minutes, Morehead State took advantage and used an 8-2 run to close the gap to 43-34 with just under 11 minutes left in regulation. Barely two minutes later, the Eagles had moved to within single digits for the first time since early in the first half as Belmont went silent from the floor.
The icy shooting continued to plague BU as Morehead State continued to connect on shots. MSU used a three pointer with six and a half minutes remaining to move within three, 49-46, but the Bruins pushed back. A layup by freshman Sierra Jones (Huntsville, Ala.) led to sophomore Lauren Thompson (Franklin, Tenn.) turning up the defensive heat with a pair of offensive rebounds around the five minute mark to keep plays alive for the Bruins. She capped the effort with a jumper just inside the arc put to Belmont ahead, 53-46.
The surge was short lived as MSU used an 8-2 run to grab the lead, 56-55, with two minutes left on the clock. Luffman-Hartsfield drove in the lane to score but was fouled and went on to connect on both shots at the charity stripe to give Belmont the 57-56 lead with 15.2 seconds left on the clock.
The Eagles wasted valuable seconds on the clock trying to set up a play and nearly threw the ball away on a final shot attempt. However, the MSU bench was able to call timeout with just two ticks on the clock. The brief strategy session fell short as the shot bounced off the rim as the clock expired, securing Belmont's win by the same score.
Morehead State shot 36.8 percent from the floor, 30.8 percent from three-point range and 58.8 percent from the free-throw line. The Eagles held the advantage in assists, 11-10, and blocks, 5-2.
MSU had only one player in double digits- Shay Steele with 12 points. Eriel McKee led the team with eight rebounds.
BU shot 35.8 percent from the hardwood, 25 percent from behind the three-point arc and 50 percent at the charity stripe. The Bruins held the advantage in rebounds, 45-39. The teams were even in steals with two each.
Belmont saw two players reach double figures led by Carroll's 11 points. Luffman-Hartsfield added 10 points in the win while Tarrence netted nine and Thompson, McCabe and Jones contributed eight points apiece. Thompson led the Bruins in rebounds with a game-high nine.
Belmont returns to action on February 21 with its final OVC road game of the regular season. The Bruins travel to in-state rival Tennessee Tech for a dual beginning at 5:30 p.m. The matchup can be seen live on the OVC Digital Network and fans can listen live 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.
