Box Score BIRMINGHAM, Ala.- While three-pointers were the story for the Belmont University women's basketball team in their last two games, it was their dominance down low and on the defensive end that carried the Bruins to a 73-54 win over Samford Monday evening at the Pete Hanna Center.
Paced by the twin tower combo of Sally McCabe (Mt. Juliet, Tenn.) and Lauren Thompson (Franklin, Tenn.), Belmont outscored Samford 30-16 in the paint and scored a season-high 22 second chance points. The Bruins who entered the game in the top 40 nationally in rebounding, certainly lived up to the billing outrebounding their opponent by a staggering 22 with a 41-19 margin. McCabe paced the Bruins with 17 points while Thompson added 14 on 6-of-8 shooting from the floor. The Bruins had 14 offensive boards which trailed Samford's total rebounding tally by just five.
"Our guards really worked to get us the ball and we worked really hard inside. Going into the game we knew we had a height advantage so we really wanted to take advantage of that. We were focused, we posted hard and got what we wanted," said the junior McCabe.
Belmont has now won four-straight games and its road record improves to 4-2.
The Bruins conceded a season-low 54 points in the victory which included a season-low five points allowed in the first quarter. Paired with the impressive defensive effort, Belmont finished the game shooting 48.3% (28-58) from the field.
Darby Maggard (Larwill, Ind.) also added 14 points for the Bruins, dishing out a game-high six assists.
"Any given night someone on our team can have a huge game, whether it be a guard or a post. It's really hard to scout. Samford is great team and this a good win for us," added McCabe.
Outscoring Samford in every quarter but the fourth, Belmont led for over 39 minutes and its largest lead was 25 late in the third.
Belmont got out to a 6-0 lead to begin the game, and pushed its early lead to 9-2 causing Samford to burn a timeout to quell the run with 5:35 remaining the frame. Belmont led 18-5 after the first quarter thanks to an aggressive offensive attack and stingy defense. The Bruins limited the Bulldogs to just 2-for-15 shooting from the field and five points, while holding a 19-6 edge in rebounds in the quarter. Maggard and Thompson got things going early on for Belmont as both players tallied six points by the quarter's end. The Bruins outscored Samford 6-0 in the paint and picked up 11 second chance points as they exerted their will downlow from the onset.
Heading into the intermission the Bruins held a 39-23 edge after shooting 50% (15-of-30) from the floor and limiting their opponent to just 32% shooting (8-of-25). McCabe and Thompson combined to form a potent scoring tandem as the duo combined to score 21 first half points shooting at a 9-of-11 clip. Belmont outscored its counterpart 14-6 in terms of points in the paint and outrebounded them 23-9. In addition to its excellent play near the basket, the Bruins also knocked down five first half treys.
"Coach Cam really wanted us to be focused before the game, that was a big word for us. We knew how good of a team they were," added McCabe.
Belmont handed Samford its first loss at home this season.
The Bruins outscored the Bulldogs 18-12 in the third quarter, shooting 8-of-18 from the floor. Six different Belmont players scored in the stanza as the Bruins continued to grow their lead.
In the fourth Samford would rally, outscoring Belmont 19-16 in the quarter, but it was too little too late for the host Bulldogs.
McCabe also finished with a game-high nine rebounds. Senior Frankie Joubran (Goodrich, Mich.) provided a spark off the bench for Belmont, scoring six points and and snagging four rebounds in just 13 minutes.
Sierra Jones (Huntsville, Ala.) scored six points in her return to her home state of Alabama.
Over her last five games Thompson is 28-of-39 from the field shooting a blistering .718.
Belmont will now break for final exams as it returns to the floor Wednesday, Dec. 14 when it travels to Minnesota for a matchup with the Golden Gophers of the Big Ten.
