Box Score MOREHEAD, Ky. – With their tenth straight victory Belmont University women's basketball (18-7, 10-2 OVC) has tied the longest win streak set in the 2006-07 season. The Bruins defeated the Morehead State Eagles (9-17, 3-9 OVC) Saturday afternoon 89-74.
The Bruins were paced by junior Lauren Thompson (Franklin, Tenn.) with a career-high 18 points, along with six rebounds. Thompson went 8-for-11 from the field.
Five other players ended the game in double-digits; freshman Ellie Harmeyer (Kenosha, Wisc.) and redshirt sophomore Kylee Smith (Alpharetta, Ga.) each had 12, while sophomore Sierra Jones (Huntsville, Ala.), freshman Jenny Roy (Brentwood, Tenn.) and sophomore Sally McCabe (Mt. Juliet, Tenn.) finished with 11 each.
The Bruins went 21-for-27 from the free throw line, with Jones shooting a perfect 8-for-8 from the line. Freshman Darby Maggard (Larwill, Ind.) recorded seven assists and eight points in the game. Harmeyer led the team with eight rebounds.
Maggard opened up play with a three. Both teams traded baskets with the first half of the first quarter being run by Thompson. Of the Bruins first 15 points, Thompson accounted for eight of them; Smith recorded two and McCabe recorded two. The second half of the first quarter was filled by free throws from both teams. Belmont jumped ahead by four with five straight made free throws, four from Harmeyer and one from Roy. With two more free throws from Smith the Bruins ended the quarter on a 10-to-1 run.
Second quarter was a bit slower offensively as the Bruins only scored 16. Jones hit a three early on in the second quarter to put the Bruins up by 10. A jumper from Thompson and two free throws from Jones gave the Bruins their largest lead in the first half going up by 12. The rest of the second quarter was filled with baskets from Morehead, and a three from Roy and Maggard. With the Bruins up by just two Smith drew a huge and one which gave the Bruins a five point lead at half.
The Bruins took control offensively in the third quarter. McCabe opened the second half with a free throw and then a jumper from McCabe and Thompson put the Bruins up by seven. Belmont kept control of the game and a layup from junior Frankie Joubran (Detroit, Mich.) put the Bruins up by 15, the Eagles took six of the next eight points but Belmont held an 11 point lead going into the fourth quarter.
Morehead hit the first basket of the fourth quarter coming within nine but two jumpers form McCabe and a layup from Maggard took the Bruin lead back to 15. In a fifteen second span Smith hit a three, the Bruins forced a quick turnover followed by a layup from Smith leading to a 19 point lead. Jones made four free throws along with layups from Harmeyer and Roy gave the Bruins their largest lead of the game at 23. Morehead went on a ten to two run to close out the game, but the Bruins held onto a 15 point lead when the buzzer sounded.
The second place Bruins travel to UT Martin on Monday, Feb. 15 to battle with the top ranked Skyhawks. Tip-off is set for 2:00 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on ESPNU.
