Box Score RICHMOND, Ky. – Belmont women's basketball used an electric fourth quarter to pull away from Eastern Kentucky Thursday night inside Alumni Coliseum. Five players scored in double-digits as the Bruins defeated the Colonels, 77-55, for their 36th consecutive conference victory.
BU (21-3, 11-0) enjoyed scoring contributions from 10 players to push its winning streak to 12-straight games and remain undefeated in league play. Junior guard Darby Maggard (Larwill, Ind.) charged the Bruins with 14 points and four assists, while senior center Sally McCabe (Mt. Juliet, Tenn.) registered her fifth double-double of the season with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Each of the starters posted double-digit scoring performances with Sierra Jones (Huntsville, Ala.) (11 points), Kylee Smith (Alpharetta, Ga.) (10 points) and Jenny Roy (Brentwood, Tenn.) (10 points) rounding out the efforts.
Eastern Kentucky (7-13, 4-7) was led by A'Queen Hayes' 17 points and 10 rebounds coupled with 13 points from Abby Wright. BU held EKU to 30 percent clip from the floor while going 22-for-72.
Senior duo McCabe and Jones accounted for Belmont's first eight points of the game, helping the Bruins jump out to a temporary 8-3 lead. Eastern Kentucky went on a 6-1 run over the next three minutes to tie it up at the first media timeout. The Colonels continued to find their stride taking their first lead, 12-11, at the 3:37 mark of the first frame before Maggard intervened. The guard hit a pull-up jumper that halted EKU from separating themselves and knotted it back up. As the stanza came to a close, EKU used a 4-for-5 performance from beyond the arc, including a buzzer beater, to claim a 20-17 advantage.
The Bruins continued to fight through a physical EKU squad throughout the second, holding the Colonels to a quiet six points. Maggard once again came up clutch for BU, scoring five unanswered to give Belmont its lead back, 24-22, with 7:50 remaining in the quarter. The run featured the squad's first and only trey of the half. Eastern Kentucky suffered a three-minute scoreless drought before Hayes cashed in on a fast break once again tying the game up, 26-26. Belmont went on to distance themselves, despite six second stanza turnovers. A three-point play from Wright put the Bruins ahead, 32-26, at intermission.
Belmont got out to another hot start in the third, sparking a 6-0 run and forcing EKU to call a timeout 90 seconds in. The squad maintained a double-digit lead for a majority of the frame, going up as many as 13 points. Maggard met the hands of Jones for a fast break that put BU up, 40-30 in the early goings. In the midst of enduring a two-minute scoreless drought, junior guard Maura Muensterman (Evansville, Ind.) hit a three for her first points of the game to get BU back on track.
The fourth quarter was owned by the Bruins as they took control from the get go, outscoring the Colonels 26-11 in the 10-minute period. Eight different players scored for Belmont in the fourth quarter, led by six from Roy. Jones got the scoring frenzy started with a three in the opening seconds, bringing her to 11 points on the night. From then on BU continued to wear EKU down, forcing seven fouls that led to eight made free throws from the Bruins. Hannah Harmeyer (Kenosha, Wisc.) and Caitlyn Yost (Lewisberg, Tenn.) tacked on four points with a pair of trips to the line down the stretch, securing Belmont's victory.
GAME NOTES
- Belmont extends its winning streak to 12-straight games.
- The Bruins move to 21-3 on the season, their best start in the program's Division I era and best since the 1993-94 campaign (22-2).
- The team has won their last 36 consecutive OVC contests dating back to the 2015-16 season. The streak is the second longest in the country behind No.1 UConn (91).
- It's the sixth time this season that five Bruins have scored in double-digits, winning all such contests.
UP NEXT
The Bruins continue their Kentucky road swing with a trip to Morehead State on Saturday, Feb. 3. The Bruins and Eagles are scheduled for a 5:15 pm CT inside the Johnson Arena.
