Box Score EVANSVILLE, Ind. – No. 1 Belmont women's basketball fought down to the final seconds in the OVC tournament semifinals and pulled out a gritty victory over No. 4 Jacksonville State. The Bruins extended their winning streak to 21-straight games with a 63-53 win over the Gamecocks, also marking their 45th consecutive league win.
For just the third time in program history, BU has now won 30 games in a single season. The squad's 30-3 overall record is its best in the University's Division I era and the best in nearly 25 years. The historic win also puts Belmont in the OVC tournament championship game for the third consecutive season.
Junior guard Darby Maggard (Larwill, Ind.) carried the Bruins with 20 points, including four made three-pointers. She was joined by senior guard Kylee Smith (Alpharetta, Ga.) who tallied 19 points and eight rebounds as well as Sally McCabe (Mt. Juliet, Tenn.) who recorded her second consecutive double-double with 11 points and 12 boards.
Jacksonville State (19-12) was led by a pair of 10-point performances from Kiana Johnson and Tasha Magruder. Collectively, the Gamecocks shot 33 percent from the field and compiled 34 rebounds.
The Bruins got out to a slow start as the Gamecocks netted the first six points of the game before a pullup jumper from Maggard got BU on the board. However, JSU continued to extend their lead going up by seven, 12-5, at the 3:55 mark. An and-1 from McCabe fired the Bruins up as they continued to chip away at their deficit. Smith tried to knot it up with four seconds on the clock, but a missed free throw that gave the advantage to Jacksonville State, 15-14, after a period.
JSU once again claimed the first buckets of the second stanza with a triple two minutes it. They scored five unanswered before Belmont went on a 5-0 run of its own to tie the game up, 20-20, with 3:56 remaining in the half. From there BU went on a 10-1 scoring spree to claim their first lead, 22-21, of the afternoon. Senior guard Sierra Jones (Huntsville, Ala.) had the magic touch after collecting the offensive rebound and laying it in. Maggard used the momentum to drain her first three-pointer of the half as Belmont went up, 25-21, but a last second layup from JSU left it tied, 25-25, at halftime.
Both squads traded buckets to start the third, including Maggard matching a JSU trey to tie it up, 30-30, in the early goings of the frame. The Gamecocks went on to suffer a three-minute scoring drought but the Bruins weren't able to capitalize, only scoring three points in the span. Maggard hit a clutch three to regain the Bruins lead, 36-35, at the 4:06 mark. She netted eight of BU's first 11 points before the squad struggled to find the bottom of the net. Roy sunk a three with time expiring in the third to give BU its biggest lead of the game, 41-37, with a quarter remaining.
Back-to-back buckets, including one from beyond the arc, from Smith helped the Bruins distance themselves, 48-41, at the beginning of the fourth. Maggard made it a double-digit lead, 51-41, with 5:05 remaining in the game after drilling her fourth long-range shot of the day. From then on BU took control of the game, ensuring the Gamecocks wouldn't sneak their way back in. The Bruins hit seven of their final nine field goals and made all six free throw attempts they had in the final minute to secure the victory.
GAME NOTES
- The win marks Belmont's eighth consecutive OVC Tournament win and its third over Jacksonville State in the tournament.
- Belmont extends its winning streak to 21 games, tying the longest streak in program history. It's also the fifth longest streak in the nation.
- The Bruins have won their last 45 consecutive OVC games, boasting the second longest streak in the nation behind No. 1 UConn (96).
- This marks the first season that BU as won 30 games in its Division I era, and its first since the 1993-94 campaign. It's just the third 30-win season in program history.
- No. 22 Belmont's national ranking in the AP poll is its first-ever appearance in the Top-25 and the first of any BU program, the Bruins have been ranked nationally for the past three weeks.
- Sally McCabe's double-double marked her seventh of the season and 26th in her career. She leads the team in the category this season.
UP NEXT
No. 1 Belmont takes on the winner Back- of No. 2 UT Martin/No. 3 SIUE Saturday afternoon in the OVC Tournament Championship game. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. inside the Ford Center.
