Box Score FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Senior Ellie Harmeyer's season-high 24 points were not enough to lift the Belmont Bruins over the No. 20/18 ranked Arkansas Razorbacks at Bud Walton Arena Wednesday night.
Harmeyer added eight rebounds and a pair of assists, as fellow senior Maddie Wright chipped in 11 points and nine rebounds on the night. The freshman duo of Kiki Britzmann and Cam Browning meshed for 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Bruins (3-2).
Junior Chelsea Dungee and freshman Makayla Daniels led the way for the Razorbacks (5-0) with 21 points each and a combined seven rebounds.
A layup from Dungee 10 seconds in sparked an Arkansas 13-4 run to begin the game, but it would not take long for Belmont to respond. Harmeyer racked up seven consecutive points to cut the Razorback lead to four points at the 5:27 mark. Harmeyer struck again with layup at the four-minute mark, but the Bruins were held scoreless for the remainder of the quarter. Arkansas took a 26-11 lead going into the second quarter.
The Razorbacks opened up the second quarter on a 9-0 run, but a 3-pointer from Maddie Wright slashed the lead to 36-14 with seven minutes left. In total, Belmont received all of its second-quarter points from the duo of Wright and Harmeyer. Wright put home a layup with 1:21 remaining in the quarter, but Arkansas still held a 55-22 lead going into the half.
Wright and Harmeyer combined for 20 of the Bruins' points through two quarters, as five different players brought down two or more rebounds.
Belmont got back on its feet to begin the third quarter with another Harmeyer layup at the 7:21 mark, which fueled a 5-0 run for the Bruins. Harmeyer hit her second deep range shot of the nigh to shave down the Razorback advantage to 63-36 with 5:36 left in the quarter. Belmont went on to outscore Arkansas 24-23 in the third quarter, as they held a 78-46 deficit going into the final quarter.
The Bruins jumped out to a 7-2 advantage behind the freshman Nikki Baird's first-career points to kick off the quarter. A contested jump shot from sophomore Maddie Cook widdled the deficit to 86-60, but Belmont was unable to close the gap. The Razorback added a pair of buckets in the final minutes to notch the 91-60 home victory.
In total, nine of 10 Bruins raked in a rebound on the night, as Belmont won the battle on the boards by a 45-40 margin. The freshman duo of Browning and Baird propelled the Bruin bench with five points apiece, with Browning grabbing a season-best seven rebounds.
NUMBER 50: With 24 points against Arkansas, Ellie Harmeyer tabbed her 50th career double-figure scoring game. She has also recorded 20 or more points in three of her five contests this season for Belmont.
BOARD DOMINANCE: The Bruins have yet to be out-rebounded this year, as they hold an +11.8 rebounding margin to start the season.
UP NEXT: Belmont departs for Daytona Beach, Fla. for the Daytona Beach Invitational, which features matchups with No. 9/10 Maryland and Virginia Tech. The Bruins round out the road swing with games at Toledo and Lipscomb before returning home on Dec. 14 against Middle Tennessee.
QUOTES:
Bart Brooks, Head Coach
"Arkansas is an explosive offensive team, and when they made some plays early we needed to respond by executing offensively, and for whatever reason we just did not get the job done. Ellie Harmeyer continues to show up every night and compete at a high level, and I saw some good things from our three freshmen, who continue getting better everyday. As a coach, it is great to play this level of competition so you can see who on your team steps up to the challenge and competes. We obviously have a lot to work on in the next week as we prepare for a Thanksgiving tournament where we will see the same level of talent. I love these players and am excited to see how we progress this week in practice."
