Box Score DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Belmont Bruins fell to the Virginia Tech Hokies 60-58 in the opening game of the Daytona Beach Invitational Friday afternoon at the Ocean Center.
A 3-pointer from senior Ellie Harmeyer with two seconds left in regulation cut the Hokie lead down to one point, but the Bruins (3-3) were unable to complete the comeback.
Harmeyer (10 points and 10 rebounds) finished with her third double-double of the season, as fellow senior Muara Muensterman tallied a season-best 16 points and a team-high three assists.
Three players for Virginia Tech (6-0) logged 10 or more points, with junior Aisha Sheppard leading the way with 18 points and seven rebounds.
The Hokies opened up the game with a 6-0 run through the first two minutes of the game, but a pair of free throws for Harmeyer at the 7:18 mark got Belmont on the scoreboard. A jumper from Muensterman kicked off a 5-0 run for the Bruins halfway into the first quarter. Sophomore guard Maddie Cook rounded out the first 10 minutes with a last-second jumpshot to knot the game up at 13-13 after 10 minutes of action.
Freshman Cam Browning singlehandedly gave Belmont its first lead of the game, as she scored the first five points of the second quarter to take an 18-13 lead. The two teams traded buckets for the next four minutes, until a driving layup from Cook knotted the game back up at 23-23 with 3:56 left in the half. Virginia Tech went on to score six points in the final minutes, but a deep 3-point make from Muensterman cut the Hokie halftime lead to 29-28.
At the half, Browning and Harmeyer fueled the Bruins with seven points apiece, as Cook added six points to the mix. Freshman Kiki Britzmann, sophomore Conley Chinn and Harmeyer were credited with 15 of Belmont's 20 rebounds after two quarters of play. The Bruins held Virginia Tech to a 40.6 field goal percentage on 13-of-32 shooting in the first half.
Muensterman jumpstarted Belmont's second half scoring with her second 3-point make of the afternoon at the 7:53 mark to tie the game up at 31-all. However, the Hokies rode an 11-2 run over the next six minutes. A turnaround jumper from Browning in the paint with one minute left cut down the Virginia Tech lead to 44-35 at the end of the third quarter.
Senior Maddie Wright caught the hot hand for Belmont and scored seven points in the first three minutes of the final quarter. Wright capped off her streak with a 3-pointer at the 6:49 mark to cut the Bruins' deficit to 46-44. The Hokies held a 57-50 lead with 24 seconds remaining, but Belmont still crept back in the game. Harmeyer hit a shot from beyond-the-arc to cut the Virginia Tech lead to one point with two seconds remaining. However, the Bruins were unable to foul on the Hokie inbound, as Virginia Tech notched the 60-58 victory.
Overall, six Belmont players recorded six or more points on the day, as Chinn racked up a season-high nine rebounds. Browning and Cook combined for 17 bench points for the Bruins and each tabbed season high point totals.
STANDING STRONG: The Bruins have still yet to be out-rebounded this season, as they led Virginia Tech by a 42-37 margin on the boards. Belmont holds a +10.7 average rebound margin through six games.
TENACIOUS D: The Bruins held Virginia Tech to a 34.9 field goal percentage on 22-of-63 shooting in Friday's contest. Belmont has held four of its first six opponents this year below a 40-percent clip.
SEEING DOUBLE: Ellie Harmeyer secured her third double-double of the season and the 20th of her career against the Hokies. She also extended her double-figure scoring streak to six games, which ties the second-longest streak of her career.
UP NEXT: The Bruins return to the hardwood Saturday afternoon for a showdown with the No. 9/10 ranked Maryland Terrapins. Tip-off is slated for 2:30 p.m. CT at the Ocean Center. It will be Belmont's final game of the 2019 Daytona Beach Classic before they travel to take on Toledo Tuesday.
