Box Score MILWAUKEE, Wisc. – The Belmont Bruins dropped to the Marquette Golden Eagles, 53-51, on the road Saturday afternoon at Al McGuire Center. Kenosha, Wisc. native Ellie Harmeyer logged her sixth double-double of the season with 11 points and 12 rebounds, as she also tallied a season-high four assists.
Senior Maura Muensterman posted her third 16-point game of the year with a season-best five 3-pointers made. Fellow senior Maddie Wright added seven points and a career-high 15 rebounds on the day for the Bruins (5-6).
Freshman Jordan King and senior Isabelle Spingola propelled the Golden Eagles (9-2) with 12 points each. Junior Selena Lott dished out a team-high nine assists for Marquette.
After falling behind 4-0 after two minutes of play, a driving layup from Harmeyer knotted the game back up with 6:31 left in the first quarter. Following a 5-0 run from the Golden Eagles, Belmont outscored Marquette 12-3 to end the period and take a 16-12 lead. Muensterman fueled the Bruins with a pair of 3-pointers, with one coming in the final seconds.
Belmont held the Golden Eagles scoreless for over four minutes and extended its lead to a game-high 12 points to start the second quarter. A 3-pointer from Harmeyer gave the Bruins a 24-12 advantage at the 6:35 mark. Harmeyer knocked down two free throws and freshman Kiki Britzmann hit layup in traffic, as Belmont went into the half up 28-20.
The Bruins out-rebounded their counterparts by a 25-22 margin, as Harmeyer nearly put up a first-half double-double of 10 points and nine rebounds. Belmont held the Golden Eagles to 21 percent shooting from the field after two quarters.
Sophomore Jamilyn Kinney knocked down a shot from beyond-the-arc to kick off the Bruin second half at the 8:07 mark. Another 3-pointer from Muensterman extended Belmont's lead to 35-25 with over six minutes remaining in the third quarter. Marquette closed the gap with a 9-1 run, but a pair of makes from the foul line from Muensterman kept the lead for the Bruins. A second-chance jumper from the Golden Eagles with 30 seconds left knotted the game up at 36 after three quarters.
Marquette took its first lead of the second half on a paint layup, but Muensterman put Belmont ahead 39-38 with a make from deep range. After both sides traded buckets, the Bruins held a 51-46 advantage behind a 3-point make from sophomore Conley Chinn. The Golden Eagles scored the following seven points of the game to take a 2-point lead with 22 seconds left in the game. Belmont saw a couple of 3-point looks for the win but were unable to connect on either attempt.
Kinney and Chinn combined for 13 points, five rebounds and four assists, as Britzmann rounded out the Bruins' scoring with four points and a pair of boards. Overall, Belmont led for 26 minutes in the Saturday contest that featured six lead changes. The Bruins tallied their seventh 40-rebound game of the season against Marquette.
STICKY DEFENSE: Belmont has held eight of its opponents to 40 percent or less shooting from the field through 11 games this season.
TRUSTY TRIO: The Bruins' three seniors, Ellie Harmeyer, Maura Muensterman and Maddie Wright, have combined for an average of 44 points per game in the last three games.
STEADY HAND: Ellie Harmeyer has logged 10 consecutive double-figure point games when playing 30 minutes or more this year. She has also registered five 20-point games in that span.
UP NEXT: After a short break for the holidays, Belmont kicks off OVC play with consecutive home contests against SIU Edwardsville (Jan. 2) and Eastern Illinois (Jan. 4).
