Box Score MARTIN, Tenn. – The Belmont Bruins fell to the UT Martin Skyhawks, 74-57, at the Elam Center Saturday afternoon. The Bruins notched a 13-4 fourth-quarter run, but were unable to complete the comeback.
In total, three players logged double-figure points for Belmont (8-7, 3-1 OVC), as sophomore Jamilyn Kinney tied her career high in points (14) and grabbed a career-best six rebounds. The senior duo of Ellie Harmeyer and Maura Muensterman combined for 25 points and eight boards.
The Skyhawks (8-7, 4-0 OVC) were led by 34 points, seven rebounds and three assists from junior Chelsey Perry.
UT Martin jumped out to a 11-4 run to start the first quarter, but a layup from sophomore Conley Chinn cut the Bruin deficit to 13-8 at the halfway point of the period. A pair of free throws and a 3-ponter from Kinney brought Belmont within two points with 1:09 remaining in the quarter. However, a fastbreak layup put the Skyhawks in the driver's seat by a 19-15 margin at the conclusion of the first 10 minutes.
After Perry knocked down a jumper two minutes into the second quarter, UT Martin extended its lead to double-digits. The Skyhawks then rode an 11-4 run to take a 36-19 advantage with 3:09 left in the first half. Kinney notched eight consecutive points for the Bruins, but UT Martin still held a 38-27 lead going into the halftime break.
Kinney led all Belmont players with 11 points on 3-of-5 shooting at halftime, while the rest of the team's starters meshed for 15 points. The Bruins hit over 40 percent of their 3-point attempts in the second quarter, as they forced seven Skyhawk turnovers in the first half.
Freshman Kiki Britzmann tallied Belmont's first three points of the second half, but UT Martin upped its lead to 48-30 with 5:04 left in the third quarter. The Bruins answered with back-to-back 3-point makes from Muensterman and Kinney. A layup from Harmeyer with two minutes remaining narrowed Belmont's deficit to 12 points. Still, the Skyhawks stayed hot to hold a 57-39 lead leading into the final quarter of play.
The Bruins cut UT Martin's lead in half with a 13-4 run behind a trio of 3-pointers in the first four minutes of the fourth period. Muensterman nailed a shot from beyond-the-arc to cut down the Skyhawk advantage to 63-55 with 5:40 left in the game. However, UT Martin closed out the contest with an 11-2 run to secure the victory.
Overall, nine separate Belmont players raked in a rebounds Saturday, as seven dished out at least one assist. Sophomore Maddie Cook handed out a career and team-high four assists against the Skyhawks.
CONSISTENT DUO: Ellie Harmeyer posted her eighth straight game with double-figure points Saturday afternoon versus UT Martin, while Maura Muensterman registered her sixth game with double-digit scoring in her last seventh outings.
HEAT CHECK: The Bruins tallied 10 3-pointers on the Skyhawks, as they have reached that mark twice in the last three games.
CAREER DAY: Kinney's 14 points against UT Martin tied her career high, which she set in last year's Feb. 2 meeting with the Skyhawks. She also tied her personal-best with four 3-pointers on Saturday in the Elam Center.
UP NEXT: Belmont returns to Nashville for a two-game homestand against Eastern Kentucky (Thursday, 5 p.m.) and Morehead State (Saturday, 2 p.m.) at the Curb Event Center.
