Box Score NASHVILLE, Tenn. – For the second straight game, four players logged double-figure points to lift the Belmont Bruins over the Morehead State Eagles, 71-62, Saturday afternoon at the Curb Event Center.
The Bruins, who are an undefeated 8-0 in home contests this year, extended their winning streak to 15 games inside the Curb.
Sophomore Conley Chinn fueled Belmont (10-7, 5-1 OVC) with a career-high 17 points on 4-of-5 shooting from 3-point range. Senior Ellie Harmeyer posted her 11th double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 rebounds. She now has six double-doubles in her last seven outings.
The senior duo of Maddie Wright (12 points) and Maura Muensterman (10 points) rounded out the Bruins' double-digit scorers on the day. Muensterman also added a season-best seven boards and dished out three assists.
Three players registered 10 or more points for the Eagles (7-11, 3-3 OVC), as junior Jazzmyn Elston led with a team-high 18 points.
Belmont kicked things off with an 8-0 run, sparked by a first-possession layup from Wright. However, Morehead State cut the deficit to seven points with a pair of free throws at the 6:25 mark of the first quarter. By the three-minute point of the period, the Eagles widdled down the Bruin lead to 18-16. Belmont held on to its lead courtesy of two 3-pointers from Muensterman at the end of the quarter. The Bruins took a 25-21 advantage through the first 10 minutes of play.
Chinn and sophomore Jamilyn Kinney knocked down a pair of 3-point attempts early in the second quarter to boost the Belmont lead to 10 points. The two teams traded several buckets, as the Bruins still held a 39-32 lead at the halfway mark of the period. A floater from Cook at the 2:12 mark extended their lead by nine, but Morehead State kept hacking at the deficit. The Eagles hit a layup with six seconds remaining, as Belmont still finished the first half with a 44-39 lead.
The Bruins knocked down six 3-pointers in the first half and dominated the boards by a margin of plus-10. Six players racked up five or more points after 20 two quarters, as Muensterman and Wright each put up eight first-half points.
Morehead State stormed out to a 5-0 run in the first three minutes of the second half, which narrowed its deficit to one possession. However, Chinn recorded eight points over the next four minutes to award Belmont a 61-51 advantage. The Eagles answered with a 3-pointer with 1:23 left in the third quarter, but the Bruins still went into the fourth quarter up 62-54.
Neither team scored a point through the first four minutes of the fourth period, until Chinn broke the silence with her fourth 3-pointer of the day at the 6:13 mark. Chinn struck again one minute later inside the paint to give Belmont a 67-56 lead. The Bruins allowed Morehead State within six points in the final minutes of the game, but Harmeyer sealed the 71-62 victory with three points from the charity stripe.
Overall, Belmont outrebounded the Eagles by a 45-39 margin, as sophomore Maddie Cook and freshman Kiki Britzmann combined for all 12 of its bench points. The Bruins stymied Morehead State to 32 percent shooting on a 22-of-70 clip on the day.
HOT START: Belmont registered its highest first-quarter point total of the year with 25 points through its first 10 minutes against the Eagles.
BALL SECURITY: The Bruins tallied a season-low nine turnovers versus the Morehead State, as they recently tied their previous low of 12 on Thursday. Belmont also dished out its second most assists in a game this year (16).
MILESTONE FOR HARMEYER: With 10 rebounds against the Eagles on Saturday, Ellie Harmeyer eclipsed the 800 career rebound mark. Harmeyer is the seventh player in program history to accomplish the feat in the NCAA era.
UP NEXT: The Bruins prep for a four-game conference road stint, which begins at Murray State on Thursday. Tip-off is slated for 3 p.m. at CFSB Arena.
QUOTES:
Bart Brooks, Head Coach
"I thought there were glimpses of us playing well and connected offensively that have not been there for large parts of this season. There were a lot of great things defensively as well, but we have to clean up. They got us pretty good on the glass tonight, so we have to get back to work on the details. We have to make sure we are doing our job on the defensive end of the floor and that starts with rotations and keeping the ball in front of us."
