Box Score NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Belmont Bruins topped the Eastern Illinois Panthers, 69-45, Saturday afternoon to log its 13th consecutive victory at home in the Curb Event Center. The Bruins tallied their second-highest scoring margin (plus-24) and their largest rebounding margin (plus-29) this season.
POSTGAME INTERVIEW
Belmont (7-6, 2-0 OVC) had four players with double-figure points in the win, including senior Ellie Harmeyer, who posted her third-straight double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Harmeyer now has eight double-doubles this season, as she is among national leaders in the category.
Sophomore Jamilyn Kinney registered a season-high 13 points for the second game in a row, as sophomore Conley Chinn (12 points) and senior Maura Muensterman (10 points) rounded out the Bruins' double-digit scorers.
Overall, Belmont racked up a season-best 53 rebounds and 15 offensive rebounds, while five separate players grabbed five or more boards. The Bruins also dished out a season-high 15 assists.
The Panthers (7-6, 1-1 OVC) were led by junior Karle Pace, who nabbed 17 points on 7-of-19 shooting and three rebounds.
Muensterman knocked down a 3-pointer to cap off a 10-3 run out of the gates for Belmont at the 5:26 mark of the first quarter. Eastern Illinois answered with a pair of 3-point makes of its own, but the Bruins kept their foot on the pedal to hold a 7-point advantage with one minute remaining in the period. Freshman Cam Browning hit a layup on an assist from junior Madison Treece to give Belmont a 21-13 lead through the first 10 minutes.
The Panthers narrowed the deficit to two possessions after four minutes in the second period, but the Bruins soon pulled away. Belmont tallied an 11-point run in the following five minutes to jump out to a 34-19 lead. A pair of free throws from Harmeyer with 1:26 remaining in the half gave the Bruins a 36-23 advantage going into the locker room.
Belmont held its OVC counterpart to 30 percent shooting in the first half and led by a 29-9 margin on the glass. Harmeyer and Chinn combined for 20 points and 13 rebounds, as the Bruins hit nearly 45 percent of their shots through the first 20 minutes.
A post layup from Harmeyer sparked a 7-0 run for Belmont to open the second half. Freshman Kiki Britzmann's hit a 3-pointer at the 2:47 mark put the Bruins up 49-27. Belmont allowed just three points from Eastern Illinois and took a 57-30 lead to finish out the third quarter. The Bruins hit a game-high 63.6 percent of their shots in the period along with four makes from beyond-the-arc.
Kinney hit a deep range 3-pointer to kick off Belmont's fourth-quarter scoring at the 6:57 mark. Browning and sophomore Grace Smith tallied points on back-to-back possessions for the Bruins to take a 69-39 lead with three minutes left. Smith's 3-pointer gave Belmont its largest lead of the game (30 points), as it went on to notch a 69-45 home victory.
Browning racked up a season and career-best eight rebounds on the afternoon, while the Bruins held the Panthers to 26.7 percent shooting from the floor. Nine separate Belmont players posted an assist. In total, the Bruins led for just over 39 minutes in their second OVC contest of the season.
HEROIC HALF: Eastern Illinois' 23 points in the first half marked the ninth time Belmont has allowed less than 25 points in a half this season.
BOXOUT: The Bruins logged 53 rebounds on the Panthers, which is the second time they have grabbed 50 or more rebounds this year. The last time the team racked up 50-plus rebounds was Nov. 17 against Northern Kentucky.
ON THE PLUS SIDE: Belmont had three players reach at least 20 in the plus-minus category for the second-straight game. Jamilyn Kinney (plus-32), Kiki Britzmann (plus-27), Ellie Harmeyer (plus-26) and Maddie Wright (plus-24) all reached the mark.
SERIES DOMINANCE: The Bruins extended their winning streak over Eastern Illinois to six games with Saturday's 24-point victory.
UP NEXT: Belmont hits the road next week for its first pair of conference road matchups against Southeast Missouri on Thursday and UT Martin on Saturday.
