Box Score NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Three players logged double-figure points to propel the Belmont Bruins past the Austin Peay Governors, 69-46, Saturday afternoon at the Curb Event Center. The Bruins extended their home winning streak to 17 games inside the Curb in their annual "Think Pink" matchup.
POSTGAME INTERVIEWS
Junior Madison Treece led the Bruins (15-8, 10-2 OVC) with a career-high 13 points in 11 minutes on the court, while the senior tandem of Ellie Harmeyer and Maddie Wright posted 12 and 10 points respectively. Sophomore Jamilyn Kinney recorded a near double-double of nine points and a career-high tying nine assists.
Kinney also grabbed five rebounds, as Belmont dominated the boards by a 44-25 rebound margin, scored a season-high 34 bench points and shot 44 percent from the field.
No players registered double-digit points for the Governors (13-10, 4-8 OVC), as senior Nieja Crawford led with a team-best seven points. The Bruins held Austin Peay to 30 percent shooting from the floor on a 16-of-53 clip.
After three minutes of scoreless action to start the fourth quarter, Harmeyer knocked down a 3-pointer to spark a 10-0 run for Belmont. The Governors got on the board at the midway point of the period, but Kinney hit a trey the following possession to extend the Bruin lead to 13-2. Austin Peay cut down the deficit to seven points with less than a minute remaining in the quarter. However, sophomore Maddie Cook responded with a pull-up jumper to give Belmont a 19-10 advantage after 10 minutes of play.
It took the Bruins four minutes to score in the second quarter, but they went on to own the back half of the period. Starting at the 3:06 point, Belmont knocked down its last five shots of the half to notch a 13-3 run to end the quarter. The Bruins outscored the Governors 20-6 in the second period, with all of their points coming from the paint and the foul line. Belmont took a 39-16 lead into the halftime break.
At the half, the Bruins shot nearly 52 percent from the floor and nailed five shots from deep range. Kinney held a team-high nine points and seven assists after 20 minutes, as seven different players logged points.
Sophomore Conley Chinn opened the second half with a fastbreak layup off an outlet pass from Kinney. Wright nabbed four-straight points starting at the 6:27 point of the third quarter to give Belmont a 45-21 advantage. A pair of free throws from Treece and a 3-pointer from Chinn with under two minutes left boosted the Bruin lead to 58-29 going into the final quarter.
A fastbreak layup from freshman Cam Browning gave Belmont its largest lead of the game, as it took a 62-32 lead one minute into the fourth period. The Bruins would not score again until the five-minute mark courtesy of a jumpshot from Cook. Treece topped off the 69-46 victory with an and-1 with 30 second remaining.
In total, Belmont led for nearly 37 minutes of the contest, as eight different Bruins scored and 11 grabbed a rebound. Sophomore Allison Luly tallied five rebounds and an assist in her first-career start. The group of senior Maura Muensterman, Chinn, Browning and Cook each racked up five or more points on the afternoon.
CHARITY STRIPE: Belmont knocked down 19-of-23 attempts from the free throw line Saturday. The Bruins' 82.6 percent clip from the foul line was their highest mark in a game this season where they attempted 20 or more free throws.
SUPER SECONDS: Belmont logged its second-highest rebound margin (plus-19) and second-best assist total (17) in a conference game this year against Austin Peay.
LOCK 'EM UP: The Bruins gave up just 16 first-half points to the Governors, which marked a season-best for Belmont in conference play. It also held Northern Kentucky to 16 points in the first half earlier this year on Nov. 17.
UP NEXT: The Bruins finish out their four-game homestand with a contest versus Tennessee State on Thursday and Jacksonville State on Saturday. The games are set to tip-off at 5 p.m. and 3 p.m.
