Box Score NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Opening its 2021-22 home slate, the Belmont University women's basketball team used a dominant defensive performance for a 29-point (63-34) victory over Alabama A&M Thursday night inside the Curb Event Center. The Bruins (3-1) held the visiting Bulldogs (0-4) to 24 percent shooting and only 14 made field goals as Belmont forced 22 turnovers and came up with 13 steals.
Sophomore guards Destinee Wells and Tuti Jones led all scorers with 16 points and freshman guard Kilyn McGuff scored a career-best 12 points in 23 minutes off the bench. Sparked by Jones and McGuff's energy on both ends of the court, the Bruins got a career-high tying 10 rebounds and two big three-pointers from senior forward Conley Chinn.
Belmont overcame a slow start with both teams remaining scoreless through nearly the first two-and-a-half minutes. In fact, the Bruins did not connect on a field goal attempt for the first four minutes of the game.
Alabama A&M held a 6-3 lead at the first media timeout before Belmont ended the opening quarter of play on a 10-0 run, building a 13-6 advantage following five consecutive McGuff points. The Bruins would outscore the Bulldogs 17-0 over a 7:23 stretch to take a 20-6 lead at the 7:44 mark of the second quarter with a Jones trey and deep two-point jumper.
At the break, Belmont held an eight-point lead at 28-20 after Alabama A&M ended the first half on a 14-8 run. The Bruins went 11-for-37 (29.7 percent) from the floor in the half but limited the Bulldogs to 8-for-26 (30.8 percent) first-half shooting.
Keeping Alabama A&M to just three made field goals in the third quarter, Belmont outscored the visitors 17-7 to mount an 18-point, 45-27 lead heading into the final quarter. Going 10-for-14 at the free-throw line in the third quarter as a team, both Wells and McGuff cashed in on 3-of-4 of their foul shots.
McGuff began the fourth quarter with a pair of free throws and Jones knocked down another triple to put the Bruins in front 50-27. After a Bulldog layup, Chinn hit her second trey of the night with 8:31 left to force Alabama A&M to burn a timeout. Not allowing the Bulldogs to score for the final 4:57 of the contest, Belmont got a three-pointer from sophomore guard Blair Schoenwald to go up 62-34 before junior forward Cam Browning added a free throw with one minute to go.
The Bruins closed the game on a 6-0 run over the final four minutes despite a combined seven turnovers in the last five minutes of on-court action.
A slow night offensively for both squads, Belmont finished 18-for-60 (30 percent) from the floor and 7-for-33 (21.2 percent) from outside. The Bruins hit 20 of their 27 free-throw attempts (74.1 percent) and scored 19 points off turnovers.
Alabama A&M was 14-for-58 for the game, including 0-for-10 from beyond the arc.
Wells' 16 points on 5-for-11 shooting were a season best, while freshman forward Tessa Miller grabbed a career-high eight rebounds and made a career-high three blocks in 15 minutes off the bench.
Graduate guard Deshawna Harper led the Bulldogs with 12 points and Alabama A&M got eight points and a game-high tying 10 rebounds from senior froward Dariauna Lewis.
Belmont's first home game in 270 days, the Bruins claimed their fifth-straight home opening win and improved to 97-20 (.829) inside the Curb since 2012-13.
Up Next
This weekend Belmont travels to Florida to take on receiving-votes UCF in Orlando. Tipoff from Addition Financial Arena is set for 1 p.m. CT/2 p.m. ET with the non-conference road affair broadcast on ESPN+.
Belmont season tickets, which include the entire men's and women's basketball home schedule, are on sale now at BelmontBruins.com/Tickets, in addition to flex packs, single game tickets and group experiences. Fans can also call or text 615.460.BALL (2255).
To become a Bruin Club member, contact Russell Grimm at (615) 460-5668 or russell.grimm@belmont.edu.
Follow Belmont women's basketball on social media - @BelmontWBB on Twitter, @belmontwbb on Instagram and Belmont Women's Basketball on Facebook - for complete coverage of the Bruins. Stay up to date with all of Belmont's athletic programs via the official app of the Belmont Bruins, available both in the Apple App Store and on Google Play.
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