Box Score NASHVILLE, Tenn. – After trailing by seven at the half and not scoring for the opening two minutes of the game, the Belmont University women's basketball team roared back to claim the 75th Battle of the Boulevard with a hard-fought 67-62 win over in-town rival Lipscomb University Thursday evening inside the Curb Event Center.
Sophomore guard Tuti Jones poured in a career-high 29 points on 10-for-13 shooting and fellow sophomore guard Destinee Wells delivered the final blow with a pull-up jumper in the final minute.
The Bruins (4-3) overcame a slow start and 23.5 percent (4-of-17) first-half shooting by scoring 44 points in the second half. Ignited by Jones' career night, Belmont got key contributions from several players down the stretch.
Despite being outscored 36-16 in the paint and 24-7 off the bench, Belmont found a way to stop a gritty Bisons (2-4) squad when it mattered most. The Bruins forced 20 Lipscomb turnovers and came up with nine steals, collecting 16 points off the Bisons' miscues.
Falling behind 4-0 early, Belmont went on a 7-0 run to take a 7-4 lead just over four minutes in. A layup by freshman forward Tessa Miller and a basket by Jones kept the home team in front by a point but Lipscomb connected on a pair of free throws to hold a 10-9 advantage at the end of the opening quarter. Neither team scored in the final 2:49 of the first quarter.
Missing just one shot in the quarter, Jones scored 11 of the Bruins' 14 points in the second quarter but the Bisons posted 20 points and led 30-23 at the break. Lipscomb went 8-for-16 from the floor in the second quarter and shot 46.2 percent (12-of-26) as Belmont went 4-for-16 from long range in the first 20 minutes of play.
Thanks to senior forward Conley Chinn, the Bruins started the second half with a bang and quickly evened up the score with a free throw from sophomore forward Madison Bartley. Chinn hit back-to-back three-pointers to begin the half before an and-one layup by Wells gave Belmont a 33-32 lead at the 7:47 mark of the third quarter.
Midway through the third quarter Jones went on a 9-4 run of her own, knocking down three consecutive treys to give the Bruins a 44-40 advantage with three-and-a-half minutes remaining in the quarter. However, the Bisons used a 9-4 run of their own over the final three minutes of the third to take a 49-48 lead through three quarters of action.
In a game that saw 19 lead changes and seven ties, the third quarter proved to be the most entertaining with 44 combined points and eight changes in lead.
A Wells bucket put Belmont back on top at 50-49 at the beginning of the fourth quarter but a 5-2 Lipscomb run gave the visitors a 54-52 lead. Bison guard Casey Collier's layup with 7:07 remaining would mark Lipscomb's last lead of the game. Wells drained a go-ahead three-pointer before making a deep jumper, giving the Bruins a 57-54 lead with just under six minutes to go.
Limiting the Bisons to only two made field goals in the final seven minutes of play, Belmont held Lipscomb scoreless during an important three-minute stretch halfway through the fourth quarter. A made Miller free throw capped a 7-1 Bruin run and put Belmont up by four at 59-55 with 3:23 left.
Bruin transfer guard/forward Maddie Cook got the Bisons within two at 62-60 with 1:40 on the clock and Lipscomb had a chance to tie or take the lead following a defensive stop but Chinn secured a defensive rebound with 46 seconds remaining. Taking matters into her own hands, preseason Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year Wells sunk a mid-range pull-up jumper with just under 28 seconds to go.
The Bisons got another Collier layup with 21 seconds left to make it 64-62 before Wells sealed the game with a trio of free throws.
Belmont outscored Lipscomb 44-32 in the second half, going 6-for-14 (42.9 percent) from beyond the arc and shooting 46.4 percent (13-of-28) overall from the field. The Bruins finished 10-for-30 from deep for the night were 35.6 percent (21-of-59) from the floor, while the Bisons shot 47.2 percent (25-of-53) for the game but were held to 3-for-11 (27.3 percent) from outside.
Belmont made 15 of its 25 free-throw attempts (60 percent) and Lipscomb went 9-for-12 (75 percent) at the foul line.
Jones recorded a season-high six steals to go along with her 29 points, grabbed four rebounds and went 7-for-9 from distance. Wells scored 16 and secured five rebounds while distributing a game-high tying four assists. Senior guard Jamilyn Kinney also dished out a game-high tying four assists and collected five boards as Bartley secured a team-high six rebounds. Chinn finished with seven points and five rebounds.
Cook scored a team-high 20 points for the Bisons and Lipscomb got a game-high 15 rebounds from guard Blythe Pearson. Collier scored 14 with nine boards and four assists, while guard Jordan Peete (11) and center Dorie Harrison (10) both reached double figures for the Bisons as well.
Of Note
The Battle of the Boulevard was the first for women's basketball since Dec. 11, 2019, and the second consecutive game between the two rivals decided by five points or fewer. The Bruins extended their winning streak in the series to 12 and improved to 12-2 versus Lipscomb inside the Curb Event Center. Head Coach Bart Brooks is now 4-0 against the Bisons and Belmont now owns a 49-26 lead in the all-time series. With the victory, the Bruins improved to 27-11 against Lipscomb in Belmont's NCAA Division I era. The Bruins are now 98-20 (.831) at home since the 2012-13 season and Belmont is now 46-6 (.885) inside the Curb Event Center under coach Brooks. Jones' 29 points were the most by a Bruin since Wells dropped 32 points in the 2021 OVC Championship title game last March.
Up Next
Belmont hits the road this weekend when the Bruins travel to Louisville, Kentucky, to take on top-10 ranked Louisville Sunday morning. Tipoff from inside the KFC Yum! Center is slated for 11 a.m. CT/12 p.m. ET. The non-conference affair will be broadcast on the ACC Network.
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.
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