Box Score LOUISVILLE, Ky. – A valiant second-half effort by the Belmont University women's basketball team Sunday at top-10 ranked Louisville displayed some of the Bruins' best shooting of the young season. However, a 23-point third-quarter deficit proved to be too large to overcome as the host Cardinals held on for an 80-66 win.
Highlighted by a SportsCenter Top 10 worthy made half-court shot by sophomore guard Destinee Wells at the third quarter buzzer, Belmont (4-4) outscored Louisville (6-1) 42-41 across the second half behind 53 percent shooting and seven made three-pointers. Wells accounted for 19 of the Bruins' 42 second-half points after being held scoreless in the first half.
Belmont outscored the Cardinals 22-16 in the fourth quarter and got a career-high tying nine points on 3-for-5 three-point shooting from sophomore guard Blair Schoenwald.
Despite being outrebounded 40-24 and being outscored 46-28 in the paint, the Bruins found a way to claw back into the game late. Going 5-for-7 from beyond the arc in the fourth quarter, five of Belmont's six steals on the day came in the second half.
The Bruins' 66 points scored are the most Louisville has allowed in any game thus far this season. The Cardinals are ranked No. 5 in the USA Today Sports/WBCA (Women's Basketball Coaches Association) Coaches Poll and No. 10 in the Associated Press (AP) Top 25.
Two early baskets by sophomore forward Madison Bartley got Belmont going before freshman forward Tessa Miller scored in the post to knot up the score at 10 after seven minutes of play. After the Cardinals went on a 7-0 run during a three-minutes stretch late in the opening quarter, senior guard Jamilyn Kinney scored right before the first quarter buzzer to get the Bruins within five at 17-12.
Sparked by a Kinney triple, Belmont went on a quick 8-2 run in under 90 seconds at the start of the second quarter. Senior forward Conley Chinn nailed a jumper at the 8:23 mark of the quarter, making it a one possession game at 22-20 in favor of the home team.
From there, Louisville used a 17-4 run over the final eight minutes of the half to mount a commanding 15-point, 39-24 lead.
The Cardinals shot 45.9 percent (17-of-37) in the first half but limited the Bruins to just 11 made field goals on 36.7 percent shooting. Belmont was 2-for-16 (12.5 percent) from outside in the opening 20 minutes.
Bartley scored the Bruins first seven points of the second half before Wells poured in 13 points in a row, the duo accounting for all 20 of Belmont's third quarter points. An 8-4 Louisville run gave the Cardinals their first 20-point advantage of the afternoon midway through the third quarter before back-to-back layups and a jumper by Wells made it a 17-point game at 56-39 with 3:32 to go in the quarter.
Louisville would go on an 8-2 spurt over the next 3:23 of play to build their largest lead of the contest at 64-41 with nine seconds left in the third. Wells drained heave at the third quarter buzzer made it a 20-point affair going into the final quarter.
A basket by Kinney and a Wells trey quickly got the Bruins back into the game in the first two minutes of the fourth quarter. Schoenwald made back-to-back three-pointers to make it 70-55 with 6:26 remaining before Wells connected on another long ball, getting Belmont within 12 with six minutes left. Miller completed an old-fashioned three-point play to cap a 12-4 Bruin run over a two-and-a-half-minute stretch, dwindling the Cardinals' lead to 11 at 72-61 with just under five minutes to go.
However, a Chinn triple would be the only points Belmont would score over the next 3:14. Louisville held the Bruins to just two field goals in the final four-and-a-half minutes while scoring eight points. Kinney made a layup in the closing seconds.
The Cardinals shot at a red-hot clip of 65.4 percent (17-of-26) in the second half and were 3-for-4 from long range. Louisville made 11 of its 16 field goal attempts (68.8 percent) in the third quarter. For the game, the Cardinals were 54 percent from the floor and 5-for-10 from distance.
Wells' 19 points on 8-for-14 shooting led all scorers and she added five rebounds and a pair of assists. Bartley finished with 11 points on 5-for-8 shooting, while Kinney scored a season-high nine and Chinn pulled down a team-high seven rebounds to go along with nine points as well.
Four of Louisville's five starters reached double figures led by guard Hailey Van Lith's 16 points. Fellow guard Kianna Smith scored 14 and on 6-for-10 shooting and dished out a game-best five assists as guard Chelsie Hall tallied 11 points and forward Olivia Cochran 10. The Cardinals also got nine points and a game-high eight boards from guard Emily Engstler.
Louisville was the fifth-straight road opponent Belmont faced who is receiving votes in at least one of the two major national polls (Arkansas, UCF, Georgia Tech, Ole Miss).
Up Next
The Bruins will have a 10-day break from game action before welcoming their lone three-game homestand of 2021-22. Belmont hosts the Southeastern Conference's Auburn on Wednesday, Dec. 15 to begin its three-game homestand before taking on Middle Tennessee Sunday, Dec. 19 and Western Kentucky Wednesday, Dec. 22 in the Music City.
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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