Box Score NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A combined 49 points from freshman guard Destinee Wells and junior forward Conley Chinn led Belmont women's basketball past the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles, 73-61, on Senior Day Saturday afternoon at the Curb Event Center.
Wells (26 points) and Chinn (23 points) both matched their career highs in scoring, while the Bruins (14-5, 11-3 OVC) shot a season-high 57 percent from the field. Wells and fellow freshman guard Tuti Jones each dished a team-best four assists, as Chinn grabbed a team-high five boards on the afternoon.
In total, Belmont finished with 42 points in the paint, which marked its third time this season eclipsing 40-plus points in the paint. It also dished out 16 assists for its 13th game with 15 or more assists this year.
The Golden Eagles (13-7, 11-6 OVC) were fueled by senior guard Jordan Brock, who racked up 30 points on seven 3-pointers made.
Freshman forward Madison Bartley kicked off the game with a layup to give the Bruins a 2-0 lead early on. Following a pair of 3-pointers and layups from Tennessee Tech, a layup from Wells cut Belmont's deficit to 13-10 at the first media timeout. By the 3:02 mark, the Bruins tied it up at 15-15 via a 3-pointer from junior guard Jamilyn Kinney. A buzzer-beater three from Wells gave Belmont a 21-20 lead through 10 minutes.
After a layup from the Golden Eagles, Wells responded with a three ball to keep the Bruin advantage at 24-22 at the 8:22 mark. Belmont then racked up a 6-0 run, which was capped off by a fastbreak layup from junior forward Allison Luly at the midway point of the quarter. A contact layup from Wells with under a minute left put the Bruins up 36-31 at the halftime break.
At the half, Wells led Belmont with a team-high 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, while the team shot 63 percent from the field. Chinn added nine first-half points, as the Bruins racked up 22 points in the paint in the first two quarters.
Belmont got off to a slow start in the second half, as Tennessee Tech cut within three points of the lead by the eight-minute mark. The Bruins answered with an 10-3 run over the following four minutes to take a 43-36 lead by the 4:23 mark of the third period. To finish out the quarter, Belmont racked up six points in the paint to extend its advantage to 52-41 going into the final period.
Wells began the fourth quarter with all but two of the Bruins' points, as her 3-pointer put Belmont up 61-47 by the seven-minute mark. A layup from Chinn gave the Bruins a 13-point advantage by the 5:19 point of the period. After a back-and-forth between the teams, a 3-pointer from Wells lifted Belmont's lead to 70-59 with two minutes remaining. Chinn knocked down a three of her own at the 1:17 mark to help the Bruins to a 73-61 victory on Senior Day.
Overall, Kinney and Bartley both nearly scored in double figures, with nine and eight points respectively. Belmont totaled 17 points off 14 turnovers forced against its in-state foe. The Bruins also dominated in paint points by a 42-20 margin and led for 30 minutes in their final home contest of the year.
WELLS MAKING HISTORY: OVC Freshman of the Week Destinee Wells' 26 points make her the first Belmont freshman since Alysha Clark (2005-06) to register at least five 20-point games in a season. Clark currently plays for the WNBA's Washington Mystics.
TWO FOR 20: Destinee Wells and Conley Chinn both posted 20-plus points against the Golden Eagles, which marked the first duo to score over 20 points each since last year's OVC Tournament semifinal on March 6, 2020.
SENIOR DAY CELEBRATION: With their 73-61 home victory over Tennessee State, the Bruins recorded their sixth-consecutive win on Senior Day dating back to the 2015-16 season.
UP NEXT: Belmont finishes out the regular season with a trio of road games at Tennessee Tech on Tuesday (6 p.m.), at Eastern Kentucky on Thursday and at Morehead State on Saturday (12 p.m.).
