Box Score MOREHEAD, Ky. – Belmont women's basketball routed the Morehead State Eagles, 89-59, for its seventh consecutive win Saturday afternoon at Johnson Arena.
The Bruins set season highs in points scored, shooting percentage (59 percent), field goals made (34), points from the bench (45) and matched their season best in assists (24). It was also the team's first time with five players in double-figure points since Feb. 29, 2020.
The freshman guard duo of Destinee Wells and Whitney Hay led Belmont (17-5, 14-3 OVC) with 15 points each, as Hay dished out a team and career-high six assists. Junior forward Conley Chinn posted 12 points, while freshman guard Tuti Jones and freshman forward Madison Bartley chipped in 11 points apiece for the Bruins.
Morehead State (7-16, 6-13 OVC) was fueled by sophomore forward Gabby Crawford, who finished with a team-high 15 points.
The Eagles jumped out to an early 6-2 lead to start the game, but a pair of free throws from Wells and a 3-pointer from Jones gave Belmont a 7-6 lead at the 7:45 mark. Consecutive buckets from Morehead State gave it the lead once again, but the Bruins responded to take a 14-10 lead into the first media timeout. Belmont went on to hit a pair of 3-pointers to end the period and take a 26-14 advantage through 10 minutes.
Back-to-back threes from Jones and Hay extended the Bruin lead to 15 points just two minutes into the second quarter. Buckets from Chinn and Wells pushed the Belmont lead to 38-20 by the midway point of the period. The Eagles responded with a small run, but 3-pointers from junior guard Jamilyn Kinney and Hay inside the two-minute mark pushed the Bruin advantage to 46-27 going into halftime.
At the half, Wells posted a team-high 13 points, while Jones registered eight points on 3-of-3 shooting and five first-half steals. Hay also chipped in eight points, as Belmont shot nearly 60 percent from the floor and made seven 3-pointers.
The Bruins' first three field goals of the third period were 3-pointers, as they took a convincing 59-31 lead by the 5:31 mark. Consecutive fastbreak layups from Chinn and Wells put Belmont up 30 points with four minutes left in the quarter. The Bruins finished out the final three minutes of the third period on a 12-0 run to jump out to a 73-35 advantage.
Belmont and Morehead State traded buckets through the first five minutes of the fourth and final period of play. Still, a 3-pointer from sophomore guard Nikki Baird put the Bruins up 87-48 with over six minutes remaining. The Eagles still tabbed a 9-0 run over the next three minutes of the contest, but Belmont held on to log its seventh straight victory, 89-59.
In total, Jones finished with a team-high six steals, while Browning grabbed a team-best five rebounds on the afternoon. The Bruins also tabbed 38 points in the paint, forced 22 turnovers and logged 27 points off turnovers. Overall, Belmont led for all but three minutes of Saturday's contest.
CAN'T MISS: The Bruins' 59 percent clip from the field came as their fifth game this season with a field goal percentage over 50 percent. They have also shot over 50 percent from the floor in three of their last four outings.
HOT HAND: Belmont's season-high 89 points scored on Saturday marked its highest point total in a game since March 6, 2020, when it scored 99 points in the OVC Tournament semifinal against Southeast Missouri.
KEEPIN' THE STREAK: The Bruins finished out the 2020-21 regular season with a season-high seven game winning streak. Belmont similarly ended last year with an eight-game win streak going into the conference tournament.
UP NEXT: The Bruins enter next week's OVC Tournament as the No. 2 seed for the second consecutive year. The conference tournament begins next Wednesday in Evansville, Ind. at the Ford Center.
