Box Score NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Despite a near double-double from OVC Freshman of the Week Destinee Wells, Belmont women's basketball fell 70-66 to the Southeast Missouri Redhawks Tuesday night at the Curb Event Center.
Wells posted 19 points, a season-high nine assists and five steals, while fellow freshman guard Tuti Jones (13 points) and junior forward Conley Chinn (12) also added double-figure points. Chinn grabbed a team-high six rebounds, as Jones joined Wells with five steals in 40 minutes on the court.
In total, the Bruins (10-5, 7-3 OVC) shot a 44 percent clip from the field, dished out 14 assists, grabbed 13 steals and tied their season-high in blocks (6).
The Redhawks (12-7, 10-4 OVC) were led by the guard duo of sophomore Roshala Scott and senior Tesia Thompson, who each recorded 15 points on the night. Thompson added 14 rebounds for a double-double.
Southeast Missouri opened the first period with a 5-0 lead, but a jumper from Chinn inside the paint put Belmont up 7-5 by the 6:15 mark. Following a fastbreak layup from Wells at the midway point of the period, the Bruins were held to no field goals until the one-minute mark. A 3-pointer from junior guard Jamilyn Kinney and an and-one from Wells cut Belmont's deficit to 16-15 going into the second quarter.
After a bucket by the Redhawks, the Bruins rode an 8-0 run to take a 23-18 advantage by the 7:27 mark. Southeast Missouri fought back within one point of the lead, but Belmont held them off with three consecutive layups to stay up 29-22. The Bruins caught fire to end the quarter, as Wells scored their last five points of the period to take a 36-26 lead to the half.
At halftime, Wells led the Belmont with 14 points, four assists and four steals, while Chinn and Kinney combined for 15 points. The Bruins finished with a 50 percent clip from the field and hit four 3-pointers in the first half. Belmont also logged nine first-half steals and 10 points off turnovers in the first two periods.
The Redhawks kicked off the second half by cutting the Bruin advantage to just five points, but five straight points from Jones kept Belmont ahead 41-34 at the 6:02 mark. Southeast Missouri continued to narrow its deficit, but the Bruins kept them at bay for the next four minutes. However, the Redhawks finally broke through with a 7-0 run to end the quarter, as Belmont still led 49-48.
A jumper from Thompson at the 8:15 mark capped off a 5-0 run for Southeast Missouri and put them ahead by four points early in the final period. The Redhawks continued to fend off the Bruins, as the two teams swapped buckets for the next six minutes. Belmont received consecutive 3-pointers from Kinney and Jones to take a 65-63 lead with under two minutes remaining. However, Southeast Missouri outscored the Bruins by a 7-1 margin to end the game and record the 70-66 win.
Overall, Belmont led for nearly 20 minutes of the contest, as Kinney nearly scraped double-figures with nine points, as well as three rebounds and assists. Freshman forward Madison Bartley added seven points, five rebounds and three blocks in her second straight start. Seven of nine Bruins grabbed two-plus rebounds, while the team finished with 26 points in the paint.
CREATING CHAOS: Belmont has received five steals from either freshman guard Destinee Wells or freshman guard Tuti Jones in each of its last three outings. Both Jones (3.6 spg) and Wells (3.2 spg) rank inside the top 15 nationally in steals per game average.
PHENOM: Freshman guard Destinee Wells has posted double-figure points in 10 of her first 13 games as a Bruin and currently leads all freshmen in the OVC in scoring (14.6 ppg). Wells also boasts the second-highest assist average (4.5) and steals average (3.2) in the conference.
FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH: With 39 points from its freshman class against the Redhawks, Belmont has received 25-plus points from freshmen in 14 consecutive games.
UP NEXT: The Bruins finish out the week with a pair of home contests versus Eastern Kentucky on Thursday (4 p.m.) and Morehead State on Saturday (1 p.m.).
