Box Score NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A gutsy second half and late drama led to a one possession game with seconds remaining, but the Belmont University women's basketball team ultimately had its six-game winning streak snapped by visiting Tennessee Tech Saturday afternoon inside the Curb Event Center. The Bruins' two shot attempts at the front of the rim right before time expired came up just short in a 57-55 setback, giving Belmont (10-6, 6-1 OVC) its first Ohio Valley Conference loss of the season.
Despite tying up the score at 55 apiece on a Destinee Wells driving layup with 21 seconds left, the Bruins were unable to stop the Golden Eagles' Anna Jones on a baseline score with just over five seconds to go. Following a timeout, sophomore forward Madison Bartley's layup hit iron before senior forward Conley Chinn grabbed the rebound and nearly had a game-tying putback. Time ran out as sophomore guard Tuti Jones fought for the loose ball.
Tennessee Tech (10-7, 5-2 OVC) missed four free throws in the final minute and five of its last six, leaving the door ajar for Belmont.
Trailing for 36-and-a-half minutes of the game, the Bruins evened things twice in the fourth quarter but could never gain the lead. Belmont outscored the Golden Eagles by four in the final period but was hampered by 7-for-26 (26.9 percent) three-point shooting for the afternoon.
Going 6-for-14 (43 percent) at the free-throw line, the Bruins were outscored 26-16 in the paint.
A positive start put Belmont in front early as Bartley scored the first four points of the game and accounted for the Bruins' initial six.
After the visitors built a 10-6 lead Jones knocked down Belmont's first three-pointer, but Tennessee Tech held the Bruins scoreless for the last 4:45 of the opening quarter. The Golden Eagles took a 14-9 advantage into the second quarter.
Limiting Belmont to just one field in the first five minutes of the second quarter, Tennessee Tech built a 10-point lead at 21-11 thanks to a 7-0 Golden Eagle run over a 3:41 stretch of play.
An 8-0 Bruin run over the final 2:55 of the half got Belmont within one at 24-23 as sophomore guard Wells drained a triple from the corner in the closing seconds.
Although the Bruins outscored Tennessee Tech 14-10 in the second quarter, Belmont went 2-for-12 from beyond the arc in the first half and was held to just 32 percent (8-of-25) shooting. The Bruins missed five first-half free throws.
The Golden Eagles were not much better from the floor (33.3 percent) in the first half but connected on five of their 13 three-point attempts (38.5 percent).
A layin by Wells on a great find by Jones, followed by a Jones steal and three-pointer from Chinn kept Belmont within two at 30-28 three minutes into the second half. However, seven unanswered Tennessee Tech points gave the Golden Eagles a 37-28 lead at the midway point of the third quarter.
Threes by sophomore guard Blair Schoenwald and Jones got the Bruins within four at 38-34 with 2:48 left in the third. Jones would score seven-straight points to make it a two-point game at 40-38 with just over a minute to go in the third, but Tennessee Tech closed the quarter with a pair of free throws and a layup to take a six-point lead into the final quarter of action.
The Golden Eagles shot 63.6 percent (7-of-11) from the field and were 3-for-4 from distance in the third quarter.
A Tennessee Tech jumper early in the fourth made it an eight-point affair before Belmont put together a 13-5 run over the next four-and-a-half minutes of play. Bartley's layup at the 4:40 mark capped the run and knotted up the score for the first time of the day at 51.
After an empty possession and three Golden Eagle free throws, Jones collected an offensive rebound on the back end of a pair of Bruin missed foul shots. Freshman forward Tessa Miller capitalized on the second-chance opportunity with a layup to make it a one-point game at 54-53 with 2:48 on the clock.
Belmont came up empty-handed on three consecutive offensive trips, but Tennessee Tech hit only one of six free throws as head coach Bart Brooks called a timeout with 25 seconds remaining following a Wells defensive board. Wells' tying layup and the final sequence of events took place after the 30-second break.
All told, the Bruins shot 38.2 percent (21-of-55) for the contest after going 13-for-30 (43.3 percent) in the second half. The Golden Eagles shot 52.4 percent (11-of-21) in the second half and were 3-of-6 from long range, finishing 42.2 percent (19-of-45) overall from the field and 42.1 percent (8-of-19) from distance.
Jones led all scorers with 16 points on 7-for-15 shooting as she tallied five rebounds and came up with four steals. Wells finished with 14 points on 6-for-11 shooting and four assists. Bartley had nine points and both Chinn and Miller recorded six boards each.
Tennessee Tech's Anna Jones notched 15 points after going 7-of-11 from the floor and the Golden Eagles got 13 points from guard Peyton Carter.
The defeat is Belmont's first blemish in 2022.
Up Next
The Bruins are back on the road next Thursday, Jan. 27 when they travel to Austin Peay for a 5 p.m. tipoff from inside the Winfield Dunn Center. Next Saturday, Jan. 29, Belmont welcomes defending OVC regular season champion the University of Tennessee at Martin to the Curb Event Center for a 4 p.m. tip.
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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