Bruins Take No. 7/5 Louisville to the Brink at the Curb Sunday

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Against one of the top teams in the nation Sunday inside the Curb Event Center, the Belmont University women's basketball team put together an impressive performance of elite competitiveness. The Bruins (1-1) battled top-10 ranked Louisville (1-1) in a 75-70 non-conference Music City thriller that went the Cardinals' way late.
 
The marquee matchup between two teams with recent NCAA Tournament success was about as wire-to-wire as you can get. The game featured 20 lead changes and 17 ties with neither team leading by more than six.
 
Despite leading for 18 minutes of the contest, compared to Louisville's 14 minutes with the lead, Belmont could not get a shot off on two key possessions in the closing seconds. An offensive foul and another turnover on a pass put the game just out of reach from the host Bruins.

Junior guard Destinee Wells, who once again saved her best for the final quarter of action, scored 13 of her team-high 20 points in the fourth and made a layup with 44 seconds remaining to make it a one-point game at 71-70. Following a missed jumper by the Cardinals' Hailey Van Lith, Wells secured a defensive rebound and Belmont looked to hold the ball for the final shot with the shot clock turned off and 23 seconds to work with. However, the Bruins were whistled for an offensive foul on a screen and Van Lith knocked down two clutch free throws.

Trailing 73-70 with 6.4 seconds to go, head coach Bart Brooks called a 30-second timeout and drew up a play for a would-be tying three-pointer. Louisville played it perfectly and got a steal on a pass from the paint, clinching the win with a pair of free throws from Peyton Verhulst.

A reigning Final Four team, the Cardinals went 14-for-14 at the free-throw line in the fourth quarter and were 20-of-21 for the game.
 
Belmont was effective from outside, going 7-for-12 (58.3 percent) on three-pointers while shooting 52.2 percent (24-of-46) overall from the field.

Louisville scored 20 points off 15 offensive rebounds and held a 32-28 overall advantage on the glass. The Cardinals turned 19 Bruin turnovers into 22 points and got 24 points from their bench.

Holding Louisville to 41 percent (25-of-61) shooting for the game, including 41.7 percent (5-of-12) from outside, Belmont led by six late in the second quarter.

A pair of free throws from junior forward Madison Bartley put the Bruins up 25-21 with just under six minutes left in the half, before a 7-2 run gave Belmont a 34-28 lead with 2:46 to go in the second quarter. A layup by sophomore forward Tessa Miller followed by a three from graduate guard Sydni Harvey gave the Bruins their largest lead of the day.

The Cardinals then shut out Belmont for the remainder of the half and went into the locker room on a 9-0 run. Triples by Merissah Russell and Chrislyn Carr gave Louisville a three-point, 37-34 lead at the break.
 
Junior guard Tuti Jones scored 10 of her 15 points in the first half as the Bruins shot 56.5 percent (13-of-23) from the field and went 3-for-4 from beyond the arc. Belmont limited the Cardinals to 37.8 percent (14-of-37) first-half shooting.

Neither team led by more than three in a back-and-forth third quarter and Louisville took a two-point, 50-48 lead into the fourth following a Van Lith basket.

Wells put the Bruins up 60-56 with her lone three of the game with six-and-a-half minutes to go, but the Cardinals would go on a 7-0 run to take a 63-60 lead with 4:21 remaining. Harvey hit a three at the 3:07 mark to put Belmont back in front at 66-65 and a Wells bucket gave the Bruins their final lead of the game at 68-67 with 2:17 on the clock.

Although Louisville missed a three-pointer on its ensuing possession, the Cardinals got an offensive board, a 30-second timeout and a layup from Mykasa Robinson to retake the lead at 69-68 with 1:45 left. Belmont couldn't score on its trip down the floor and fouled with just over a minute remaining. The Cardinals' Olivia Cochran hit two clutch free throws to make it a three-point affair at 71-68, setting up the final sequence.

The Bruins went 7-for-12 (58.3 percent) from the floor in the fourth quarter and 3-for-5 from distance. Belmont shot 47.8 percent (11-of-23) in the second half as Louisville went 11-for-24 (45.8 percent) from the field.
 
Going 10-for-12 at the free-throw line in the second half, the Bruins finished 15-of-18 (83.3 percent) overall at the charity stripe.

Harvey also finished with 15 points, scoring eight in the fourth quarter. Both Jones and Harvey went 3-for-4 from outside while Wells distributed a game-high four assists and Bartley pulled down a team-best six rebounds to go along with eight points.

Van Lith led all scorers with 25 points on 10-for-22 shooting. Cochran recorded a double-double for the Cardinals with 13 points and 13 boards and Carr scored 11.

?? | HC @BartABrooks following the Bruins' battle with No. 7/5 Louisville at the Curb Sunday ????#ItsBruinTime | #Splashville pic.twitter.com/0E6myPFRwF

— Belmont WBasketball (@BelmontWBB) November 14, 2022

Of Note
Louisville was the first-ever reigning Final Four team, men's or women's, to visit the Curb. The seventh-ranked Cardinals were just the second top-25 opponent Belmont has hosted. On Dec. 12, 2013, the Bruins welcomed No. 16 Georgia to the Curb. With Wells' 20-point performance, she becomes the 33rd Belmont player to reach 1,000 career points. The Lakeland, Tennessee (Houston HS), native has scored 1,004 points in only 58 career games.

Up Next
The Bruins begin a challenging five-game road stretch at Middle Tennessee Wednesday evening before traveling to top-five ranked Iowa next Sunday. Tipoff from the Murphy Center in Murfreesboro Wednesday is set for 6 p.m. The non-conference road tilt will be broadcast on ESPN+.
 
Both single game and season tickets are on sale. Season tickets are only $199 per seat and include all men's and women's basketball home games. Click here to view available seating and purchase your seats.
 
Flex pack plans for the 2022-23 season are also on sale and can be purchased here. For more information, call 615-460-BALL or visit BelmontBruins.com.
 
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.