Bruins Take 23rd-Ranked Villanova to Final Possession in Florida

ESTERO, Fla. – Another matchup with one of the top teams in the nation came down to the final sequence of plays for the Belmont University women's basketball team Friday afternoon inside Hertz Arena in Estero, Florida. The Bruins (1-4) battled 23rd-ranked Villanova in a high-scoring affair to open play at the 2022 Gulf Coast Showcase, falling 83-80 following a valiant second-half comeback.
 
Belmont trailed by as much as 21 in the third quarter but thanks to inspired play by graduate guard Sydni Harvey, who scored a season-high 24 points, the Bruins tied the game three minutes into the fourth quarter. The Wildcats, who are unbeaten on the season at 5-0, hit two free throws in the final 10 seconds to clinch the win after Belmont trailed by just one three times in the closing 70 seconds.

Villanova led for over 38 minutes of the non-conference contest and forced the Bruins to play catchup after knocking down a three to begin the game. The Wildcats shot lights out in the first half and raced out to a 25-16 lead following the first quarter of action. Going 10-for-15 (66.7 percent) from the field and 3-for-4 from beyond the arc in the opening 10 minutes of play, Villanova used a 16-6 run over five minutes to build a 10-point lead at 23-13.

A conventional three-point play from junior guard Destinee Wells made it a seven-point game early in the second quarter, but the Wildcats outscored Belmont 15-7 over the next 3:19 to take a 15-point lead at 44-29 with 5:41 remaining in the half. Villanova led 53-40 at the break after shooting 72.4 percent (21-of-29) in the first half and going 7-for-10 from long range. The Wildcats connected on 11 of their 14 shot attempts (78.6 percent) in the second quarter.

Reigning BIG EAST Conference Player of the Year Maddy Siegrist scored 21 first-half points on 8-for-9 shooting as the Bruins shot 56.5 percent (13-of-23) across the first 20 minutes, including going 5-for-9 from distance. Belmont went 7-for-11 from the field in the second quarter with junior guard Tuti Jones and Harvey scoring 11 points apiece in the first half.

After Siegrist's first-half performance, the Bruins limited the All-American forward to only two points in the third quarter and eight points total in the second half. However, Villanova built its lead to 21 by starting the third quarter on a 11-3 run over the first five minutes of second-half action.

Trailing 64-43 at the midway mark of the third quarter, Belmont began its ferocious fight. Sparked by a layup from sophomore forward Tessa Miller, the Bruins went on a dominant 12-2 run to close out the quarter. A converted and-one by Jones, a free throw from freshman guard Kate Hollifield, and triples by junior forward Madison Bartley and Wells cut the deficit to 11 at 66-55 going into the final quarter.

Outscoring the Wildcats 20-2 from midway through the third quarter to two minutes into the fourth quarter, Belmont got a three-point play from Bartley followed by five consecutive Harvey points to get within three at 66-63. Scoring the first eight points of the last quarter, the Bruins knotted the score at 68 on a Harvey layup with seven minutes to go. Harvey's basket capped 10-straight points for the South Florida transfer.

A pair of Wells free throws once again evened the score at 70-all with six minutes left. From there, Villanova went on a 6-2 run over the next 3:07 of action to pull ahead by four at 76-72.

Harvey sunk her final three-pointer to get Belmont within one at 76-75 with 2:42 left and the two teams exchanged foul shots the rest of the way. Jones kept the Bruins within a point at 78-77 with two made free throws, before Baird drained consecutive foul shots with 11 seconds on the clock to make it 81-80 Wildcats. Belmont fouled on Villanova's possession and Siegrist went 1-for-2 at the line, keeping the door slightly ajar for the Bruins.

Down 82-80 with just under 10 seconds to work with, head coach Bart Brooks called a 30-second timeout and Belmont got a good look on a Harvey layup. Despite grabbing the offensive board and the Wildcats committing a foul on the rebound, the Bruins were unable to convert their free throws and were forced to foul Villanova once again. The Wildcats' Christina Dalce went 1-for-2 at the line but with less than a second to work with, Wells was unable to get a three-quarter-court shot off at the buzzer.

Belmont held Villanova to 36 percent (9-of-25) shooting in the second half and the Wildcats hit only two of their eight three-point attempts in the second 20 minutes of play. The Bruins shot 42.9 percent (12-of-28) in the second half and went 5-for-11 from long range.
 
Going 20-for-28 at the free-throw line, including 11-for-16 (68.8 percent) in the second half, Belmont held a 29-26 advantage on the glass. Despite the Bruins turning the ball over 15 times, Villanova was only able to score 14 points off turnovers.
 
The Wildcats finished 14-of-21 at the foul line and were 10-of-16 (62.5 percent) in the second half.
 
Both squads scored 28 points in the paint.

After spending the previous four years on the Gulf Coast of Florida, Harvey felt right at home and finished 9-of-16 from the floor. She went 6-for-10 from distance and added a pair of assists and a pair of rebounds. Both Jones and Wells finished with 16 points and Bartley added 10 points and a game-best seven rebounds. Wells distributed a team-high three assists and Miller snagged a season-high six boards.

Siegrist tallied a game-high 29 points for Villanova on 10-for-15 shooting and came up with a game-best five steals. Wildcat starting guard Lucy Olsen scored 20 on 8-for-14 shooting and fellow starting guard Maddie Burke had 11.
 
Up Next
Belmont takes on Saint Louis Saturday morning at 10 a.m. CT/11 a.m. ET in the consolation bracket of the Gulf Coast Showcase. The game will be broadcast live on FloHoops, which can be accessed via a paid subscription. The Billikens (1-6) were defeated 92-58 by 21st-ranked Baylor in the opening game of three-day Thanksgiving weekend tournament.
 
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