Bruins Take on Georgia Tech in First of Two Meetings Sunday at the Gulf Coast Showcase

 
ESTERO, Fla. – In the first of two meetings in eight days, the Belmont University women's basketball team will face Georgia Tech in the consolation bracket final of the 2022 Gulf Coast Showcase Sunday at 12:30 p.m. CT/1:30 p.m. ET in Estero, Florida. The fifth-place game of the three-day Thanksgiving tournament between the Bruins (2-4) and the Yellow Jackets (4-2) at Hertz Arena will wrap up each's stay in southwest Florida.
 
The non-conference neutral-site matchup will be broadcast on FloHoops and can be accessed through a paid subscription. Dr. Rich Tiner will provide play-by-play of the action on BelmontBruins.com via Belmont All-Access. Live in-game statistics will be available at BelmontBruins.com.
 
What's Bruin

• Featuring a trio of nationally-ranked programs – No. 21 Baylor, No. 22 Michigan and No. 23 Villanova – in addition to receiving-votes South Florida, the three-day Gulf Coast Showcase is one of the premier in-season college basketball tournaments. Seven of the eight participants in this year's Gulf Coast Showcase made national postseason play in 2021-22 while half the tournament field won at least one game in the 2022 NCAA Tournament.
• Joining Belmont in the Fort Myers, Florida, area this weekend is Air Force (3-3), three-time national champion Baylor (5-1), Atlantic Coast Conference mainstay Georgia Tech (4-2), Michigan (6-0), Saint Louis (1-7), South Florida (7-1) and Villanova (5-1). The Wolverines reached last season's Elite Eight, while the Bruins, Baylor and Villanova all appeared in the NCAA Tournament Round of 32. Georgia Tech and South Florida also made the 68-team NCAA Tournament field this past March.
• Next Sunday, Belmont hosts Georgia Tech at the Curb Event Center in the Music City. The Yellow Jackets will be the second ACC team the Bruins host in non-conference action this season as Belmont welcomed then seventh-ranked Louisville to Nashville on Sunday, Nov. 13.
• Saturday afternoon the Bruins earned their first MTE (multi-team event) victory since November of 2017 with a 78-68 triumph over Saint Louis in the opening consolation game of the Gulf Coast Showcase. Belmont overcame the Billikens scoring the first 15 points of the contest and used an impressive 40-11 run over the final 15:19 of the first half to build a 14-point 40-26 lead by halftime. Going on a 14-2 run to claw back into the game in the first quarter, the Bruins outscored Saint Louis 24-4 in the second quarter. Belmont limited the Billikens to only one made field goal and two free throws in the second quarter as the Bruins got 31 points off the bench. Junior guard Destinee Wells, who scored a game and season-best 26 points on 8-for-15 shooting, went 7-for-7 at the free-throw line and connected on four clutch foul shots in the final 75 seconds. However, the biggest storyline of the day was career performances from sophomores Kilyn McGuff and Tessa Miller. Guard McGuff reached a career-high 20 points on 6-for-9 shooting, scoring 13 of her points in the first half and going 3-for-4 from beyond the arc. Forward Miller pulled down a career-high 16 boards off the bench in one of the best showings on the glass in recent Belmont history. The win was just the Bruins' second against a current Atlantic 10 Conference program as Belmont improved to 2-2 against the A-10 all-time.
• Miller's 16 rebounds against Saint Louis were the second-most in a single game in the 10-year history of the Gulf Coast Showcase. They were also the most by a Bruin since Ellie Harmeyer (2015-20) also grabbed 16 at Tennessee State on Feb. 29, 2020.
• Belmont took 23rd-ranked Villanova to the final possession Friday afternoon to begin Gulf Coast Showcase play, battling back from a 21-point deficit in the third quarter before ultimately falling 83-80. Led by inspired play from graduate guard Sydni Harvey, who scored 24 points on 9-for-16 shooting, the Bruins went on a 20-2 scoring run from the midway point of the third quarter to two minutes into the fourth quarter. Despite trailing for nearly the entirety of the game, Belmont tied up the score twice in the fourth quarter and got 10 consecutive points from Harvey. Overcoming the Wildcats' impressive 72.4 percent (21-of-29) shooting in the first half, the Bruins held Villanova to 36 percent (9-of-25) shooting across the closing 20 minutes. In fact, Belmont didn't surrender a Wildcat basket in the final four minutes of the contest. The Bruins outscored Villanova 40-30 in the second half as four Belmont players reached double figures.
• Villanova, who is ranked 23rd in this week's Associated Press (AP) Top 25 and is receiving 52 votes in the USA Today Sports/Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Coaches Poll, represented the third nationally-ranked opponent for the Bruins in four games.
• Five of Belmont's first seven opponents this season won over 20 games last year and earned a national postseason tournament bid. In fact, 11 opponents on the Bruins' 2022-23 schedule won at least 20 games last season and 12 reached a national postseason tournament last March. Georgia Tech is the fourth of seven 2022 NCAA Tournament teams Belmont faces this season.
• Sunday afternoon will be the third all-time meeting between the Bruins and Yellow Jackets with Georgia Tech winning both previous matchups. Each of the first two meetings took place in Atlanta with the Yellow Jackets defeating Belmont 58-45 on Nov. 14 last year. In the first game between the two programs, Georgia Tech notched a 76-64 win on Jan. 24, 1998.
• Last November, the host 17th-ranked Yellow Jackets closed out a tightly-contested non-conference affair on a 13-2 run after the Bruins trailed by only two at 45-43 with five minutes to go. Belmont led by as much as nine in the first quarter and held a 17-11 advantage early in the second quarter. The low-scoring game saw only one lead change and two ties but Georgia Tech led by no more than two possessions until late in the third quarter. Wells posted 18 points to lead all scorers, while junior guard Tuti Jones tallied 12 points and collected a team-best six rebounds.
• The Bruins are 5-12 all-time versus current ACC members with victories over Louisville, North Carolina, Wake Forest and Clemson.
• Under head coach Bart Brooks, Belmont is 17-9 (.654) in neutral-site games and the Bruins have gone 8-3 in neutral-site affairs since the beginning of the 2020-21 season.
• Saturday's win was Belmont's first MTE victory since defeating Gonzaga and Florida Gulf Coast, both of whom were receiving top-25 votes, at the Play4Kay Showcase in Las Vegas in 2017.
• Former Bruin standout Kylee Smith (2015-18) is in her first season on the Yellow Jackets' staff as the program's director of creative content and brand manager. Prior to her four-year professional career overseas, Smith was a three-time All-Ohio Valley Conference First Team selection, the 2017 OVC Tournament MVP, and the 2018 Division I-AAA Athletics Directors Association (DI-AAA ADA) Scholar-Athlete of the Year. In addition to ranking fourth on Belmont's NCAA era scoring list with 1,520 career points, Smith helped lead the Bruins to their first national ranking during the 2017-18 season and five combined OVC championships. Tabbed Tennessee Sports Writers Association (TSWA) Player of the Year as a senior, Smith garnered CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America) Academic All-America^® honors and was named a 2016-17 OVC Scholar-Athlete of the Year. She went 82-19 during her three-year Belmont career after transferring in from Vanderbilt and aided the Bruins to three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances.
• Sophomore forward Kendal Cheesman grew up in Tampa, Florida, where she starred at H.B. Plant High School. Rated a four-star recruit by Prospects Nation, Cheesman is Plant's all-time leading scorer (1,706 points), rebounder (1,177 rebounds) and shot blocker (288 blocks). She racked up an impressive 50 double-doubles during her four-year varsity career and captained the Lady Panthers all four seasons. Cheesman led Plant to back-to-back state title game appearances and the 2021 Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) Class 7A state championship. The highly-touted Sunshine State recruit scored 24 points and snagged 18 boards in the state title game en route to being named 2020-21 Gatorade Florida Girls Basketball Player of the Year, 2021 Florida Dairy Farmers Class 7A Player of the Year and MaxPreps Florida Player of the Year. Last Wednesday at Middle Tennessee, Cheesman was the Bruins' lone bright spot as she scored a team-high 14 points in only 12 minutes of action. All her scoring took place in the second half as she went 4-for-6 from distance in only her second game donning the Belmont jersey after transferring in from nearby Southeastern Conference member Vanderbilt.
• Harvey, a Nashville native, spent the first four years of her collegiate career along the Gulf Coast of Florida at South Florida. An All-American Athletic Conference performer, Harvey averaged 10.5 points for the Bulls and helped lead USF to back-to-back NCAA Tournament berths her last two seasons. She won 81 games as a Bull and was named the 2021 AAC Tournament Most Outstanding Player, helping lead USF to 2020-21 AAC regular season and tournament championships. Harvey scored in double figures 56 times while at USF and has reached double figures in four of her first six games as a Bruin.
• Wells has been held under double figures in consecutive games just once in her impressive career, finishing with nine points at then fourth-ranked Iowa last weekend and scoring five against the Lady Raiders last Wednesday evening.
• Following the first week of the season, Wells was tabbed Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week after a pair of 20-point home performances against the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and top-10 ranked Louisville. Wells scored 26 of her 40 points on the week in the fourth quarter, grabbed a career-high tying seven rebounds against the Mocs, and put Belmont in front of the nationally-ranked Cardinals with only 2:17 remaining. The Lakeland, Tennessee (Houston HS), native became the Bruins' 33rd 1,000-point scorer in the tightly-contested matchup with seventh-ranked Louisville and was recently named to the 2022-23 John R. Wooden Award^® presented by Wendy's^® Preseason Top 50 Watch List. One of only four mid-major players to appear on the prestigious watch list, Wells has scored 1,060 points and registered 278 assists in only 62 career games. She has reached double-figure scoring in 47 of her last 51 games and 55 of 62 career outings. Wells owns 23 20-point games and was tabbed MVC Preseason Player of the Year in Belmont's first year in the league.
• Between Harvey, who scored 1,142 points at South Florida and has accounted for 1,211 career points, and Wells, the Bruins have two career 1,000-point scorers.
• Belmont received seven votes in the AP Top 25 and eight votes in the USA Today Sports/Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Coaches Poll following week one of the regular season. The Bruins received 14 votes in the preseason AP Top 25 and nine votes in the preseason USA Today Sports/WBCA Coaches Poll.
• One of the premier mid-major programs in the country, Belmont is ranked No. 9 in the nation in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25^®.
• Entering their first season in the MVC, the Bruins were picked to win the conference after a vote of the league's head coaches, sports information directors and media members. Belmont received 32 of 44 possible first-place votes in the preseason predicted order of finish.
• Ranked 25th in Sports Illustrated's 2022-23 basketball preview edition, the Bruins have either been ranked or received votes in at least one of the two major national polls for eight-straight seasons.
• Belmont is the only non-power conference team to reach the NCAA Tournament Round of 32 each of the last two seasons.
• The Bruins have earned a national postseason bid nine of the last 10 years and reached each of the last six NCAA Tournaments.
• Belmont is one of just 12 programs in the nation and one of only three non-power conference teams (Florida Gulf Coast and South Dakota State) to win 20 or more games for seven-straight seasons.
• The Bruins own the 17th-most victories in NCAA Division I women's basketball history (1,036).
• Belmont is the only school in the nation to win 20 or more games for seven consecutive seasons in both men's and women's basketball.
• In 2021-22, Belmont and BYU were the only two schools in the country who received votes in top-25 coaches polls in men's and women's basketball and baseball during their respective regular seasons.
• In his sixth season at the helm, coach Brooks has guided the Bruins to an impressive 125-38 (.767) record and eight combined conference championships, including regular season and tournament titles.

About the Yellow Jackets

• Led by fourth-year head coach Nell Fortner, Georgia Tech is 4-2 on the young season with wins over Georgia State (60-42), Kennesaw State (65-39), Auburn (57-51) and Air Force (65-59). Prior to their six-point win over the Falcons Saturday afternoon in the Gulf Coast Showcase, the Yellow Jackets suffered a 63-50 loss to receiving-votes South Florida to begin the weekend. Last Sunday, Georgia Tech was defeated 66-52 at home by Georgia.
• The Yellow Jackets reached their second-straight NCAA Tournament last March and earned a No. 9 seed where they bowed out to eighth-seeded Kansas (77-58) in the first round.
• Georgia Tech reached the Sweet 16 in the 2021 NCAA Tournament as a No. 5 seed.

Up Next
Belmont continues its strenuous non-conference slate next Sunday with the Yellow Jackets at the Curb. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. with the marquee home matchup 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.
 
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