Bruins Open 2022-23 Campaign Wednesday with Chattanooga at the Curb

 
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – For the second consecutive year, the Belmont University women's basketball team will begin its season by taking on the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. The Mocs visit the enhanced Curb Event Center Wednesday evening for a 6:30 p.m. tip in the Music City.
 
Fans in attendance will have the opportunity to grab a free Bruins poster and get autographs from the team following the game.
 
Wednesday's opener will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Dr. Rich Tiner (play-by-play) and former Belmont guard Jenny Bream (analyst) calling the game. Hanley Riggs will serve as sideline reporter. The non-conference matchup can also be heard on Belmont Bruins Radio on iHeart Radio. Live in-game statistics will be available at BelmontBruins.com.
 
What's Bruin

• For the third time in four years, the Bruins will take on Chattanooga for their season opener. Belmont won last season's opener 88-70 in Chattanooga after defeating the Mocs 63-50 to begin its 2019-20 campaign.
• The Bruins start their 2022-23 journey receiving 14 votes in the Associated Press (AP) Top 25 and nine votes in the USA Today Sports/Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Top 25.
• Belmont is ranked No. 6 in the nation in the preseason CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25^®.
• The Bruins ended last season ranked 45th in the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET).
• Entering its first season in the Missouri Valley Conference, Belmont was picked to win the league after a vote of the conference's head coaches, sports information directors and media members. The Bruins received 32 of 44 possible first-place votes in the preseason predicted order of finish.
• Junior guard Destinee Wells, who is only 36 points away from becoming Belmont's 33rd 1,000-point scorer, is an early candidate for the Nancy Lieberman Award, Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy and Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award. The preseason MVC Player of the Year was named to all three national player of the year awards' preseason watch lists after averaging 16.7 points and 4.5 assists her sophomore season. Wells has averaged 17.2 points, 4.6 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.6 steals in her first two years while reaching double figures in 43 of her last 45 games and 51 of 56 career outings.
• In addition to Wells, the Bruins return 2022 Ohio Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year Tuti Jones (junior guard) and fellow All-OVC First Team performer Madison Bartley (junior forward). With seven of its top nine scorers in 2021-22 returning, Belmont features five newcomers. Transfers Sydni Harvey (South Florida) and Kendal Cheesman (Vanderbilt) look to make an immediate impact, while the Bruins welcome freshmen Brooke Highmark (St. Louis, Mo.),  Kate Hollifield (Shelby, N.C.) and Caroline Bachus (Athens, Ala.).
• Within a ball bounce of the program's first Sweet 16 appearance, Belmont reached the NCAA Tournament Round of 32 for the second-straight season last March after upsetting fifth-seeded Oregon 73-70 in a double-overtime first-round thriller. The Bruins went 23-8 in 2021-22 and finished 16-2 in league play en route to their fifth OVC regular season championship in six years. Winning its sixth OVC Tournament title in seven seasons, Belmont became just the second program in Division I women's basketball history to win NCAA Tournament games in back-to-back seasons as a No. 12 seed or lower.
• 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 of seven-straight seasons.
• The Bruins own the 17th-most victories in Division I women's basketball history (1,034).
• 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.
• Since the start of the 2012-13 season, the Bruins are 106-22 (.828) inside the Curb. Head coach Bart Brooks is 54-8 (.871) at home since taking over the reins of the program in April of 2017.
• Entering his sixth season at the helm, coach Brooks has guided Belmont to an impressive 123-34 (.783) record and eight combined conference championships, including regular season and tournament titles, in his first five years.
• Wednesday night will be the 18th all-time meeting between the Bruins and Chattanooga with the Mocs holding an 11-6 lead in the series.
• Chattanooga has gone 5-3 against Belmont in Nashville.
• In last year's opener against the Mocs, four different Bruins scored in double figures led by Bartley's 21 and Wells' 20. Jones scored 10 and Wells distributed a team-high eight assists. Belmont held a 30-13 lead after the first quarter and went 6-for-9 from deep in the first 10 minutes of play. The Bruins finished with 12 three pointers and closed the game on a 20-8 run after being outscored 22-15 in the third quarter.

About the Mocs

• Led by first-year head coach Shawn Poppie, Chattanooga opened its season Monday night with a dominant 65-39 win over Division II Young Harris.
• The Mocs were picked to finish fifth in the Southern Conference according to the league's preseason coaches and media polls after finishing in a three-way tie for fifth place in the eight-team conference last season. Chattanooga went 7-23 overall and 5-9 in the SoCon a year ago.
• Senior 6-foot-2 forward Abbey Cornelius, a two-time All-SoCon Second Team pick, is a preseason All-SoCon selection after leading the Mocs in scoring (13.2 PPG) and rebounding (8.9 RPG) last season.
• Senior 5-foot-11 guard Yazz Wazeerud-Din, a Stetson transfer, paced Chattanooga Monday night evening with a game-high 20 points. Both freshman 5-foot-10 forward Raven Thompson and sophomore 5-foot-4 guard Addie Porter scored 10 points in the Mocs' opener with Thompson pulling down a game-high nine boards.

Up Next
Belmont hosts seventh-ranked Louisville late Sunday afternoon in a marquee non-conference matchup. The Cardinals will be the first reigning Final Four team to visit the Curb. Tipoff is slated for 4 p.m. with the game 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.