Bruins Outlast Troy 98-87 in High-Scoring Overtime Victory

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Graduate guard Sydni Harvey nailed a program record 10 three-pointers and scored a career-high 33 points and the Belmont University women's basketball team outlasted Troy University 98-87 in an overtime holiday hoops thriller Tuesday afternoon inside the Curb Event Center. The Bruins (4-7) got a career-high 21 rebounds from sophomore forward Tessa Miller and 24 points and a season-best nine assists from junior guard Destinee Wells in the high-scoring victory.

Wrapping up its non-conference slate with a win, Belmont held the lead for only a little over 11 minutes of the contest and overcame a six-point fourth-quarter deficit. A Wells layup with 26 seconds remaining in regulation sent the game into overtime and the Bruins outscored the visiting Trojans (5-6) 18-7 in the extra five minutes of play.

Belmont led for nearly the entirety of the overtime period after junior forward Madison Bartley scored 13 of her 17 points in the fourth quarter. Trailing 69-63 in the fourth, the Bruins put together an 11-2 run over a 3:40 stretch.

Outscoring Troy 19-13 in the fourth quarter, freshman guard Brooke Highmark drained a top-of-the-key three to ignite Belmont's game-changing run. Bartley then scored eight consecutive points to give the Bruins a 74-71 lead with just under five minutes to go.

After the Trojans took a brief 76-75 lead with three minutes left in regulation, Bartley came up with a clutch triple from the wing to put Belmont back in front 78-76. Following jumpers by Troy's Makayia Hallmon and Nia Daniel, the Bruins got possession with 36 seconds showing on the clock and down by two. Thirty-second timeouts were called by both teams before Wells' layup evened the score at 80 with 26 seconds remaining.

Belmont played excellent defense following a full timeout by the Trojans and with a foul to give, fouled as the clock winded down to three seconds. Guarded closely, Troy lost the ball as time expired to send the game into overtime.

The Bruins quickly took a five-point lead in the extra period as Harvey connected on her 10th trey 78 seconds into overtime to give the home team an 87-82 advantage. A Wells layup made it 91-85 with 1:45 to go and Belmont made seven free throws down the stretch. Sophomore guard Kilyn McGuff's free throws with 18 seconds left in overtime put the Bruins up 98-85, the 13-point lead representing the largest by either team.

The Trojans' Jada Walton got a second-chance basket to go in the final seconds of overtime, Troy's lone field goal in the last three minutes of the contest.

Belmont scored 21 points in each of the first two quarters as the Bruins and Trojans were deadlocked at 42 heading into halftime. Harvey accounted for 15 of Belmont's 21 first-quarter points after going 5-for-6 from long range. Wells then scored 12 points in the second quarter. Both squads attempted around 40 shots in the first half with the Bruins going 15-for-37 (40.5 percent) from the field and Troy 18-for-43 (41.9 percent).

Behind 7-for-9 shooting at the foul line in the quarter, the Trojans outscored Belmont 25-19 in the third to build a 67-61 lead heading into the fourth. Harvey scored 13 of the Bruins' 19 points in the third quarter.
 
Belmont went 5-for-7 (71.4 percent) from the field in overtime and connected on all but one of its eight free-throw attempts. The Bruins were 4-for-6 (66.7 percent) from beyond the arc and shot 54.5 percent (12-of-22) overall across the fourth quarter and overtime.

Limiting Troy to 20 percent shooting (3-of-15) in overtime, Belmont outrebounded the Trojans 10-7 in the all-important extra period.

The Bruins held Troy to 36.5 percent shooting (35-of-96) for the game, including 21.4 percent (3-of-14) from outside. Belmont finished 43.2 percent from the floor with a season-high 32 made field goals on 74 attempts. Knocking down a season-best 15 threes, the Bruins shot 45.5 percent (15-of-33) from distance.

Assisting on 21 baskets, also a season high, Belmont outscored the Trojans 11-5 on the fast break and 24-19 off the bench.

The top rebounding and offensive rebounding team in the nation, Troy racked up an impressive 62 boards including 29 on the offensive glass. The Trojans got 26 second-chance points and outpaced the Bruins 50-30 in the paint.

Belmont tallied a season-best 51 rebounds, the most in a game by the Bruins since also grabbing 51 in an 86-56 win at Murray State on Jan. 23, 2020.

Harvey's 10 three-pointers also tied the Curb record for treys made in a game by a single player. The most triples by any NCAA Division I women's basketball player this season, Harvey went 10-for-12 from long range. She also went 3-for-4 at the charity stripe.

Miller recorded Belmont's first 20-rebound game since Ellie Harmeyer notched 20 versus the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga on Nov. 6, 2019. Her 21 boards are just three off the program record of 24.

Wells also added a trio of rebounds and a pair of steals. Bartley had two steals and five rebounds, while McGuff nearly registered her first double-double with 11 points and a season-high eight rebounds.

Hallmon led Troy with 22 points and both Ja'Mia Hollings and Tai'Sheka Porchia posted double-doubles. Hollings accounted for 19 points and 10 rebounds as Porchia notched 15 points and 12 boards. Off the bench, Walton finished with 11 points, eight rebounds and a team-high four assists.

Of Note
The combined 185 points represent the third-highest scoring women's basketball game in the Curb's 20-year history. The previous matchup between the Bruins and the Trojans in the Music City on Nov. 29, 2015, was the highest-scoring women's game in the Curb – a 102-93 Belmont victory. The Bruins improve to 12-5 all-time against Troy, including 7-1 at home. Harvey's 33 points are the most by a Belmont player since Wells scored 32 in the 2021 Ohio Valley Conference Tournament championship game versus UT Martin on March 6, 2021. Harvey's 10 threes are just one off the Missouri Valley Conference record for made triples in a single game – the last time a Valley player made 10 threes in a game was Jan. 24, 2014, when Drake's Kyndal Clark did so versus Loyola Chicago. She becomes the first Division I women's player to make 10 treys on 12 or fewer attempts since Taylor Porter of Marshall also went 10-for-12 on March 7, 2019, versus Florida International University. Wells is the first MVC player since 2016 to total 24 points, nine assists and two steals in a game. The Lakeland, Tennessee (Houston HS), native is the first MVC player since 2012 to notch 24 points, nine assists and two steals while making two or more three-pointers (2-of-5). Wells' 24-point, nine-assist, two-steal performance is only the ninth this season – three of the first eight such outings were accomplished by Iowa's Caitlin Clark. The Bruins improve to 104-24 (.813) inside the Curb since the start of the 2012-13 season. Head coach Bart Brooks improves to 56-10 (.848) at home since taking over the reins of the program in April of 2017.
 
Up Next
Belmont has 10 days off from game action for Christmas before beginning conference play after the holiday. The Bruins host Valparaiso for their first-ever MVC tilt Friday, Dec. 30 and welcome UIC to the Curb for a New Year's Day affair.

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