At Tech Saturday

Belmont (12-7, 8-2 OVC) at Tennessee Tech (14-7, 9-2 OVC)
Saturday, Feb. 5 | 5:30 p.m.
Hooper Eblen Center | Cookeville, Tenn.
ESPN+ | Audio | Live Stats
Belmont Game Notes | Tennessee Tech Game Notes

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Continuing its three-game road trip, the Belmont University women's basketball team returns to action Saturday at Ohio Valley Conference leader Tennessee Tech. Seeking their third-straight victory and fresh off a dominant 39-point, 85-46 rout at Tennessee State Thursday evening, the Bruins (12-7, 8-2 OVC) look to avenge Belmont's two-point home setback to the Golden Eagles (14-7, 9-2 OVC) two weeks ago.

Tipoff from the Hooper Eblen Center in Cookeville, Tennessee, is set for 5:30 p.m.

Tennessee Tech owns a half-game lead on the Bruins in the 10-team conference standings. Belmont is in the middle of a three-game stretch in five days.

Saturday evening's league road contest will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Dylan Vazzano (play-by-play) and Frank Harrell (analyst) on the call. Live play-by-play audio of the matchup will be provided by Dr. Rich Tiner and can be heard on the Bruin Sports Network via Twitter. In-game statistics will be available at TTUSports.com.

What's Bruin

• The Bruins earned their sixth road win of the season Thursday against the host Lady Tigers and improved to 4-1 away from home in OVC play.
• Shooting a season-best 64.2 percent from the floor, Belmont led from the 4:22 mark of the first quarter forward Thursday night inside the Gentry Center in Nashville. The Bruins assisted on 25 of 34 made field goals, scored 44 points in the paint, and owned a 36-25 advantage on the glass to claim their 13th-straight win in the series versus crosstown adversary Tennessee State.
• Going 10-for-19 from three-point range (52.6 percent), Belmont used a blistering shooting display in the second half to ensure the road triumph. The Bruins were nearly perfect in the fourth quarter, missing just one shot from beyond the arc on 11-for-12 shooting from the field. For the half, Belmont went 19-for-26 (73.1 percent) and was 3-of-5 from outside.
• The efficient offensive output in the second half came after a superb defensive effort in the first half as the Bruins held the Lady Tigers to 23 percent shooting across the opening 20 minutes of play. Belmont forced 20 Tennessee State turnovers for the game and scored 24 points off the Lady Tigers' miscues.
• For the fifth time of the season five different Bruins reached double figures led by impressive outings from senior forward Conley Chinn, sophomore guard Destinee Wells and sophomore forward Madison Bartley.
• Wells recorded her first career double-double with 14 points and a career-high tying 10 assists, while Chinn scored a season-high 20 points on 9-for-12 shooting. Bartley racked up a career-best seven blocks, the most in a single game by a Belmont player since Sally McCabe's eight versus Murray State on Jan. 17, 2018. She also had a near double-double with 19 points and a game-high eight rebounds.
• Freshman guard Kilyn McGuff registered her second consecutive double-figure scoring game Thursday at Tennessee State, posting 10 points and six rebounds in 23 minutes off the bench.
• Senior guard Jamilyn Kinney dished out a season-high six assists and sophomore guard Tuti Jones finished with 15 points and four assists, going 3-for-5 from distance.
• Ten games into conference play, the Bruins are holding opponents to 54 points per contest. In fact, only Southeast Missouri and Austin Peay have scored more than 60 points against Belmont in OVC action.
• The Bruins' average scoring margin of 21.9 points and 75.9 points per game in league play both lead the 10-team conference as well.
• Tabbed OVC Preseason Player of the Year, Wells has reached double-figure scoring in 32 of her last 33 games dating back to Feb. 4, 2021. One of the top guards in the nation, Wells ranks among the top 60 players nationally in both assists per game (4.8) and total assists (91). She is second in the league in assists and tied for fourth in scoring (15.1 PPG). In conference play, Wells' 5.6 assists per game lead the OVC.
• Including league tournament games, head coach Bart Brooks has led Belmont to an astonishing 82-10 (.891) record against OVC opponents since taking over the reins of the program in April of 2017.
• Saturday will be the 59th all-time meeting between the Bruins and Golden Eagles with Belmont holding a slight 30-28 advantage in the series. Tennessee Tech defeated the Bruins in a wire-to-wire 57-55 affair just two weeks ago inside the Curb Event Center.
• Belmont has gone 16-5 against the Golden Eagles since joining the OVC prior to the 2012-13 season and is 18-7 versus Tennessee Tech in the Bruins' NCAA Division I era.
• Picking up a 77-56 win in Cookeville last February, Belmont has won eight straight at Tennessee Tech dating back to January of 2013.
• Defeating the Golden Eagles 77-56 on the road last season, the Bruins shot 52 percent from the field and 43 percent (9-of-21) from deep while assisting on 20 of its 29 made field goals. Belmont scored 23 points off 15 Tennessee Tech turnovers.
• A one possession game with seconds remaining went the way of the Golden Eagles two Saturdays ago in the Music City as Tennessee Tech snapped the Bruins' six-game winning streak. A pair of would-be game-tying baskets in front of the rim came up just short before time expired after the Golden Eagles' Anna Jones scored on a baseline drive with just over five seconds remaining. Wells had knotted up the game at 55 on a driving layup with 21 seconds to go. Trailing for 36-and-a-half minutes of the contest, Belmont tied the score twice in the fourth quarter and had a chance at the end thanks to four missed Tennessee Tech free throws in the final minute. Jones led all scorers with 16 points and had five rebounds and four steals, while Wells notched 14 points and distributed four assists.
• Both Chinn and Wells were outstanding against the Golden Eagles last season, averaging 22.5 points apiece in two meetings.
• Coach Brooks is 8-2 versus Tennessee Tech.
• The Bruins have either been ranked or received votes in at least one of the two major national polls for seven consecutive seasons.
• Belmont remains a top-25 team in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25^®, checking in at No. 24 in this week's poll.

About the Golden Eagles

• Led by sixth-year head coach Kim Rosamond, who served as an assistant on Vanderbilt University's staff during the latter part of Bruin assistant coaches Amy Malo and Jessica Holman (Mooney)'s Commodore playing careers, the Golden Eagles are on a seven-game winning streak. Starting conference play 2-2, Tennessee Tech hasn't lost since a 70-45 home defeat to Murray State on Jan. 8.
• Since their win at Belmont, the Golden Eagles have earned home victories over Eastern Illinois (65-60) and Austin Peay (59-56) and claimed road triumphs at the University of Tennessee at Martin (67-56) and most recently Morehead State (87-69) Thursday afternoon.
• Picked to finish second in the OVC according to the preseason predicted order of finish, Tennessee Tech garnered two first-place votes. The Golden Eagles tied for fifth place in the OVC a year ago after going 12-8 in league action. Posting a 15-10 overall record in 2020-21, Tennessee Tech reached the OVC Championship semifinals as the No. 5 seed before falling to top-seeded UT Martin (69-56).
• With a trio of returning All-OVC Second Team performers, the Golden Eagles placed four on the preseason All-OVC Team. However, returning All-OVC Second Team graduate guard Jordan Brock has yet to appear in a game this season.
• Graduate 6-foot-1 guard/forward Anna Jones, a 2020-21 All-OVC Second Team and OVC All-Newcomer Team selection, is averaging a team-best 12.1 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.
• Preseason All-OVC 6-foot-3 graduate forward Mackenzie Coleman is also averaging double-figure scoring (12.0 PPG), while junior 5-foot-8 guard Jada Guinn (9.3 PPG) leads Tennessee Tech in assists (3.7 APG).
• The Golden Eagles are among the top 50 shooting teams in the country (44.2 percent) and rank in the top 15 in both free throw makes and attempts.

Up Next

The Bruins wrap up their three-game road trip Monday at defending OVC regular season champion UT Martin. Tipoff from inside the Elam Center in Martin, Tennessee, is slated for 6 p.m. The conference road tilt will be broadcast on ESPN+.

Belmont season tickets, which include the entire men's and women's basketball home schedule, are on sale now at BelmontBruins.com/Tickets, in addition to flex packs, single game tickets and group experiences. Fans can also call or text 615.460.BALL (2255).

To become a Bruin Club member, contact Russell Grimm at (615) 460-5668 or russell.grimm@belmont.edu.

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.

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