NASHVILLE, Tenn. – With the college basketball season quickly approaching, the Belmont University women's basketball team is set to participate in the first Missouri Valley Conference Women's Basketball Tipoff Wednesday in Moline, Illinois. Head coach
Bart Brooks and junior guards
Tuti Jones and
Destinee Wells will take part in the single day media event held at Vibrant Arena at The MARK, the site of the league tournament in March known as Hoops in the Heartland.
Coach Brooks, Jones and Wells will begin the day by participating in a community service project alongside head coaches and student-athletes from Evansville, Indiana State, Murray State, Missouri State and Southern Illinois. From 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Wednesday, Jones, Wells and coach Brooks will interact with students at Madison Elementary in Davenport, Iowa. The community engagement project will help support United Way Quad Cities' Read United program.
Following the morning's community service, the Valley will host the 50 Years of Title IX Celebration Luncheon from 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. ESPN and CBS College Basketball analyst Debbie Antonelli will serve as host and emcee of the Title IX luncheon.
Coach Brooks, Jones and Wells will have media obligations from 1:25 p.m. – 4 p.m. inside Vibrant Arena at The MARK. In addition to media availability, the trio will take part in one-on-one video interviews with Antonelli and ESPN and CBS College Basketball broadcaster Kelly Burke. Media day activities will also include creative content gathering sessions for the MVC with a photo shoot and a marketing room, where pre-recorded video board content and public service announcements will be filmed.
In his sixth season at the helm, Brooks has established Belmont as one of the premier mid-major programs in the nation. Through Brooks' first five seasons in the Music City, the Bruins have captured eight combined conference championships, made two NCAA Tournament Round of 32 appearances and reached four NCAA Tournaments. He has guided Belmont to a remarkable record of 123-34 (.783).
Jones, the 2021-22 Ohio Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year and an All-OVC First Team selection, was a breakout star of March Madness last season. She averaged 19.5 points, six rebounds, three steals and 2.5 assists in the 2022 NCAA Tournament versus fifth-seeded Oregon and 18th-ranked Tennessee while shooting 61 percent (14-of-23) from the floor and 75 percent (6-of-8) from beyond the arc.
Wells, a 2021-22
World Exposure Report All-American honorable mention pick and the reigning Tennessee Sports Writers Association (TSWA) Player of the Year, became only the second player in OVC history to be named OVC Tournament MVP as both a freshman and sophomore last March. Belmont's leading scorer each of the last two seasons, Wells averaged 16.7 points, 4.5 assists, 3.6 rebounds and a steal in 2021-22.
The MVC Hoops in the Heartland women's basketball tournament will be held Thursday-Sunday, March 9-12 at Vibrant Arena at The MARK in the Quad Cities. Located in northwest Illinois and southeast Iowa, the Quad Cities is a region of Midwest cities comprised of Davenport, Iowa, Bettendorf, Iowa, Rock Island, Illinois, and Moline, Illinois.
The Bruins, who return seven of their top nine scorers from a season ago, enter their first season in the Valley. Belmont reached its second consecutive NCAA Tournament Round of 32 as a No. 12 seed last March with a thrilling, double-overtime victory over fifth-seeded Oregon (73-70).
Within a ball bounce of the school's first Sweet 16, the Bruins became only 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.
Facing one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the nation, Belmont will take on at least seven 20-win teams from last season. Highlighted by home games against ACC opponents Louisville, a reigning Final Four team, and Georgia Tech, the Bruins' non-conference slate features five NCAA Tournament teams from 2021-22 with possibly even more at the 2022 Gulf Coast Showcase in Estero, Florida. In fact, Belmont's nine known non-conference opponents combined for nearly 200 victories last year.
The Bruins open their 2022-23 campaign Wednesday, Nov. 9 hosting the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
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