Bruins Wrap Up Three-Game Road Stretch at Murray State Wednesday

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Closing out its first Missouri Valley Conference road stretch, the Belmont University women's basketball team makes the two-hour trek northwest to familiar conference adversary Murray State Wednesday evening. Tipoff from the CFSB Center in Murray, Kentucky, is set for 6 p.m.
 
The MVC road matchup will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Connor Onion (play-by-play) and Kelly Burke (analyst) serving as talent. Dr. Rich Tiner will have the call of the action on Belmont Bruins Radio on iHeart Radio. Live in-game statistics will be available at BelmontBruins.com.
 
What's Bruin

• Bouncing back from their worst league loss in 12 years at Drake last Friday, the Bruins (7-8, 3-1 MVC) earned their first-ever MVC road victory Sunday afternoon with a 67-61 win at Northern Iowa.
• Sunday's triumph also marked Belmont's first win in the Hawkeye State as the Bruins have made only two trips to Iowa, both of which haven taken place this season.
• Having won four of its last five games, Belmont is one of six teams who sit at 3-1 in the 12-team MVC following two weeks of conference play.
• For the third-straight outing, the Bruins will face a team who won 20 games last season and earned a WNIT bid.
• Ten of Belmont's first 15 opponents this season won at least 20 games and reached a national postseason tournament a year ago.
• Since 2012-13, the Bruins have compiled a remarkable 143-30 (.827) record in league play and won 11 combined championships, including regular season and tournament titles.
• Head coach Bart Brooks is an astounding 83-10 (.892) in conference action over his six seasons guiding Belmont.
• Behind late-game baskets from guards Destinee Wells, Sydni Harvey, and Kilyn McGuff and inspired defensive play, the Bruins pulled out a gritty victory in Cedar Falls, Iowa, Sunday. Trailing 60-59 with just under two minutes remaining after leading for the majority of the game, Belmont finished on an 8-0 run with a deep tying two-point jumper from junior Wells and a go-ahead three-pointer from graduate Harvey. Sophomore McGuff iced the win with a layup and the foul in the final 25 seconds. Balanced on offense, the Bruins held Northern Iowa to 31 percent shooting including 7-for-24 from beyond the arc. Belmont forced a pair of Panther turnovers and Wells came up with a block on a three-point closeout in the final two minutes after the Bruins knotted the game at 61. Shooting over 50 percent from the field in the first and fourth quarters, Belmont overcame a 10-2 deficit four minutes in and led by as much as 11 twice. The Bruins got 23 points off the bench with major contributions from junior forward Madison Bartley and freshman guard Brooke Highmark, who scored six in the opening quarter. Both McGuff and Bartley finished with 14 points and Wells netted 12 points to go along with six rebounds, five assists and two steals. Harvey totaled nine points and McGuff grabbed seven rebounds while senior guard Nikki Baird added seven points and tied her career high with eight boards.
• Despite its 7-8 record, Belmont owns a top 100 NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) ranking of No. 93, which is the third-highest of any MVC team. Murray State owns the fifth-highest NET ranking in the 12-team league, entering Wednesday ranked just outside the top 100 at 107th.
• The Bruins' non-conference strength of schedule is ranked as the 19th-most difficult in the nation. Furthermore, Belmont's average opponent NET ranking (No. 98) is the ninth-highest in the country.
• The Bruins have faced a trio of teams ranked in the top 25 of the NET – No. 14 Iowa (Nov. 20), No. 21 Villanova (Nov. 25) and No. 23 Middle Tennessee (Nov. 16). In fact, seven of Belmont's first 10 games were against top-75 NET teams, including the Bruins' final non-conference trip to No. 50 Georgia (Dec. 17), back-to-back matchups against No. 73 Georgia Tech (Nov. 27 and Dec. 4), and a home date with No. 35 Louisville (Nov. 13).
• Seven of Belmont's 10 non-conference opponents this season won over 20 games last year and earned a national postseason tournament bid.
• A total of 13 opponents on the Bruins' schedule reached a national postseason tournament last March, including seven who earned a NCAA Tournament berth, and 12 won at least 20 games last season. The Racers are one of such opponents. Murray State went 22-10 in 2021-22 and reached the WNIT.
• With a challenging four-game stretch from Nov. 13-25, Belmont has taken on three nationally-ranked teams. Louisville was ranked seventh in the nation when the Cardinals visited Nashville on Nov. 13 and the Bruins traveled to now receiving-votes Middle Tennessee just three days later before heading to fourth-ranked Iowa on Nov. 20. On Friday, Nov. 25 in Estero, Florida, at the Gulf Coast Showcase, Belmont battled then 23rd-ranked Villanova in a high-scoring 83-80 setback.
• Wednesday evening will be the 24th all-time meeting between the Bruins and the Racers with Belmont holding a commanding 20-3 lead in the series.
• The Bruins have won four-straight against Murray State and have not lost to the Racers in Kentucky in over 23 years. Murray State's last win over Belmont in Murray took place on Jan. 3, 2000 (72-62).
• Going 14-1 against the Racers during the Bruins' 10-year run in the Ohio Valley Conference, Belmont has won 15 of the last 16 matchups.
• Last season, the Bruins defeated Murray State 67-52 at the Curb Event Center (Jan. 15, 2022) before clinching their fifth OVC regular season title in six years at the CFSB Center with an 85-79 victory over the Racers (Feb. 24, 2022). Five different Belmont players reached double figures in the Bruins' win at Murray State last February led by Wells' 27 points on 12-for-22 shooting. Belmont shot 51 percent from the field, making 35 field goals and going 10-for-24 from distance. The game was a shootout as the Racers also shot 51 percent (30-of-59) and outrebounded the Bruins 38-26. Turning the ball over only twice, Belmont scored 15 points off 10 Murray State turnovers.
• Recording her second career double-double on Jan. 1 in the 72-59 home win over the University of Illinois Chicago with 18 points and 10 rebounds, both of Bartley's double-doubles have been achieved on New Year's Day. She began 2022 with 21 points and 14 rebounds in a road victory at Eastern Illinois.
• Harvey garnered MVC Player and Newcomer of the Week accolades following Christmas weekend for her sensational shooting display and 33-point outing in the Bruins' thrilling 98-87 overtime victory over Troy on Dec. 20. She recorded the first 30-point game by a Belmont player since March 6, 2021, when Wells scored 32 in the 2021 OVC Tournament championship game versus UT Martin. Harvey's program record 10 three-pointers were the second-most ever by a MVC player in a game and she became the first NCAA Division I women's basketball player to hit 10 threes in a contest this season. Her 10th trey 78 seconds into overtime put the Bruins up 87-82 as she tied the Curb record for made triples in a game. Harvey also became the first Valley player to make 10 threes in a contest since Drake's Kyndal Clark did so versus Loyola Chicago on Jan. 24, 2014. Prior to Harvey's 10-for-12 shooting from outside, the last Division I women's player to make 10 three-pointers on 12 or fewer attempts was Marshall's Taylor Porter, who also went 10-for-12 from deep on March 7, 2019, against Florida International University. The Nashville, Tennessee (Brentwood Academy), native went 3-for-4 at the free-throw line and added a pair of rebounds in the home win over the Trojans. Harvey's 41.7 three-point percentage and 35 made treys on the season are both among MVC leaders.
• With 21 boards against Troy, sophomore forward Tessa Miller registered Belmont's first 20-rebound performance since Ellie Harmeyer notched 20 versus the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga on Nov. 6, 2019. Her 21 rebounds were just three off the single-game program record of 24.
• Along with 24 points and a season-high nine assists, Wells added a trio of rebounds and a pair of steals in the Bruins' non-conference finale win over the Trojans. She became the first MVC player since 2016 to total 24 points, nine assists and two steals in a game. The Lakeland, Tennessee (Houston HS), native also became the first MVC player since 2012 to tally 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 was only the ninth in the nation this season – three of the first eight such outings were accomplished by Iowa's Caitlin Clark, the reigning Big Ten Conference Player of the Year. With her 25-point output against UIC, Wells became the third Belmont player since 2009-10 to score 25-plus points in 10 or more career games, joining Kylee Smith (12) and Ellie Harmeyer (11).
• Four different Bruins have posted multiple 20-point performances this season with Wells leading the way (6), followed by McGuff, Harvey and Bartley with two 20-point games apiece.
• Wells has been held under double figures in consecutive games just once in her impressive career, finishing with nine points at then No. 4 Iowa on Nov. 20 after scoring five at now receiving-votes Middle Tennessee on Nov. 16.
• Following the first week of the season, Wells was tabbed MVC Player of the Week after a pair of 20-point home showings against 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 star guard became the Bruins' 33rd 1,000-point scorer in the tightly-contested matchup with seventh-ranked Louisville and was named to the 2022-23 John R. Wooden Award^® presented by Wendy's^® Preseason Top 50 Watch List after the opening week of the season. One of only four mid-major players to appear on the prestigious watch list, Wells has scored 1,208 points and registered 319 assists in only 71 career games. She has reached double-figure scoring in all but five of her last 60 games and 63 of 71 career outings. Wells owns 26 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 1,302 career points, and Wells, the Bruins have two career 1,000-point scorers.
• Belmont received seven votes in the Associated Press (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 began the season ranked No. 6 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 program 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 (1,041).
• 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 130-42 (.756) record and eight combined conference championships, including regular season and tournament titles.

About the Racers

• Led by sixth-year head coach Rechelle Turner, the Racers are off to a 9-4 start after tying the program record for wins in a regular season last year (21).
• After winning eight of nine games, Murray State is on a two-game slide following an 0-2 weekend in Iowa. The Racers were handed an 81-54 loss at Northern Iowa last Friday before suffering an 80-67 defeat at Drake Sunday afternoon.
• Murry State began league play with home victories over UIC (68-55) and Valparaiso (67-48) and got a marquee non-conference win at Southeastern Conference mainstay Kentucky (51-44) on Dec. 16.
• The Racers rank 13th nationally in free-throw percentage (78.4) and are 30th in three-point percentage (35.8).
• Junior 6-foot-1 forward Katelyn Young, who was named 2021-22 OVC Player of the Year and is the reigning MVC Player of the Week, is one of the top scorers in the nation. She leads the league and is ranked 15th in the country in scoring (20.9 PPG) and is also atop the conference in made free throws (67) while averaging 7.8 rebounds per game.
• Nearing 2,000 career points, redshirt senior 5-foot-6 guard Macey Turley is averaging 10.3 points and a team-best 3.3 assists per contest.

Up Next
Belmont returns to the Music City this weekend and begins its second three-game homestand with Illinois State Sunday. Tipoff from the Curb is set for 2 p.m. with the game broadcast on regional television, including Bally Sports and select NBC Sports Chicago Plus markets. The MVC home matchup will also be broadcast on ESPN+ out of market.
 
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.