Bruins Host Southern Illinois Sunday Afternoon

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Following an inspired win Friday evening, the Belmont University women's basketball team returns to game action at the Curb Event Center Sunday afternoon as Southern Illinois visits the Music City. Tipoff of the Missouri Valley Conference matinee matchup is set for 2 p.m.
 
The Sunday contest will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Dr. Rich Tiner having the play-by-play call of the action. Recent Bruin forward Conley Chinn will make her debut as analyst and Hanley Riggs will be reporting from the sideline. The game can also be heard on Belmont Bruins Radio on iHeart Radio. Live in-game statistics will be available at BelmontBruins.com.
 
What's Bruin

• Closing out a three-game homestand, Belmont looks to complete a 2-0 weekend at the Curb after defeating Missouri State 75-66 Friday night.
• The Bruins (8-10) and the visiting Salukis (7-9) both sit at 4-3 in league play seven games into the conference slate.
• With its triumph Friday, Belmont halted a two-game skid after beginning MVC play 2-0.
• For the sixth-straight outing, the Bruins face a team who earned a national postseason berth last season.
• Including Southern Illinois, 13 of Belmont's first 18 opponents this season won no fewer than 19 games a year ago and reached a national postseason tournament.
• Since 2012-13, the Bruins have compiled a remarkable 144-32 (.818) record in league play and won 11 combined championships, including regular season and tournament titles.
• Head coach Bart Brooks is an astounding 84-12 (.875) in conference action over his six seasons guiding Belmont.
• Behind 20-point performances from juniors Madison Bartley and Destinee Wells, a spark off the bench from sophomore forward Kendal Cheesman, and key free throws down the stretch, the Bruins handed the Lady Bears their second consecutive road loss. Leading from the 7:13 mark of the opening quarter forward and never trailing, Belmont closed the game on an 18-11 run over the final four-and-a-half minutes. The Bruins led by as much as 16 in the second half, but Missouri State made a strong push in the third quarter with an extended 15-3 run before getting within two at 57-55. The Lady Bears would once again claw within a possession at 62-59 with just under three minutes to go, but eight-straight points from Bartley and made free throws by sophomore guard Kilyn McGuff, graduate guard Sydni Harvey and Wells clinched the victory. Belmont limited Missouri State to 34.7 percent shooting for the game and held the Lady Bears to a 19.4 percent clip in the first half. The Bruins went a season-best 20-for-25 at the free-throw line and hit 13 of their 14 foul shots in the all-important fourth quarter. Recording her third 20-point outing of 2022-23, forward Bartley scored 14 of her season-high 26 points in the fourth quarter and grabbed a team-best eight rebounds. Guard Wells scored 17 of her 20 points in the second half and distributed a season-high tying nine assists to go along with five boards and two steals. Cheesman scored 11 points, secured four rebounds, made a pair of blocks and dished out an assist in 15-and-a-half minutes on the court. The Tampa, Florida (H.B. Plant HS), native was ultra-efficient off the bench in the second quarter, going 4-for-5 from the field including 3-for-4 from deep in just over eight minutes.
• Belmont is 107-25 (.811) inside the Curb since the start of the 2012-13 season. Coach Brooks has led the Bruins to an outstanding 59-11 (.843) record at home since taking over the reins of the program in April of 2017.
• In league play, Belmont has been even more dominant at home going 77-11 (.875) since 2012. In his six seasons, coach Brooks has lost only five conference games at the Curb with a 43-5 (.896) record.
• On Wednesday, Wells was named to the midseason watch list for the 2023 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award presented by Her Hoop Stats. One of only 15 players nationally in contention for the player of the year award, Wells has reached double-figure scoring in all but four games. Through 18 games, Wells is averaging 16.3 points, 4.5 assists and 3.4 rebounds per contest. She ranks third in the MVC in both scoring and assists as the only player in the league averaging over 16 points and four assists.
• Despite their 8-10 record, the Bruins sit just outside the top 100 of the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings at No. 109 as the fifth-highest ranked MVC team. Southern Illinois enters Sunday with the fifth-lowest NET ranking in the 12-team conference, ranked just inside the top 200 at 193rd.
• Belmont's non-conference strength of schedule is ranked as the 16th-most difficult in the nation. Furthermore, the Bruins' average opponent NET ranking (No. 102) is the 15th-highest in the country.
• Belmont has faced a trio of teams ranked in the top 20 of the NET – No. 10 Iowa (Nov. 20), No. 17 Middle Tennessee (Nov. 16) and No. 19 Villanova (Nov. 25). In fact, the Bruins have taken on nine teams ranked in the top 100 of the NET, including No. 32 Louisville (Nov. 13), No. 51 Georgia (Dec. 17), No. 53 Drake (Jan. 6), No. 71 Northern Iowa (Jan. 8), No. 78 Georgia Tech (Nov. 27 and Dec. 4) and No. 97 Illinois State (Jan. 15).
• 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 made the NCAA Tournament, and 12 won at least 20 games last season. The Salukis are one of such opponents after going 21-10 a year ago and reaching the 2022 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.
• Sunday afternoon will be just the second meeting between the Bruins and Southern Illinois. In the two teams' only other matchup, Belmont defeated the Salukis 67-57 on a neutral floor in Long Beach, California, on Dec. 21, 2002.
• 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 Ohio Valley Conference 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 40.4 three-point percentage and 38 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 (8), followed by Bartley (3), and Harvey and McGuff 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 1,258 points and registered 336 assists in only 74 career games. She has reached double-figure scoring in all but six of her last 63 games and 65 total career outings. Wells owns 28 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 1,319 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 (1,042).
• 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 131-44 (.749) record and eight combined conference championships, including regular season and tournament titles.

About the Salukis

• Southern Illinois is the defending MVC regular season champion after going 15-3 in league play last season. Despite their regular season crown, the top-seeded Salukis bowed out to fourth-seeded and eventual tournament champion Illinois State in the semifinals of the 2022 MVC Tournament.
• Led by first-year head coach Kelly Bond-White, Southern Illinois was picked to finish seventh in the conference according to the preseason poll.
• After beginning MVC play 3-0, the Salukis lost three straight but picked up an 81-73 win at Murray State Friday evening. With three players in double figures paced by graduate transfer guard Ashley Jones' 20 points and six assists, Southern Illinois shot 51 percent from the field and went 9-for-16 (56 percent) from beyond the arc. The Salukis committed only seven turnovers, made six blocks and came up with seven steals.
• Southern Illinois ranks 34th nationally and leads the league in steals per game (10.4), while 37th in the nation and second in the conference in blocks per contest (4.5).
• A transfer from Mississippi State by way of Temple and West Virginia, 5-foot-7 Jones leads the Salukis in scoring (15.3 PPG).
• Junior 6-foot-5 center Promise Taylor is averaging 9.4 points and 6.1 rebounds per outing and sophomore 5-foot-11 forward Laniah Randle is averaging a team-high 6.4 boards and 8.6 points per game.
• Junior 5-foot-4 guard Quierra Love is the only Southern Illinois player who has started all 16 games and is averaging a team-best 4.3 assists per contest.

Up Next
Belmont heads to Indiana next weekend to take on Indiana State Friday and Evansville Sunday. Friday's tilt is scheduled for a 5 p.m. CT/6 p.m. ET tipoff from inside the Hulman Center in Terre Haute, Indiana.
 
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