Bruins Run Past Salukis 101-45 Sunday at the Curb

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – In an impressive display on both ends of the floor, the Belmont University women's basketball team routed Southern Illinois 101-45 Sunday afternoon at the Curb Event Center in Nashville. Improving to 5-3 in Missouri Valley Conference play, the Bruins (9-10) put together their most dominant performance of the season and reached the century mark for the first time since Jan. 20 of last year.

Holding the visiting Salukis (7-10, 4-4 MVC) to 22 percent shooting and only 13 made field goals, Belmont owned the glass with a plus-19 rebound margin. The Bruins posted season highs in rebounds (52), assists (24) and made field goals (35) and held a 31-point lead by halftime.

Four different Belmont players scored in double figures and sophomore forward Kendal Cheesman nearly collected her first double-double. Nine of the Bruins' 10 available players scored and Belmont outplayed Southern Illinois in all facets of the game.

Suffocating on defense from the tip, Belmont didn't allow the Salukis to score for the first eight-and-a-half minutes of play as the Bruins raced out to a 17-0 lead. Starting 7-for-14 from the field, Belmont led 17-4 after the first quarter.
 
Southern Illinois went 2-for-17 across the opening 10 minutes and had only nine points 15 minutes in.
 
The Bruins went on an 11-3 run in the second quarter to build a 22-point lead at 33-11 with 4:34 to go in the first half. Three-pointers by sophomore guard Kilyn McGuff and graduate guard Sydni Harvey gave Belmont a commanding 39-13 lead and the Bruins closed the half on a 9-2 run.

Scoring a season-best 31 points in the second quarter on 11-for-19 (57.9 percent) shooting, including 6-for-9 marksmanship from outside, Belmont led 48-17 at the break. Limiting the Salukis to 20 percent (6-of-30) shooting in the first half, the Bruins went 8-for-16 from distance across the first 20 minutes of action and were 54.5 percent (18-of-33) overall from the field. Belmont assisted on 14 of its first 18 made shots.
 
Junior guard Destinee Wells scored 10 points in the second quarter and had 13 by halftime as junior forward Madison Bartley paced the Bruins in the first half with 14 points on 6-for-7 shooting.

Belmont began the second half on a 9-1 run with sophomore forward Tessa Miller nailing her third career triple and second in as many games to put the Bruins up 57-18 just over two minutes into the third quarter. Back-to-back layups by Miller gave Belmont a 43-point lead at 65-22 midway through the third.

After shooting 64.3 percent (9-of-14) in the third, the Bruins took a 75-30 lead into the final quarter. Miller was a perfect 4-for-4 in the third with 10 points in the quarter.

Although Belmont finally cooled off in the fourth quarter, the Bruins extended their lead and outscored Southern Illinois 26-15. Cheesman posted nine points and seven rebounds in the quarter and Belmont went on a 13-1 run midway through thanks to a barrage of threes.

Cheesman sank a pair of treys and freshman guard Brooke Highmark and junior guard Blair Schoenwald added three-pointers of their own as the Bruins neared the century mark at 99-41 with two minutes left. A Cheesman layup with 47 second remaining got Belmont over 100 points and completed the Bruins' remarkable afternoon.
 
After going 0-for-6 from downtown in the first three quarters, the Salukis hit two threes in the fourth but finished 7-for-29 (24.1 percent) from the field in the second half.
 
Belmont shot 51.5 percent (35-of-68) for the game and went 13-for-33 (39.4 percent) from long range. Going 18-for-26 (69.2 percent) at the free-throw line, the Bruins scored 21 points off 14 Southern Illinois turnovers.
 
With 14 offensive boards, Belmont scored 11 second-chance points and controlled the paint where the Bruins outpaced the Salukis 40-18.

Bartley finished with a game-high 22 points, going 9-for-10 from the floor and collecting four rebounds in only 16 minutes of action. Wells totaled 17 points on 7-for-9 shooting and dished out seven assists.
 
Miller was plus-40 in plus/minus and had the line of the day. She scored 15 points, grabbed eight boards, made a block, and tied her career highs in assists (5) and steals (3). McGuff provided 12 points, seven rebounds and two assists.
 
Cheesman pulled down a career-high 14 boards and scored nine, to go along with an assist, a steal and a block. Harvey went 3-for-5 from outside the arc.
 
Southern Illinois had just one double-figure scorer with Jaidynn Mason tallying 11 points before fouling out.

Of Note
The 56-point win is Belmont's largest margin of victory against a NCAA Division I opponent. The last time the Bruins won by more than 50 points prior to Sunday was on Jan. 20, 2022, when Belmont defeated Morehead State 103-50 on the road. It is the second-largest margin of victory for the Bruins under head coach Bart Brooks – Belmont defeated Division II Trevecca Nazarene by 58 (97-39) on Nov. 28, 2017. Bartley has scored over 20 points in consecutive games and has reached double figures in eight of her last 10 outings.
 
Up Next
The Bruins travel to Indiana next weekend to take on Indiana State Friday and Evansville Sunday. Friday's MVC road contest against the Sycamores is scheduled for 5 p.m. CT/6 p.m. ET from the Hulman Center in Terre Haute, Indiana. The game will be broadcast on ESPN3.
 
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