Belmont Wins Fourth Straight, Outlasts Evansville 76-58 on the Road Sunday

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Behind four double-figure scorers and sophomore forward Tessa Miller's second career double-double, the Belmont University women's basketball team earned its fourth-straight victory with a 76-58 triumph at the University of Evansville Sunday afternoon. Improving to 11-10 overall and 7-3 in Missouri Valley Conference play, the Bruins got off to a hot start and held off the host Purple Aces (9-9, 4-6 MVC) late inside Meeks Family Fieldhouse in Evansville, Indiana.
 
Belmont shot 50 percent (28-of-56) from the field and held Evansville to 35.4 percent (23-of-65) shooting to complete the weekend 2-0 in the Hoosier State.

Both junior guard Destinee Wells and junior forward Madison Bartley scored 18 points and sophomore forward Kendal Cheesman added 10 off the bench as the Bruins owned the boards and built a 27-point lead in the third quarter. Miller finished with a game-high 11 rebounds and 10 points.

Belmont outworked the Purple Aces 44-31 on the glass and led for all but the scoreless opening 30 seconds of the game. For the second consecutive Sunday, the Bruins were stifling in the first quarter and raced out to a big lead early.

Holding Evansville scoreless for the first five minutes of play, Belmont scored the first 17 points of the contest. Sophomore guard Kilyn McGuff accounted for eight of the first 12 points with her conventional three-point play capping the 12-0 start three-and-a-half minutes in. Moments later, Bartley got a layup plus the foul to make it 17-0 after the first 4:51 of action.

Starting 9-for-16 (56.3 percent) from the floor, the Bruins led 23-5 after the first quarter. Bartley also scored eight in the opening period and Belmont limited the Purple Aces to only two made field goals on 2-for-20 shooting.

Evansville would get no closer than 16 in the second quarter and the Bruins ended the first half on an 8-3 run. Back-to-back three-pointers by graduate guard Sydni Harvey and Wells ended the half, giving Belmont a commanding 41-20 lead at the break.

The Bruins outscored the hosts 18-15 in the second quarter but cooled off to 46.7 percent (7-of-15) shooting.
 
Keeping the Purple Aces to 24.2 percent (8-of-33) first-half shooting, including a 1-for-11 mark from outside, Belmont shot 51.6 percent (16-of-31) across the first 20 minutes and was 6-for-15 (40 percent) from beyond the arc.

Scoreless for the first 1:43 of the second half, the Bruins endured a 5-0 Evansville start. The Purple Aces' momentum would be short lived, however, as Belmont went on an extended 16-5 run over a four-minute stretch in the third quarter. A triple from Cheesman capped the Bruins' run and gave Belmont its largest lead of the day at 57-30 with 4:24 to go in the third.

Despite a deep two from Harvey to beat the shot clock with only seconds remaining in the third quarter, Evansville ended the stanza on a 12-3 run. The Purple Aces' Abby Feit nailed a three at the third-quarter buzzer to make it 60-42 heading into the final quarter.

Outscoring the Bruins 22-19 in the quarter, Evansville shot 47.4 percent (9-of-19) in the third. Belmont went 5-for-11 (45.5 percent) across the quarter and was 1-for-6 from long range.

Bartley got a layup to go early in the fourth but the Purple Aces continued their comeback attempt, using an 11-3 run to climb within 11 at 65-54 with just under five minutes remaining.

A jumper by Evansville's Myia Clark kept the Purple Aces within 11 at 67-56 with just under three-and-a-half minutes left but it was all Bruins down the stretch. Belmont closed the game on a 9-2 run thanks to timely offensive rebounds and big baskets from Wells, Miller and Bartley.

Following a pair of offensive boards, Wells converted an old-fashioned three-point play to shift the momentum before making a floater in the lane with just under two minutes to go. With just over a minute remaining, Miller scored on a layup to put the game out of reach at 74-56. Bartley then iced things with a fastbreak layup in the final minute.
 
The Bruins got seven points from Wells and shot 50 percent (7-of-14) in the fourth quarter.

Belmont connected on 48 percent (12-of-25) of its shots in the second half despite going 2-for-9 (22.2 percent) from distance. Evansville was much better in the second 20 minutes of play, shooting 46.9 percent (15-of-32) from the field and going 4-for-10 from three-point range.

Going 9-for-13 (69.2 percent) at the free-throw line in the second half, the Bruins finished 12-for-16 (75 percent) at the charity stripe. Belmont was 8-for-24 (33.3 percent) from outside for the afternoon.
 
Wells scored 13 of her 18 points in the second half and dished out a team-high five assists to go along with six rebounds. Bartley was 7-for-13 from the floor, while Cheesman was 4-for-6 including 2-for-3 from three-point land. Three of Miller's 11 boards came on the offensive end of the court. McGuff nearly reached double figures with nine points on 3-for-5 shooting and grabbed six rebounds.

Clark paced the Purple Aces with a game-high 20 points on 9-for-21 shooting. Evansville got 14 points and six boards from Feit as starting center Barbora Tomancova distributed a game-high tying five assists.

?? | HC @BartABrooks following the Bruins' second road victory of the weekend at Evansville Sunday afternoon ????#ItsBruinTime | #Splashville pic.twitter.com/V5chy8l2H0

— Belmont WBasketball (@BelmontWBB) January 30, 2023

Of Note
The Bruins' four-game win streak is the longest of the season. Belmont has held its last four opponents to 35 percent shooting or less and its last three opponents to under 60 points. Both Bartley and Wells have reached double figures in five-straight games. Miller's only other double-double came on Dec. 15, 2021, when she posted 12 points and 10 rebounds against Auburn at home. The Bruins are over .500 for the first time since beginning the season 1-0. Belmont has won eight of its last 11 games.
 
Up Next
The Bruins return to the Music City for a single game Thursday, hosting Murray State in a 6:30 p.m. tipoff from the Curb Event Center. The MVC matchup will be broadcast on ESPN+. Next Sunday, Belmont travels to Bradley in Peoria, Illinois.

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.