Women's Basketball Topples Receiving-Votes Georgia 76-50 in Home Opener

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Auburn, Ole Miss and now Georgia. The Belmont University women's basketball team has defeated a Southeastern Conference opponent in three of four seasons following the Bruins' dominant 76-50 victory over the visiting Lady Bulldogs (1-1) Friday night inside the Curb Event Center in Nashville.
 
In its home opener, Belmont (1-1) matched Georgia's physicality and outworked the Lady Bulldogs 42-33 on the glass. The Bruins scored 17 second-chance points on 15 offensive boards and committed just 14 turnovers a year after giving up 27 points to Georgia on 25 giveaways.
 
Junior forward Kendal Cheesman ignited Belmont's offense as she torched the nets for a career-high 28 points on 9-for-15 shooting from beyond the arc. Fellow junior forward Tessa Miller registered her fifth career double-double with a career-high 17 points and 11 rebounds.

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?? | HC @BartABrooks and junior forward @tessaraemiller following the Bruins' dominant win over Georgia Friday night at ?????? ???????? ????#ItsBruinTime | #Splashville pic.twitter.com/ijasmQtyE9

— Belmont WBasketball (@BelmontWBB) November 11, 2023

After the Lady Bulldogs scored the first four points of the game, the Bruins didn't let Georgia get into an offensive rhythm for the rest of the night. Belmont's ball movement was spectacular early, finding the open shooter on nearly every trip down the court.
 
Hitting 13 three-pointers, the Bruins assisted on 16 of their 21 made field goals.

Belmont held Georgia to 34.5 percent shooting (19-of-55) and the Lady Bulldogs connected on only one of their 10 three-point attempts.

Back-to-back triples from Cheesman gave the Bruins their first lead at 6-4 and Belmont never looked back the rest of the way. The Bruins ended the opening quarter on a 10-0 run and held a 21-6 advantage after the first 10 minutes of action.
 
Making her first career start, Cheesman had 13 points in the first quarter alone as she went 4-for-7 from deep. She then surpassed her previous career high in scoring just over two minutes into the second quarter, putting Belmont up by 18 at 28-10.
 
Cheesman drained another three at the 6:31 mark of the second quarter to give the Bruins a commanding 20-point lead at 32-12.
 
Georgia began to work itself back into the game nearly four minutes into the second quarter and a De'Mauri Flournoy layup following a Belmont shot clock violation capped an 11-0 Lady Bulldog run. Flournoy's basket made it 32-23 with 1:55 to go in the half. However, it would be the last single-digit lead for the Bruins for the remainder of the night.
 
Despite Georgia ending the first half on a 14-4 run, Belmont held a 36-26 lead at the break. Eight of the Bruins' nine first-half field goals were from outside and Cheesman had 19 points at the half on 6-for-10 three-point shooting.
 
Belmont held the Lady Bulldogs scoreless for the first seven-and-a-half minutes of the second half with the Bruins beginning the third quarter on a 16-0 run. An offensive rebound and layup from junior forward Carmyn Harrison on a missed free throw gave Belmont its largest lead of the night at 52-26 with just over three minutes to go in the third.
 
Georgia ended the third quarter on a 9-1 run to get back within 18 at 53-35. Freshman guard Jailyn Banks scored five-straight points in the quarter, including making a pull-up jumper while getting fouled.
 
The Lady Bulldogs extended their run to 16-3 early in the fourth to climb within 13 at 55-42 on a Javyn Nicholson layup two minutes in. With the shot clock winding down, redshirt junior guard Tuti Jones connected on a deep three to halt Georgia's momentum. However, moments later Flournoy made the Lady Bulldogs' lone three to make it a 12-point game at 59-47 with 6:22 left.
 
From then on, it was all Bruins. Cheesman's eighth trey of the night came with 5:04 to go and gave Belmont a 64-48 lead before Miller scored four consecutive points to make it 69-48 with under two-and-a-half minutes remaining.
 
The Bruins ended the game on a 17-3 run with Cheesman's ninth three and a deep two from senior guard Blair Schoenwald in the final 30 seconds sending the boisterous student section into a frenzy.
 
Miller scored eight points in the fourth quarter and Belmont outscored Georgia 40-24 in the second half.
 
The Lady Bulldogs were limited to 28 percent second-half shooting (7-of-25).
 
Cheesman grabbed nine rebounds to go along with her 28 points, while Jones, junior guard Kilyn McGuff and Banks finished with nine points each. Banks also distributed a game-high tying five assists.
 
Four of Georgia's five starters scored 10 points with forwards Zoesha Smith and Nicholson and guards Flournoy and Asia Avinger all reaching double figures. Lady Bulldog forward Jordan Cole snagged a team-high nine boards and Avinger handed out a team-best five assists.

??? COULD NOT BE STOPPED ??@KendalCheesman 333333333#ItsBruinTime | #Splashville pic.twitter.com/Zn4E6stYjA

— Belmont WBasketball (@BelmontWBB) November 11, 2023

Of Note

• Georgia received three votes in the preseason national coaches poll.
• The Bruins earn their first win against the Lady Bulldogs. Georgia leads the series 5-1.
• Belmont entered the game with the 17th-most wins in NCAA Division I women's basketball history (1,057), while the Lady Bulldogs own the 16th-most all-time victories (1,062).
• The Bruins improve to 21-45 all-time versus current SEC members and head coach Bart Brooks moves to 4-9 against SEC opponents.
• Belmont is 90-12 (.882) at home since the start of the 2015-16 season. The Bruins have a winning percentage of .743 (188-65) inside the Curb since the arena was opened prior to the 2003-04 season.
• Coach Brooks improves to 66-11 (.857) at the Curb.
• With Brooks at the helm, Belmont is 147-47 (.758).

Up Next
The Bruins continue their three-game homestand Wednesday night with Wichita State visiting the Music City. Tipoff is slated for 6:30 p.m. and the non-conference matchup will be broadcast on ESPN+.

Belmont Basketball Ticket Information
Both single game and season tickets are on sale now. Season tickets are only $199 per seat and include all women's and men's basketball home games.
 
View available seating and purchase your seats.
 
Flex pack plans for the 2023-24 season area also on sale and can be purchased here.
 
For more information, call 615-460-BALL or visit BelmontBruins.com/Tickets.
 
How to Follow
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.