Women's Hoops Defeats Wichita State 75-67 for Second Consecutive Win

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Overcoming uncharacteristic poor shooting from outside, the Belmont University women's basketball team won its second in a row Wednesday night with a 75-67 victory over Wichita State inside the Curb Event Center. Improving to 2-1 on the young season, the Bruins went 20-for-24 (83.3 percent) at the free-throw line and once again outworked their opponent on the glass.
 
Outrebounding the visiting Shockers (1-2) 42-31, Belmont scored 36 points in the paint and drew 25 fouls.
 
For the second-straight game, junior forward Tessa Miller scored a career-high 17 points while reigning Missouri Valley Conference Freshman of the Week Jailyn Banks also poured in 17 and snagged six boards. Junior guard Kilyn McGuff pulled down a game-best nine rebounds to tie her career high and was the first Bruin to reach double figures, finishing with 14 points.
 
Banks dished out five assists for the second consecutive game, which led all players.
 
Despite giving up 23 points on 21 turnovers and being outscored 21-9 off the bench, Belmont dug deep. The Bruins outscored Wichita State 11-6 down the stretch and got 21 combined points from Miller and Banks in the second half.
 
Belmont led for all but 1:24 of the contest.

"...You've got to defend and you've got to rebound, and I thought we did both of those things enough tonight to be able to win."

?? | Postgame with junior guard Kilyn McGuff and HC @BartABrooks ????#ItsBruinTime | #Splashville pic.twitter.com/8TD9diC8kQ

— Belmont WBasketball (@BelmontWBB) November 16, 2023

McGuff scored the Bruins' opening five points and her three-pointer put Belmont up 5-2 within the first minute. An offensive rebound and layup from junior forward Carmyn Harrison extended the Bruins' lead to seven at 16-9 with four minutes left in the first quarter. Banks hit a pair of foul shots to end the quarter as Belmont led 22-17 through the first 10 minutes of action.
 
A McGuff fastbreak layup capped a 9-2 Bruin run three minutes into the second quarter and gave Belmont its largest lead of the night at 29-19. However, the Shockers responded with a 10-2 run to climb back within two at 31-29 on a layup by Salese Blow. Eight-straight Bruin points put Belmont back out in front by 10 at 39-29, before Wichita State trimmed the lead down to five before the end of the half.
 
The Bruins led 41-36 at the break after shooting 51.7 percent (15-of-29) from the field and going 8-for-9 at the charity stripe. McGuff had 11 points and five rebounds by halftime.
 
A jumper by the Shockers' Tre'Zure Jobe just over two minutes into the second half made it a two-point game and Belmont struggled to create much separation for the majority of the third quarter. With a little less than three minutes to go in the quarter, Banks hit a jumper to put the Bruins back up by seven at 53-46. A Banks layup made it 57-51 and Belmont took a 57-53 lead into the final period.
 
Miller and Banks combined for 12 of the Bruins' 16 third-quarter points as Wichita State shot 50 percent (7-of-14).
 
With the Shockers hanging around, junior forward Kendal Cheesman drained a three to push the lead to 64-57 with a little less than six minutes left. After a Daniela Abies free throw got Wichita State within three at 64-61, Belmont rattled off seven consecutive points. Banks connected on a free throw with 2:17 remaining to match the Bruins' largest lead of the game at 71-61. She then sealed the win with an impressive baseline jumper at the one-minute mark.

TOUGH @Jailynbanks3!#ItsBruinTime | #Splashville pic.twitter.com/NCslJKo4RP

— Belmont WBasketball (@BelmontWBB) November 16, 2023

Belmont shot 55.6 percent (5-of-9) from the floor in the fourth quarter and went 12-for-15 (80 percent) at the foul line in the second half.
 
The Bruins were 46.3 percent (25-of-54) overall from the field but went 5-for-22 (22.7 percent) from beyond the arc. The Shockers shot 40.3 percent (27-of-67) for the 40 minutes, including going 7-for-29 (24.1 percent) from deep.
 
McGuff also tied her career high in steals with three and Harrison made a career-high three blocks. Redshirt junior guard Tuti Jones totaled nine points and four assists and Cheesman finished with nine points and five rebounds. Miller collected eight boards to go along with her 17 points.
 
Jobe led Wichita State with 16 points, while fellow starting guard DJ McCarty recorded 13 points. Abies tallied 11 points and a team-best eight rebounds.

Of Note

• The game was the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
• Belmont improves to 16-13 all-time versus current American Athletic Conference members.
• The Bruins are 91-12 (.883) at home since the start of the 2015-16 season.
• Belmont has a home winning percentage of .744 (189-65) inside the Curb since the arena was opened prior to the 2003-04 season.
• Under head coach Bart Brooks, the Bruins are 67-11 (.859) inside the Curb.
• For the first time this season Belmont had three different players reach double-figure scoring.
• The Bruins earned 42 rebounds for the second-straight game after Belmont surpassed 40 rebounds just nine times last season.
• The Bruins have hit 20 free throws in back-to-back games after making 20 free throws in only three games last year.

Up Next
Belmont closes out its three-game homestand Sunday afternoon against Mississippi State, who is receiving 51 votes in this week's Associated Press (AP) Top 25 poll and 50 votes in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Top 25 Coaches Poll. Tipoff from the Curb is slated for 2 p.m. and the marquee 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.