Receiving-Votes Mississippi State Slips Past Bruins, 63-62

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Those in attendance at the Curb Event Center Sunday afternoon witnessed a tremendous battle between two women's basketball programs with plenty of recent NCAA Tournament success as Belmont University put itself in position to hit a game winner against receiving-votes Mississippi State. Junior guard Kilyn McGuff's last-second putback attempt rimmed off and the visiting Bulldogs (5-0) escaped with a 63-62 win over the host Bruins (2-2), who were vying to go 2-1 against the Southeastern Conference four games into the season.
 
Trailing by one after a Mississippi State offensive rebound and go-ahead layup by reserve guard Darrione Rogers with 17 seconds left, Belmont had a great look in the final seconds following a Bart Brooks' timeout. Freshman guard Jailyn Banks' free-throw line jumper came up just short and McGuff crashed the glass, collecting the ball in mid-air and putting it back up for the would-be game winner. However, her shot went off left and the Bulldogs pulled down the final rebound as time expired.
 
Trailing by as much as 11 in the second quarter, the Bruins led for only 1:42 of the game and took their first lead with 3:07 remaining on a pair of Banks free throws.
 
Belmont fought and clawed its way back when it mattered most, thanks to a season-best performance from redshirt junior guard Tuti Jones who finished with 18 points, five assists and two steals. The Bruins also got huge defensive plays from senior guard Blair Schoenwald, who came up with a career-high tying three steals.

?? | Head coach @BartABrooks following the Bruins' nailbiter with receiving-votes Mississippi State, which came down to a last-second shot ???? pic.twitter.com/nz6BBpnNjD

— Belmont WBasketball (@BelmontWBB) November 19, 2023

Despite being outrebounded 44-25 and outscored 42-30 in the paint, Belmont got timely threes from junior forward Kendal Cheesman who went a perfect 4-for-4 from the field and 3-for-3 from outside.
 
The Bruins did leave seven points at the foul line, going 11-for-18 (61.1 percent) at the charity stripe.

Connecting on seven of its 20 three-point attempts (35 percent), Belmont shot 43.1 percent (22-of-51) overall while Mississippi State went 26-for-60 (43.3 percent) from the floor and 3-for-13 (23.1 percent) from long range.
 
Committing a season-low 10 turnovers, the Bruins forced 14 Bulldog miscues and converted those into 17 points.

After Mississippi State took a 10-5 lead midway through the opening quarter, Cheesman drained her second three-pointer to make it a two-point game. The Bulldogs once again led by five at 13-8 before back-to-back mid-range baskets from junior forward Tessa Miller got Belmont within a point at the end of the quarter.
 
Mississippi State scored the first 10 points of the second stanza to open up a 23-12 lead at the 7:23 mark of the first half. A Miller layup got the Bruins going following a Cheesman steal and Belmont ended the second quarter on a 14-6 run. Layups from Cheesman and Jones made it a three-point affair at 29-26 heading into the locker room.
 
The Bruins held the Bulldogs to 34.4 percent (11-of-32) shooting in the first half and both Miller and Cheesman had eight points at the break.
 
A layup from Lauren Park-Lane put Mississippi State up 33-27 a little over two minutes into the second half before Cheesman splashed in her third trey. Moments later, a Jones steal and layup made it a one-point contest.
 
Threatening to take its first lead of the afternoon, Belmont evened things at 39 on a Jones free throw with 3:05 to go in the third quarter. After a three-pointer by the Bulldogs' Debreasha Powe gave Mississippi State a 45-39 lead, the Bruins scored the final six points of the quarter.
 
Deadlocked at 45 going into the final 10 minutes of action, Belmont outscored the Bulldogs 19-16 in the third behind 50 percent (6-for-12) shooting.
 
After a Miller layup knotted the score once again at 47, Mississippi State went on a 9-2 run to build a 56-49 lead with six-and-a-half minutes left.
 
Ignited by a Jones triple, the Bruins went on a 10-1 run over the next four minutes of play. A free throw from junior forward Carmyn Harrison gave Belmont a 59-57 advantage with 2:28 remaining. The Bulldogs responded with a layup from Park-Lane before Jones cashed in her second three to give the Bruins a 62-59 lead with 1:42 to go.
 
Belmont couldn't get a bucket on its next possession after Mississippi State starting center Jessika Carter trimmed the lead to one with a layup. The Bruins were unable to corral the rebound on the Bulldogs' missed three with 21 seconds remaining and Rogers cleaned things up to put Mississippi State in front for good.

Jones scored eight points in the fourth quarter as she combined with Banks to account for 26 of Belmont's 36 second-half points.
 
The Bulldogs shot 53.6 percent (15-of-28) in the second half and the Bruins were 4-for-8 from deep across the last two quarters.

All of Banks' 13 points came in the second half as Cheesman finished with 11 points and seven boards. Miller had 12 points on 6-for-9 shooting.
 
Carter led Mississippi State with 17 points and eight rebounds, while starting guard Jerkaila Jordan scored 13 and also brought down eight boards.

Of Note

• The Bulldogs, who were national runners-up in both 2017 and 2018, entered the weekend receiving 51 votes in the Associated Press (AP) Top 25 poll and 50 votes in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Top 25 Coaches Poll.
• Belmont had four players reach double-figure scoring for the first time this season.
• Mississippi State improves to 4-1 all-time versus the Bruins.
• Miller has reached double figures in all four games this season.
• Sunday afternoon wrapped up a three-game homestand.

Up Next
Belmont heads to Las Vegas next week for the 2023 Ball Dawgs Classic, held at The Dollar Loan Center in Henderson, Nevada. The Bruins face top-10 ranked and perennial national power Stanford Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. CT. Both nationally-ranked Florida State and Northwestern are also in the four-team tournament field. Belmont's second game at the Ball Dawgs Classic will take place next Friday. Both games in Las Vegas will be broadcast on FloHoops.

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.
 
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