Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content
HOME OF the BELMONT BRUINS
Tuti_Jones_vs_UIC2023
Belmont Athletics
61
UIC UIC 7-5,0-1 MVC
69
Winner Belmont BEL 8-4,1-0 MVC
UIC UIC
7-5,0-1 MVC
61
Final
69
Belmont BEL
8-4,1-0 MVC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
UIC UIC 16 20 14 11 61
Belmont BEL 19 14 20 16 69

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Bruins End 2023 With Eighth Consecutive Conference Opening Win

Belmont Women’s Basketball Defeats UIC 69-61 at the Curb Saturday Afternoon

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Closing out the year on a high note the Belmont University women's basketball team ended 2023 the same way it began the calendar year, with a home win over the University of Illinois Chicago. Clawing their way back from a halftime deficit, the Bruins (8-4, 1-0 MVC) defeated the visiting Flames (7-5, 0-1 MVC) 69-61 late Saturday afternoon inside the Curb Event Center to begin Missouri Valley Conference play.
 
The victory is Belmont's eighth consecutive conference opening triumph.
 
Following an eight-day break from game action for Christmas, the Bruins put together a strong second-half performance. Belmont outscored UIC 36-25 across the final 20 minutes of the contest, limiting the Flames to 10 made field goals and holding a 20-16 advantage on the boards.
 
Despite both teams shooting slightly better in the first half, UIC held a 36-33 lead at the break after outrebounding the Bruins 20-14 and forcing eight Belmont turnovers.
 
Turning the ball over a season-high 23 times at top-15 ranked Ohio State in their last time out, the Bruins committed only 13 turnovers while holding the Flames to 43.6 percent (24-of-55) shooting. Belmont outscored UIC 17-11 in points off turnovers, forcing 21 Flame miscues and coming up with a season-high tying 11 steals.
 
A trio of Bruins paced Belmont led by redshirt junior guard Tuti Jones' 17 points, five assists, three rebounds and two steals. Freshman standout guard Jailyn Banks also distributed five assists, matching her career best, and scored 16. Junior forward Tessa Miller continued her outstanding play this season with 16 points on 7-for-12 shooting.
 
UIC began the Valley opener with a three-pointer before the Bruins went on a 7-0 run ignited by a three from Jones. Making her Belmont debut, sophomore guard Emily La Chapell splashed in a top-of-the-key triple to give the home team a 14-9 lead with just under three minutes to go in the opening quarter. Moments later, she hit another three to make it 19-13 Bruins. The Flames' Sandra Frau-Garcia knocked down a trey at the end of the quarter as Belmont led 19-16 after one. The Bruins went 8-for-16 from the field in the first quarter.
 
Miller scored on a layup a little over three minutes into the second quarter, giving Belmont a seven-point lead at 25-18 with 6:47 left in the half. From there, UIC outscored the Bruins 18-8 across the rest of the first half. The Flames ended the half on an 8-1 run with Dais'Ja Trotter hitting a three-pointer at the buzzer following a Belmont turnover.
 
Six of the Bruins' eight first-half turnovers took place in the second quarter. UIC outscored Belmont 20-14 in the second quarter and starting guard Keimari Rimmer had 15 first-half points for the Flames on 6-for-7 shooting.
 
A Rimmer steal and layup gave UIC its largest lead of the day at 40-33 just over two minutes into the second half. Fellow starting guard Jaida McCloud matched the Flames' seven-point lead with a layup putting UIC up 42-35.
 
Junior forward Kendal Cheesman sparked an impressive 18-8 Bruin scoring run to end the third quarter. Following up on a ferocious block on the defensive end, Cheesman rattled down a wing three at the 6:28 mark of the quarter before a La Chapell steal led to a Banks jumper that got Belmont back within two at 50-48. Jones scored on a driving layup to even the score at 50 apiece with 1:47 remaining in the quarter. Seconds later, Jones made a steal and finished the play with a layup for the Bruins' first lead of the second half at 52-50. A La Chapell free throw gave Belmont a 53-50 lead heading into the final quarter. Although the Flames shot 54.5 percent (6-of-11) in the third quarter, the Bruins outscored UIC 20-14.
 
After the Flames' McCloud began the fourth quarter with a putback on an offensive rebound, Belmont went on a game-sealing 10-2 run over a five-and-a-half-minute stretch of play. Miller knocked down her second mid-range jumper to give the Bruins an eight-point lead at 60-52. She then scored on a layup to keep Belmont in front by eight at 62-54 with only 4:43 left. Banks put the Bruins up nine twice, her layup with 3:45 to go giving Belmont a 65-56 lead. A pair of Banks free throws gave the Bruins their largest lead of the game at 67-57. Jones closed out the win with two free throws in the final 15 seconds.
 
Belmont limited UIC to 11 points on 4-for-13 (30.8 percent) shooting in the fourth quarter. The Bruins went 5-for-6 at the free-throw line in both of the last two quarters, finishing 10-for-12 (83.3 percent) at the charity stripe in the second half.
 
The Flames outpaced Belmont 21-9 off the bench and 14-4 on second-chance points.
 
La Chapell finished with seven points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals. Cheesman grabbed a game-high seven rebounds and made a pair of blocks, while junior forward Carmyn Harrison collected six boards.
 
Rimmer led UIC with 21 points on 9-for-11 shooting. The Flames also got 10 points from reserve forward Makiyah Williams and a game-best six assists from starting guard Danyel Middleton. Of Note
  • Head coach Bart Brooks is a perfect 7-0 in league openers.
  • Coach Brooks is 98-12 (.891) in conference action over seven seasons.
  • The Bruins are 94-13 (.879) at home since the start of the 2015-16 season.
  • Belmont is 84-11 (.884) at home in conference play since 2012.
  • Coach Brooks is 50-5 (.909) in league play at the Curb.
  • Miller has scored in double figures in all but one game this season.
  • Banks has reached double-figure scoring in eight of her first 12 games.
 
Up Next
The Bruins begin 2024 by hosting fellow 2022-23 MVC regular season co-champion Illinois State Thursday night. Tipoff from the Curb is set for 6:30 p.m. with the marquee matchup broadcast on The Valley on ESPN available on ESPN+. Scott Warmann (play-by-play) and Kelly Burke (analyst) will be on the call.
 
Ticket Information
Both single game and season tickets are on sale. 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.
 
#ItsBruinTime
 
Print Friendly Version