Bruins Make It Seven in a Row With 93-53 Rout of Purple Aces

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Extending its season-best winning streak to seven, the Belmont University women's basketball team blew out the University of Evansville 93-53 Friday evening to begin homecoming weekend festivities at the Curb Event Center. Improving to 14-10 on the season and 10-3 in Missouri Valley Conference play, the Bruins put together one of their most complete offensive performances of the year.
 
Limiting the visiting Purple Aces (10-12, 5-8 MVC) to 31.3 percent shooting and only 15 made field goals (15-of-48), Belmont shot 48.6 percent (36-of-74) from the field, connected on 14 three-pointers (14-of-36) and assisted on 22 baskets. Committing a season-low tying six turnovers, the Bruins got 34 points off the bench and owned the paint.
 
Belmont outscored Evansville 40-18 down low and took advantage of the Purple Aces' 19 turnovers, scoring 22 points off the miscues. Imposing their will on the glass, the Bruins outrebounded Evansville 42-35 with 16 offensive boards turning into 14 second-chance points.

Leaving very little doubt from the early going, Belmont scored a season-high 49 first-half points and led by 10 after the opening quarter. The Bruins were dominant in the second and fourth quarters, outpacing the Purple Aces 26-14 in the second period and 28-15 in the fourth.

Leading for over 36 minutes of the contest, Belmont took control midway through the first quarter and never looked back.
 
Junior forward Madison Bartley continued her torrid scoring as of late, going 12-for-19 from the floor and notching a season-high tying 26 points. Led by a trio of double-figure scorers, the Bruins got a career-high tying 14 points off the bench from sophomore forward Kendal Cheesman as junior guard Destinee Wells had perhaps the most impactful numbers of the night. Wells finished with 11 points and a season-high tying nine assists while committing only one turnover.

Scoring Belmont's first 10 points, Bartley had 19 by halftime. Beginning 3-for-3 from beyond the arc, Cheesman cashed in her first three-pointer just over five minutes in as she put the Bruins up 13-6 at the first media timeout. Moments later, junior guard Blair Schoenwald capped a 12-0 Belmont run with a three of her own.
 
Belmont led 23-13 after shooting 50 percent (8-of-16) in the first quarter.

Five more points from Bartley and a layup by sophomore forward Tessa Miller pushed the Bruins' lead out to 30-13 just over two minutes into the second quarter. Following triples from senior guard Nikki Baird and Wells, Bartley and Wells converted layups to give Belmont its first 20-point advantage at 40-20 with just under five minutes to go in the half.

Cheesman hit her second trey in the final minute of the first half, putting the Bruins up 49-27 at the break. Belmont continued its hot shooting in the second quarter, going 11-for-22 from the field including 4-for-10 from deep.

Holding Evansville to 26.7 percent (4-of-15) shooting in the first quarter and 34.6 percent (9-of-26) for the half, the Bruins assisted on 13 of their first 19 made field goals and connected on seven first-half three-point attempts (41.2 percent).

Cheesman's third three capped a 13-2 Belmont scoring run over a four-and-a-half minute stretch in the third quarter and ballooned the Bruins' lead to 30 at 62-32. With four minutes left in the quarter, Bartley nailed a triple to make it a 32-point affair.

Belmont took a comfortable 27-point, 65-38 lead into the final quarter after giving up only two field goals on the Purple Aces' 22 percent (2-of-9) shooting in the third.

Scoring the first six points of the fourth quarter, the Bruins expanded their lead to 35 with five minutes remaining following layups from freshmen guards Kate Hollifield and Brooke Highmark. Belmont ended the game on a 13-5 run over the closing 3:15. A three-pointer from Highmark and another Hollifield layup with about a minute left gave the Bruins their ending 40-point lead.

Sophomore guard Kilyn McGuff scored all seven of her points in the fourth quarter as Belmont shot 61.1 percent (11-of-18) across the final stanza and went 4-for-9 from outside. McGuff, Cheesman, Highmark and Hollifield scored 21 of the Bruins' 28 points in the quarter.
 
Evansville shot just 27.3 percent (6-of-22) in the second half and went 2-for-8 from long range.

All 10 available Belmont players scored at least four points.
 
McGuff grabbed a team-high six rebounds and Miller posted eight points, five boards, three assists, two blocks and a steal. Baird scored six and made a career-high four blocks.
 
Starting guard Myia Clark led the Purple Aces with 14 points and fellow starting guard Kynidi Mason Striverson recorded 10 points. Evansville got a game-high eight rebounds from starting center Barbora Tomancova.

?? | Postgame comments - junior forward @MBartley22 and HC @BartABrooks following the Bruins' 40-point win over visiting Evansville ????#ItsBruinTime | #Splashville pic.twitter.com/ITZFCbYk3H

— Belmont WBasketball (@BelmontWBB) February 11, 2023

Of Note
The Bruins' 40-point win is their second-largest margin of victory this season. Belmont's 93 points are the third-most scored in 2022-23. The Bruins have won 11 of their last 14 games after starting 3-7. Belmont has held its last seven opponents to 35 percent shooting or below and its last six opponents under 60 points. The Bruins' average margin of victory during their seven-game win streak is 23 points. Bartley and Wells have reached double figures in eight-straight games. Bartley has led Belmont in scoring for seven consecutive outings. She has surpassed 20 points in five of the last seven contests and registered seven 20-point games this season.
 
Up Next
The Bruins close out homecoming weekend Sunday with Indiana State visiting the Curb. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. and the MVC home matchup will be broadcast on ESPN+.

Single game tickets are on sale. Click here to view available seating and purchase your seats.
 
For more information, call 615-460-BALL or visit BelmontBruins.com.
 
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