Women's Hoops Welcomes Indiana State to the Curb Sunday Afternoon

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Wrapping up homecoming weekend, the Belmont University women's basketball team plays host to Indiana State Sunday afternoon. Tipoff of the Missouri Valley Conference matchup is set for 2 p.m. from the Curb Event Center in Nashville.
 
The Sunday matinee will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Dr. Rich Tiner (play-by-play) and former Bruin forward Ellie Harmeyer (analyst) on the call. Hanley Riggs will be reporting from the sideline. The action can also be heard live on Belmont Bruins Radio on iHeart Radio. Live in-game statistics will be available at BelmontBruins.com.
 
Every free throw Belmont makes throughout the month of February benefits the Kay Yow Cancer Fund through the Play4Kay Free Throw Challenge. To learn more about Play4Kay and the Kay Yow Cancer Fund, visit KayYow.com. To make a pledge on the Bruins' free throws during the month or to donate, visit Belmont's Play4Kay page. All proceeds benefit the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.
 
Free trucker hats will be given away to fans in attendance.

What's Bruin

• Belmont is attempting to complete its fourth-straight 2-0 week after routing visiting Evansville 93-53 Friday evening in the Music City.
• At 14-10 overall and 10-3 in MVC play, the Bruins are on their longest winning streak of the season and are going for their eighth consecutive victory.
• After a 3-7 start, Belmont has won 11 of its last 14 games.
• The Bruins have held their last seven opponents to 35 percent shooting or below and their last six opponents under 60 points.
• Belmont's average margin of victory during its seven-game win streak is 23 points.
• Juniors Madison Bartley and Destinee Wells have reached double figures in eight-straight games.
• Forward Bartley has led the Bruins in scoring each of the last seven games.
• Belmont's 40-point blowout Friday was its second-largest margin of victory this season after the Bruins shellacked Southern Illinois at home by 56 points on Jan. 22.
• The 93 points scored against the Purple Aces are the third-most for Belmont in a contest this season.
• Thirteen of the Bruins' first 18 opponents won no fewer than 19 games a year ago and reached a national postseason tournament.
• Since 2012-13, Belmont has compiled a remarkable 150-32 (.824) record in conference play and won 11 combined championships, including regular season and tournament titles.
• Head coach Bart Brooks is an astounding 90-12 (.882) in league action over his six seasons guiding the Bruins.
• Winning its seventh in a row, Belmont put together one of its most complete offensive performances of the year Friday versus Evansville. Shooting 48.6 percent from the field, the Bruins connected on 14 three-pointers and assisted on 22 baskets. Belmont committed a season-low tying six turnovers, got 34 points from its bench and owned the paint 40-18. Limiting the Purple Aces to 31.3 percent shooting and only 15 made field goals for the evening, the Bruins scored 22 points off 19 Evansville turnovers. Owning a 42-35 advantage on the glass, Belmont turned 16 offensive boards into 14 second-chance points. The Bruins took control midway through the first quarter, led by 10 after the opening quarter and scored a season-high 49 first-half points. Belmont was dominant in the second and fourth quarters, outscoring Evansville 26-14 in the second period and 28-15 in the fourth. The Bruins led for over 36 minutes of the contest and closed the game on a 13-5 run. All 10 available Belmont players scored at least four points. Bartley continued her torrid scoring as of late, going 12-for-19 from the floor and notching a season-high tying 26 points. Sophomore forward Kendal Cheesman scored a career-high tying 14 points off the bench and senior guard Nikki Baird made a career-high four blocks. Guard Wells finished with 11 points and a season-high tying nine assists while committing only one turnover. Sophomore forward Tessa Miller posted eight points, five rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal.
• The Bruins are 110-25 (.815) inside the Curb since the start of the 2012-13 season. Coach Brooks has led Belmont to an outstanding 62-11 (.849) record at home since taking over the reins of the program in April of 2017.
• In conference play, the Bruins have been even more dominant at home going 80-11 (.879) since 2012. In his six seasons, coach Brooks has lost only five league games at the Curb with a 46-5 (.902) record.
• Sunday afternoon will be the seventh all-time meeting between Belmont and the Sycamores with the Bruins holding a 4-2 lead in the series. Just over two weeks ago, Belmont defeated Indiana State 65-51 in Terre Haute, Indiana.
• The Bruins are hosting the Sycamores for the first time since Nov. 27, 2011, when Belmont claimed a 69-59 win over visiting Indiana State.
• Belmont is 2-1 against the Sycamores in its NCAA Division I era.
• Behind near double-doubles from Bartley and Wells, the Bruins scored 32 points in the paint, made timely three-pointers and earned a plus-nine advantage on the boards (43-34) in their win at Indiana State on Friday, Jan. 27. Belmont took command early and led for 37 minutes of the game, mounting a 19-point lead in the fourth quarter. Assisting on 15 of their 24 made field goals while holding the Sycamores to 35.1 percent shooting, the Bruins shot 40.7 percent from the field and went 8-for-28 from long range. Bartley scored a game-best 24 points on 10-for-20 shooting and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. Wells registered 15 points and dished out a game-high eight assists, committing only two turnovers in the process.
• For the second time in three weeks Bartley was named both MVC and Tennessee Sports Writers Association (TSWA) Player of the Week after leading all scorers in both of Belmont's victories over Murray State and Bradley last week. She averaged 20.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks while shooting 51.4 percent (18-of-35) from the field across the two wins. Of Bartley's 17 rebounds on the week, 10 were earned on the offensive glass. Her 26-point performance against the Purple Aces Friday was Bartley's seventh 20-point showing of the season, five of which have taken place over the last seven games. Bartley is averaging 22.4 points and 6.3 rebounds since being re-inserted into the Bruins' starting lineup on Jan. 20 versus Missouri State. Garnering conference player of the week honors three times throughout her career, Bartley was also tabbed MVC and TSWA Player of the Week the week of Jan. 23.
• On Jan. 18, Wells was named to the midseason watch list for the 2023 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award presented by Her Hoop Stats. One of only 15 players nationally in contention for the player of the year award, Wells has reached double-figure scoring in all but four games. Through 24 games, Wells is averaging 16.3 points, 4.8 assists and 3.3 rebounds per contest. She ranks fourth in the MVC in scoring and is second in assists as the only player in the league averaging over 16 points and four assists.
• Despite its 14-10 record, Belmont is ranked in the top 90 of the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings at No. 88 as the fourth-highest ranked MVC team. Indiana State enters Sunday with the fourth-lowest NET ranking in the 12-team conference, sitting at 214th.
• The Bruins' non-conference strength of schedule is ranked as the 14th-most difficult in the nation. Furthermore, Belmont's average opponent NET ranking (No. 135) is 76th-highest in the country.
• The Bruins have faced four teams ranked in the top 35 of the NET – No. 9 Iowa (Nov. 20), No. 11 Villanova (Nov. 25), No. 31 Middle Tennessee (Nov. 16) and No. 32 Louisville (Nov. 13). In fact, Belmont has taken on nine teams ranked in the top 85 of the NET, including No. 46 Georgia (Dec. 17), No. 53 Drake (Jan. 6), No. 62 Northern Iowa (Jan. 8), No. 72 Georgia Tech (Nov. 27 and Dec. 4) and No. 85 Illinois State (Jan. 15).
• Seven of the Bruins' 10 non-conference opponents this season won over 20 games last year and earned a national postseason tournament bid.
• A total of 13 opponents on Belmont's schedule reached a national postseason tournament last March, including seven who made the NCAA Tournament, and 12 won at least 20 games last season.
• With a challenging four-game stretch from Nov. 13-25, the Bruins have taken on three nationally-ranked teams. Louisville was ranked seventh in the nation when the Cardinals visited Nashville on Nov. 13 and Belmont traveled to now receiving-votes Middle Tennessee just three days later before heading to then fourth-ranked Iowa on Nov. 20. On Friday, Nov. 25 in Estero, Florida, at the Gulf Coast Showcase, the Bruins battled then 23rd-ranked Villanova in a high-scoring 83-80 setback.
• Graduate guard Sydni Harvey garnered MVC Player and Newcomer of the Week accolades following Christmas weekend for her sensational shooting display and 33-point outing in Belmont's thrilling 98-87 overtime victory over Troy on Dec. 20. She recorded the first 30-point game by a Bruin player since March 6, 2021, when Wells scored 32 in the 2021 OVC Tournament championship game versus UT Martin. Harvey's program record 10 three-pointers were the second-most ever by a MVC player in a game and she became the first NCAA Division I women's basketball player to hit 10 threes in a contest this season. Her 10th trey 78 seconds into overtime put Belmont up 87-82 as she tied the Curb record for made triples in a game. Harvey also became the first Valley player to make 10 threes in a contest since Drake's Kyndal Clark did so versus Loyola Chicago on Jan. 24, 2014. Prior to Harvey's 10-for-12 shooting from outside, the last Division I women's player to make 10 three-pointers on 12 or fewer attempts was Marshall's Taylor Porter, who also went 10-for-12 from deep on March 7, 2019, against Florida International University. The Nashville, Tennessee (Brentwood Academy), native went 3-for-4 at the free-throw line and added a pair of rebounds in the home win over the Trojans. Harvey ranks among MVC leaders in made treys with 45 on the season.
• With 21 boards against Troy, Miller registered the Bruins' first 20-rebound performance since Ellie Harmeyer notched 20 versus the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga on Nov. 6, 2019. Her 21 rebounds were just three off the single-game program record of 24. Miller also collected 16 rebounds off the bench in Belmont's 78-68 neutral-site win over Saint Louis in southwest Florida on Nov. 26, the second-most in a single game in the 10-year history of the Gulf Coast Showcase. She owns four double-figure rebounding games this season.
• Along with 24 points and a season-high nine assists, Wells added a trio of rebounds and a pair of steals in the Bruins' non-conference finale win over the Trojans. She became the first MVC player since 2016 to total 24 points, nine assists and two steals in a game. The Lakeland, Tennessee (Houston HS), native also became the first MVC player since 2012 to tally 24 points, nine assists and two steals while making two or more three-pointers (2-of-5). Wells' 24-point, nine-assist, two-steal performance was only the ninth in the nation this season – three of the first eight such outings were accomplished by Iowa's Caitlin Clark, the reigning Big Ten Conference Player of the Year. With her 25-point output against the University of Illinois Chicago on New Year's Day, Wells became the third Belmont player since 2009-10 to score 25-plus points in 10 or more career games, joining Kylee Smith (12) and Ellie Harmeyer (11).
• Four different Bruins have posted multiple 20-point performances this season with Wells leading the way (8), followed by Bartley (7), and Harvey and McGuff with two 20-point games apiece.
• Wells has been held under double figures in consecutive games just once in her impressive career, finishing with nine points at then No. 4 Iowa on Nov. 20 after scoring five at now receiving-votes Middle Tennessee on Nov. 16.
• Following the first week of the season, Wells was tabbed MVC Player of the Week after a pair of 20-point home showings against Chattanooga and top-10 ranked Louisville. Wells scored 26 of her 40 points on the week in the fourth quarter, grabbed a career-high tying seven rebounds against the Mocs, and put Belmont in front of the nationally-ranked Cardinals with only 2:17 remaining. The star guard became the Bruins' 33rd 1,000-point scorer in the tightly-contested matchup with seventh-ranked Louisville and was named to the 2022-23 John R. Wooden Award^® presented by Wendy's^® Preseason Top 50 Watch List after the opening week of the season. One of only four mid-major players to appear on the prestigious watch list, Wells has scored 1,354 points and registered 370 assists in only 80 career games. She has reached double-figure scoring in all but six of her last 69 games and 71 total career outings. Wells owns 28 20-point games and was tabbed MVC Preseason Player of the Year in Belmont's first year in the league.
• Between Harvey, who scored 1,142 points at South Florida and has accounted for 1,350 career points, and Wells, the Bruins have two career 1,000-point scorers.
• Belmont received seven votes in the Associated Press (AP) Top 25 and eight votes in the USA Today Sports/Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Coaches Poll following week one of the regular season. The Bruins received 14 votes in the preseason AP Top 25 and nine votes in the preseason USA Today Sports/WBCA Coaches Poll.
• One of the premier mid-major programs in the country, Belmont began the season ranked No. 6 in the nation in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25^®.
• Entering their first season in the MVC, the Bruins were picked to win the conference after a vote of the league's head coaches, sports information directors and media members. Belmont received 32 of 44 possible first-place votes in the preseason predicted order of finish.
• Ranked 25th in Sports Illustrated's 2022-23 basketball preview edition, the Bruins have either been ranked or received votes in at least one of the two major national polls for eight-straight seasons.
• Belmont is the only non-power conference program to reach the NCAA Tournament Round of 32 each of the last two seasons.
• The Bruins have earned a national postseason bid nine of the last 10 years and reached each of the last six NCAA Tournaments.
• Belmont is one of just 12 programs in the nation and one of only three non-power conference teams (Florida Gulf Coast and South Dakota State) to win 20 or more games for seven-straight seasons.
• The Bruins own the 17th-most victories in NCAA Division I women's basketball history (1,048).
• Belmont is the only school in the nation to win 20 or more games for seven consecutive seasons in both men's and women's basketball.
• In 2021-22, Belmont and BYU were the only two schools in the country who received votes in top-25 coaches polls in men's and women's basketball and baseball during their respective regular seasons.
• In his sixth season at the helm, coach Brooks has guided the Bruins to an impressive 137-44 (.757) record and eight combined conference championships, including regular season and tournament titles.

About the Sycamores

• Led by second-year head coach Chad Killinger, the Sycamores have split their last six games and are coming off an 82-71 win at Murray State Friday evening. Prior to its road victory Friday, Indiana State dropped decisions at Northern Iowa (91-51) and versus Evansville (68-66) last week.
• The Sycamores sit in a sixth-place tie in the MVC standings with a 5-8 conference record. Indiana State is 10-12 overall on the season with its five league wins coming against Murray State (twice), Bradley (71-60), Valparaiso (66-58) and UIC (59-48).
• The Sycamores and Belmont played one common opponent during the non-conference portion of the season with Indiana State picking up a 64-62 home win over Saint Louis (Nov. 7) to begin 2022-23. The Bruins defeated the Billikens 78-68 on a neutral floor at the Gulf Coast Showcase in Florida on Nov. 26.
• After going 5-13 in the conference and 11-20 overall last season, the Sycamores were picked to finish eighth in the MVC according to the preseason predicted order of finish. Indiana State finished eighth in the then 10-team league a year ago.
• Senior 5-foot-8 guard Del'Janae Williams, an All-MVC honorable mention and MVC All-Defensive Team selection last season, leads a trio of double-figure Sycamore scorers (13.6 PPG).
• Senior 6-foot forward Chelsea Cain is averaging 11.5 points per contest while leading the team in rebounding (5.5 RPG).
• Indiana State's top distributor, senior 5-foot-7 guard Anna McKendree, is averaging 3.2 assists and 10.1 points per game.

Up Next
Belmont hits the road next weekend for a trip westward, traveling to Southern Illinois Friday before taking on Missouri State in Springfield, Missouri, Sunday. Friday's tipoff versus the Salukis is slated for 6 p.m., while Sunday's game will start at 2 p.m.

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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