Bruins Earn Gritty 80-70 Victory at Southern Illinois Friday Evening

CARBONDALE, Ill. – Behind a trio of double-figure scorers and 53 percent shooting, the Belmont University women's basketball team won its ninth consecutive Missouri Valley Conference game Friday evening with a gritty 80-70 victory at Southern Illinois. Overcoming a sluggish start, the Bruins (16-10, 12-3 MVC) earned their sixth true road win of the season inside the Banterra Center in Carbondale, Illinois.
 
Completing the regular season sweep of the host Salukis (9-15, 6-9 MVC), Belmont owned the paint where the Bruins outscored Southern Illinois 36-24. Belmont held a 36-32 advantage on the boards and earned a season-best 30 free-throw attempts.

Reigning MVC Player of the Week Destinee Wells and junior forward Madison Bartley both scored a game-high 19 points as sophomore guard Kilyn McGuff tallied 17 points. The Bruins went 7-for-15 (46.7 percent) from beyond the arc and led from the four-minute mark of the first half onward.

Strong play throughout Belmont's starting lineup led the way and the Bruins used a lengthy scoring run in the second quarter to take their first lead. Big baskets from graduate guard Sydni Harvey kept Belmont in front late in the third quarter and winning plays in the final five-and-a-half minutes secured the triumph.
 
The Bruins held their largest lead of the evening late in the fourth quarter.

Belmont was scoreless for the first three minutes of the contest and trailed 5-0 in the early going. Committing eight of their 18 turnovers in the first quarter, the Bruins found themselves behind 10-5 nearly five minutes in.
 
A driving layin from McGuff in the closing minute of the opening quarter evened up the score at 14 but Belmont trailed 16-14 after one quarter of action.

The Salukis started 6-for-12 from the field and went 3-for-7 (42.9 percent) from outside in the first quarter. Junior guard Wells scored seven of the Bruins' first 16 points.

Behind 22-16 three minutes into the second quarter, Belmont began to change the momentum. Harvey sunk a corner three-pointer before the Bruins went on an impressive 11-0 run over a 4:22 span. A Bartley layup put Belmont up 30-24 and the Bruins outscored Southern Illinois 17-4 across the last seven minutes of the first half.

A McGuff free throw gave Belmont a seven-point, 33-26 lead at intermission. Limiting the Salukis to 17.6 percent shooting and only three made field goals in the second quarter, the Bruins outscored Southern Illinois 19-10.

Belmont shot 45.5 percent (10-of-22) in the first half and went 4-for-8 from distance while holding the Salukis to 31 percent (9-of-29) shooting.
 
McGuff began the second half with a three as the Bruins took a 10-point lead 15 seconds in. However, the hosts would quickly chisel their deficit down to four and get within two at the 6:20 mark of the third quarter following an 8-3 Southern Illinois run. Saluki starting center Promise Taylor made a jumper to get Southern Illinois within 39-37 before Wells swiftly responded with a conventional three-point play.

With less than two minutes to go in the third quarter and Belmont leading by just four, Harvey scored on consecutive possessions to make it 52-44. The Bruins took a seven-point, 54-47 advantage into the final quarter.

Belmont's starting cast made up all 21 of the Bruins' points in the third quarter as both teams shot over 55 percent. The Salukis went 9-for-14 (64.3 percent) from the field in the quarter as Belmont shot 57.1 percent (8-of-14). Sixteen of the Bruins' 21 points were scored in the paint.

Bartley gave Belmont a 58-49 lead two minutes into the fourth quarter, but Southern Illinois made one final push. The Salukis went on a 9-4 run with a triple from starting guard Quierra Love getting the home team back within four at 62-58 with five-and-a-half minutes remaining.

Back-to-back treys by McGuff and Bartley capped a 10-2 Bruin run and gave Belmont its largest lead of the game at 72-60 with only 2:51 left. The Bruins would remain in control the rest of the way, maintaining a double-digit lead the majority of the closing two-and-a-half minutes. Made free throws by McGuff, Wells and Bartley in the last 90 seconds sealed the win.

Behind 53.3 percent (8-of-15) shooting, Belmont scored a game-best 26 points in the fourth quarter. The Bruins went 8-for-13 (61.5 percent) at the foul line in the quarter and connected on two of their four three-point attempts.

Both squads shot over 50 percent in the second half with Belmont torching the nets for 58.6 percent (17-of-29). Southern Illinois went 16-for-32 from the floor across the second 20 minutes of play.

The Bruins finished 52.9 percent (27-of-51) overall for the evening and went 19-for-30 (63.3 percent) at the charity stripe. The Salukis shot 41 percent (25-of-61) for the contest and were 6-for-21 (28.6 percent) from deep.
 
Southern Illinois scored 19 points off turnovers and outscored Belmont 22-10 off the bench.

Bartley was 8-for-11 from the field and grabbed four rebounds, scoring 13 of her 19 points in the second half. Similarly, McGuff registered 14 of her 17 points in the second half. Sophomore forward Tessa Miller was once again dynamic, collecting a game-high nine rebounds, distributing a career-high six assists, notching six points and making two blocks. Harvey totaled nine points.

Love paced the Salukis with 15 points and Taylor nearly had a double-double with 11 points and eight rebounds. Southern Illinois also got 11 points and a team-best five assists from starting guard Ashley Jones, and Jaidynn Mason provided 10 points and five boards off the bench.

Of Note
The Bruins extend the MVC's longest active winning streak and remain within a game of first place in the league standings. After starting the season 3-7, Belmont has won 13 of its last 16 games. The Bruins' average margin of victory of their last nine outings is 20.3 points. Belmont improves to 3-0 all-time against the Salukis and earns its first win in Carbondale, Illinois. The Bruins improve to 82-11 (.882) in February and March since 2016 and head coach Bart Brooks moves to 62-8 (.886) in the two key months since his arrival in Nashville. Wells has scored in double figures for 10-straight games. Bartley has reached double figures in nine of her last 10 outings.
 
Up Next
Belmont travels to Springfield, Missouri, Sunday to take on Missouri State, who is in a three-way tie with the Bruins only one game out from the top spot in the MVC. Tipoff from Great Southern Bank Arena is set for 2 p.m. The pivotal conference matchup will be broadcast on ESPN+.

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