Bruins Win 11th Straight, Defeat Northern Iowa 82-77

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Clutch late-game baskets from Kilyn McGuff, Madison Bartley and Destinee Wells willed the Belmont University women's basketball team to its 11th consecutive victory Thursday night inside the Curb Event Center in Nashville as the Bruins (18-10) improved to 14-3 in Missouri Valley Conference play with a 82-77 triumph over Northern Iowa.
 
Knocking down 11 three-pointers, assisting on 22 of 30 made field goals, and staying composed during every Panther run, Belmont won the battle of league leaders. Northern Iowa (18-8, 13-4 MVC) entered the game having won six of its last seven and in a three-way tie with the Bruins and Illinois State at the top of the MVC standings.
 
Determined play from sophomore guard McGuff, who finished with a game-high 20 points, ignited a vital 7-2 Belmont run by hitting a massive three with two minutes to go. McGuff's triple gave the Bruins a four-point lead after the visiting Panthers drew within a point at 73-72. Relying on its experienced juniors, Belmont turned to Bartley and Wells who delivered key buckets and put the Bruins up 80-74 with under 30 seconds remaining.
 
Graduate guard Sydni Harvey and Bartley made pressure free throws to seal the win.

Overcoming a 10-rebound deficit on the glass (43-33) and a 30-40 scoring margin in the paint, Belmont committed a near season-low seven turnovers while getting 12 points off 13 Northern Iowa miscues.
 
The Bruins led for over 36 minutes of the contest and built a 12-point lead late in the third quarter.
 
The Panthers earned 16 points off 15 offensive boards and remained within striking distance for the majority of the evening.

Bartley scored Belmont's first nine points and put the Bruins ahead 9-7 two-and-a-half minutes in. In fact, she had 11 of Belmont's first 16 points.
 
Northern Iowa got off to a 5-2 start after a minute of action and the score was knotted at 11 before junior guard Blair Schoenwald came off the bench and drained a trey. A Bartley layup and a three by sophomore forward Kendal Cheesman capped a 17-8 run and gave the Bruins a 19-13 lead with under four minutes to go in the opening quarter.
 
Schoenwald hit her second triple to make it a seven-point game at 24-17 and sophomore forward Tessa Miller closed the first quarter with a layup as Belmont led 29-22 after the first stanza.
 
Cheesman tallied seven points off the bench in the first quarter and the Bruins shot 70.6 percent (12-of-17), including starting 5-for-7 from beyond the arc.
 
The Panthers began the second quarter with an 8-3 run and got within a point at 38-37 on a three-pointer from Cailyn Morgan with two minutes left in the half. Jumpers from Wells and McGuff gave Belmont a 42-39 lead heading into the locker room.
 
The Bruins shot just 27.8 percent (5-of-18) in the second quarter and went 1-for-7 from outside.
 
Northern Iowa shot 50 percent (17-of-34) across the first half with Belmont shooting 48.6 percent (17-of-35) and going 6-for-14 (42.9 percent) from long range.
 
A pair of McGuff free throws put the Bruins back in front by seven at 46-39 nearly a minute into the second half before an 8-0 Belmont run gave the home team their largest lead of the night at 56-44. Back-to-back threes from Harvey and McGuff capped the scoring run with just over three minutes to go in the third quarter.
 
Wells scored the Bruins' last six points of the quarter and eight total in the third as Belmont took a 62-56 advantage into the final period.
 
After outscoring the Bruins 12-6 across the last three minutes of the third quarter, the Panthers pulled within four nearly 90 seconds into the fourth on a layup from starting point guard Maya McDermott. McGuff kept Belmont in front by seven at 65-58 and 68-61 with a pair of threes and Harvey made it an eight-point affair at 71-63 with 6:44 to go.
 
Over the next four-and-a-half minutes of play, Northern Iowa outscored the Bruins 9-2. The Panthers' leading scorer and the MVC's leading rebounder, Grace Boffeli, scored on a layup to make it 73-72 with 2:20 left.
 
McGuff then nailed her third trey of the fourth quarter and a Bartley layup made it 78-72 with just over a minute to go. Boffeli got another layup before Wells tied up Morgan on a Northern Iowa defensive rebound with the possession arrow favoring Belmont. Wells took full advantage of the steal, hitting her signature floater with less than 30 seconds remaining.
 
A three from McDermott kept the Panthers in the game and got Northern Iowa within three at 80-77 with 22 seconds left. From there, Harvey and Bartley hit a foul shot apiece as the Bruins forced three empty Panther possessions.
 
Northern Iowa outscored Belmont 21-20 in the fourth quarter with both teams shooting at least 50 percent from the field. The Bruins went 7-for-13 (53.8 percent) with McGuff scoring nine points on her trio of threes.
 
Belmont was 9-for-15 at the free-throw line in the second half.
 
Shooting 48.4 percent (30-of-62) altogether, the Bruins were 11-for-26 (42.3 percent) from distance. The Panthers were held to 7-for-26 (26.9 percent) from outside the arc and shot 45.7 percent (32-of-70) overall.
 
McGuff scored 14 of her 20 points in the second half and Wells 11 of her 16 points. Wells finished with a game-high eight assists and came up with three steals, while Bartley tallied 16 points and seven rebounds. McGuff added five boards and two steals and Harvey scored nine and earned a season-high three steals. Miller notched eight points, snagged seven rebounds, distributed a career-high tying six assists and made a season-high tying three blocks.
 
Boffeli led five Northern Iowa players in double figures with 19 points and a game-high 11 boards. McDermott scored 16, while starting center Cynthia Wolf posted 14 points and nine rebounds. Morgan finished with 12 points and starting guard Emerson Green added 11 points.

Of Note
After a 3-7 start, Belmont has won 15 of its last 18 games. The Bruins' average margin of victory during their 10-game winning streak is 18 points. Belmont leads the MVC with an 8-1 home record in league play. The Bruins improve to 82-11 (.882) at the Curb in conference play since 2012 and head coach Bart Brooks moves to 48-5 (.906) in league home games. Belmont is 84-11 (.884) in February and March since 2016 and coach Brooks is 64-8 (.889) in the two key months since his arrival in the Music City. The Bruins earn their second win against the Panthers, improving to 2-0 versus Northern Iowa with both meetings taking place this season. Belmont completes its fifth MVC regular season sweep. Wells has scored in double figures for 12-straight games. Bartley has reached double figures in 11 of her last 12 outings. McGuff records her third 20-point game of the season. She has reached double figures in four consecutive contests and five of the last six games and is averaging 11.4 points and 5.5 rebounds as a starter.
 
Up Next
The Bruins close out the home portion of the regular season Saturday with a 4 p.m. senior day matchup versus Drake. The MVC game of the week will be broadcast on ESPN3 with both senior guard Nikki Baird and Harvey being honored prior to tipoff.

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