Bruins Face UIC in the Windy City Thursday Night

CHICAGO – Vying for its eighth-straight 20-win campaign, the Belmont University women's basketball team embarks on its final regular season road trip of the season beginning Thursday night in Chicago. The Bruins (19-10, 15-3 MVC) take on the University of Illinois Chicago at Credit Union 1 Arena in a 7 p.m. tipoff.
 
The Missouri Valley Conference road matchup will be broadcast on ESPN+ and Dr. Rich Tiner will have the play-by-play call of the action on Belmont Bruins Radio on iHeart Radio. Live in-game statistics will be available at BelmontBruins.com.
 
What's Bruin

• With only two games remaining in the regular season, Belmont is tied atop of the league standings with Illinois State (21-7, 15-3 MVC). The Bruins and the Redbirds own a single-game lead on Missouri State and Northern Iowa, who are 14-4 in MVC play.
• With an 83-77 senior day victory over Drake last Saturday, Belmont completed the month of February an unblemished 8-0.
• On a conference-best 12-game winning streak, the Bruins have gone undefeated for six consecutive weeks.
• Belmont's 12-game win streak is tied for the seventh-longest in the country. The Bruins' average margin of victory during their lengthy win streak is 17 points.
• After starting the season 3-7, Belmont has won 16 of its last 19 games.
• The Bruins have not lost a game in 46 days – Belmont's last setback came at home on Jan. 15 against Illinois State (70-56).
• With their win over the visiting Bulldogs last weekend, the Bruins finished their first MVC home slate a league-best 9-1.
• Thirteen of Belmont's first 18 opponents won no fewer than 19 games a year ago and reached a national postseason tournament.
• Since 2012-13, the Bruins have compiled a remarkable 155-32 (.829) record in conference play and won 11 combined championships, including regular season and tournament titles.
• Head coach Bart Brooks is an astounding 95-12 (.888) in league action over his six seasons guiding Belmont.
• Graduate guard Sydni Harvey, who was recognized on senior day last Saturday prior to tipoff, won her 100th career game versus Drake.
• Junior guard Destinee Wells has scored in double figures for 13-straight games, while junior forward Madison Bartley has reached double figures in 12 of her last 13 outings.
• Bartley needs just 71 more points to become the program's 34th 1,000-point scorer.
• Sophomore forward Kendal Cheesman is averaging 10.5 points over the last six games with four double-figure scoring performances.
• Sophomore guard Kilyn McGuff is averaging 11.4 points and 5.5 rebounds in 20 starts this season.
• In February and March, the Bruins have been at their best. Belmont is a stunning 85-11 (.885) in the two key months since 2016 and coach Brooks has led the Bruins to a 65-8 (.890) record in February and March since his arrival in Nashville.
• Thursday will be only the second-ever meeting between Belmont and UIC. The Bruins defeated the visiting Flames 72-59 on New Year's Day in Belmont's second MVC game in program history.
• Senior guard Nikki Baird, who was honored on senior day last weekend, is a native of Wheaton, Illinois, which is less than 30 miles from Credit Union 1 Arena. She starred at Wheaton North High School where she set the single-season and career record for blocks.
• Coach Brooks spent 11 years in the Windy City where he was on staff at the Big East Conference's DePaul University under legendary head coach Doug Bruno.
• The Bruins are ranked in the top 85 of the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings at No. 83 as the third-highest ranked MVC team. UIC enters the week of play with the fifth-lowest NET ranking in the 12-team conference, sitting just inside the top 200 at No. 197.
• Belmont's non-conference strength of schedule is ranked as the 12th-most difficult in the nation. Furthermore, the Bruins' average opponent NET ranking (No. 134) is 82nd-highest in the country.
• Four different Belmont players have posted multiple 20-point performances this season with Wells leading the way (10), followed by Bartley (7), McGuff (3) and Harvey (2).
• The Bruins 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. Belmont 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, the Bruins began the season ranked No. 6 in the nation in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25^® and are currently ranked 17th in the mid-major poll.
• Entering its first season in the MVC, Belmont was picked to win the conference after a vote of the league's head coaches, sports information directors and media members. The Bruins 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, Belmont has either been ranked or received votes in at least one of the two major national polls for eight-straight seasons.
• The Bruins are the only non-power conference program to reach the NCAA Tournament Round of 32 each of the last two seasons.
• Belmont has earned a national postseason bid nine of the last 10 years and reached each of the last six NCAA Tournaments.
• The Bruins are 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.
• Belmont owns the 17th-most victories in NCAA Division I women's basketball history (1,053).
• 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 142-44 (.763) record and eight combined conference championships, including regular season and tournament titles.

About the Flames

• Led by first-year head coach Ashleen Bracey, a former All-MVC First Team forward at Illinois State, UIC is tied for sixth in the league standings with an 8-10 mark in MVC play.
• At 16-13 overall, the Flames are coming off a four-game road stretch. Splitting its lengthy road stretch with wins at Bradley (64-38) and Indiana State (56-60), UIC defeated Drake 64-52 in its last home game on Feb. 12.
• The Flames are 8-4 at Credit Union 1 Arena this season.
• A defensive-minded team, UIC has held its opponent under 60 points in 17 of its 29 contests. Belmont's 72 points scored against the Flames on Jan. 1 were the second-most by any team this year. In fact, UIC has allowed just three opponents to reach the 70-point mark.
• The Flames' 57.5 points per game allowed ranks as the 33rd-best scoring defense in the nation and leads the conference.
• UIC was picked to finish last in the MVC according to the preseason predicted order of finish after going 2-25 last season and earning only one league win (1-20). The Flames ended their 2021-22 campaign on a 20-game losing streak.
• Like the Bruins, UIC is in its first season in the MVC after spending over 25 years in the Horizon League.
• Josie Filer, a 6-foot-1 graduate transfer forward from the University of Nebraska Omaha, is averaging a team-best 12.2 points and 6.9 rebounds per game.
• Junior 6-foot-3 guard/forward Jaida McCloud, an All-Horizon League Second Team selection last season, is also averaging double-figure scoring (12.1 PPG) and over 6.0 rebounds per outing (6.4 RPG).
• Junior 5-foot-5 guard Kristian Young leads the Flames in assists (3.7 APG).

Up Next
Belmont closes out the regular season Saturday afternoon at Valparaiso. Tipoff from the Athletics-Recreation Center in Valparaiso, Indiana, is set for 1 p.m. with the game broadcast on ESPN3.
 
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.