Bruins Advance to Hoops in the Heartland Championship with 69-62 Win Over UNI

MOLINE, Ill. – For the third-straight year, the Belmont University women's basketball team will play in a conference tournament championship game as the Bruins defeated third-seeded Northern Iowa 69-62 in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament semifinals Saturday in Moline, Illinois. In its inaugural Hoops in the Heartland tournament in the Quad Cities, Belmont (23-10, 17-3 MVC) will vie for a seventh conference tournament title in eight seasons Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. inside Vibrant Arena at The MARK.
 
Like so often as of late, the second-seeded Bruins relied on their late-game experience and the clutch play of junior guard Destinee Wells to earn another gritty victory over the Panthers (22-9, 16-4 MVC). Graduate guard Sydni Harvey, who has been in plenty of big moments throughout her accomplished career, provided perhaps the most important plays late. A corner three-pointer from Harvey gave Belmont a four-point lead with 1:45 to go and she clinched the win in the final 30 seconds with four consecutive made free throws.

Following her 34-point quarterfinal performance, Wells scored a game-high 28 points, including 11 in the all-important fourth quarter. Her five-point run in just over 20 seconds late in the fourth proved to be the turning point of the game.

Four different Bruins reached double figures with Harvey scoring 12 points and going 6-for-6 at the foul line. Sophomore guard Kilyn McGuff knocked down a trio of threes and posted 11 points, while junior forward Madison Bartley provided 10 points and six rebounds.

Belmont trailed 55-53 with four minutes remaining after being held scoreless for three-and-a-half minutes before Wells put the game in her hands. Harvey drew a charge with 3:52 on the clock and Wells took advantage of the Northern Iowa turnover, converting an old-fashioned three-point play. Moments later, Bartley collected a steal and Wells drew a foul on a drive to the hoop. Her two free throws with three minutes left put the Bruins up 58-55.
 
Belmont would lead the rest of the way.

Allowing only one made field goal in the last six-and-a-half minutes, the Bruins led by their largest margin in the final 30 seconds. Wells hit one of her signature floaters from the elbow with just under a minute to go, giving Belmont a 63-58 lead.
 
A pair of Wells free throws made it a six-point game at 65-59 with 31 seconds left and Harvey finished the job, putting the Bruins up seven with each set of her closing foul shots.
 
Wells assisted on Harvey's key three under two minutes, kicking the ball out to the corner after being swarmed in the lane. Belmont outscored the Panthers 20-15 in the fourth quarter, going 5-for-11 from the field and a perfect 9-for-9 at the charity stripe.

The Bruins led for only 14:15 of the late afternoon affair that saw six ties and 10 lead changes. Outscoring Northern Iowa 24-16 in the paint, Belmont held the Panthers to 36.8 percent (21-of-57) shooting.
 
After going 7-for-12 from long range in the opening quarter, Northern Iowa finished 37.9 percent (11-of-29) from distance. The Panthers outscored the Bruins 13-6 off the bench and led by as much as nine early.

Wells connected on a triple on Belmont's first possession of the day, but Northern Iowa started 4-for-4 from behind the arc with four different Panthers hitting from deep for a 12-0 run. Layups from Bartley and Wells got the Bruins back in the game and made it 12-7 four-and-a-half minutes in.
 
Hitting her first four shots, Wells had 10 in the opening six minutes.

After falling behind 34-28 with 4:18 left in the second quarter, Belmont closed the first half on a 10-0 run to take a four-point, 38-34 lead into the break. McGuff's second trey of the second quarter ignited the Bruins' run and sophomore forward Kendal Cheesman capped the half with a three-pointer of her own.
 
Wells had 15 at the intermission as Belmont shot 50 percent and went 7-for-16 from outside in the first half.

Northern Iowa scored the first four points of the second half before sophomore forward Tessa Miller got a second-chance layup on an offensive board just over two minutes in. A McGuff three put the Bruins in front 43-40 midway through the third quarter and Belmont held the Panthers without a basket for a four-minute stretch late in the period. After a pair of Harvey free throws, the Bruins led for the remainder of the quarter.
 
After three quarters of play, Belmont led 49-47.

Outscored 13-11 in the third quarter, the Bruins went 3-for-13 from the floor and were 1-for-6 from three-point range.
 
An early three-pointer in the fourth by Northern Iowa's Emerson Green put the Panthers up 50-49. A Wells driving layup and a McGuff pull-up jumper gave Belmont a 53-50 lead with just over seven minutes remaining and the Bruins looked poised to take control.
 
However, Northern Iowa had other plans and went up 55-53 on a free throw from starting forward Grace Boffeli with just over six minutes to go.

Miller finished with a team-high eight rebounds and Wells added a team-best four assists and four rebounds. Wells was a perfect 8-for-8 at the free-throw line.
 
Belmont got a huge boost off the bench from junior guard Blair Schoenwald, who played a season-high 24 minutes and registered five rebounds, three points, two assists and two steals.

Boffeli notched a double-double for the Panthers with 11 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Northern Iowa also got 15 points apiece from Green and starting point guard Maya McDermott, who distributed a game-best seven assists.

Up Next
Belmont faces fourth-seeded Drake (21-9, 14-6 MVC) Sunday afternoon in the Hoops in the Heartland championship at 1 p.m. The Bulldogs routed top-seeded and fellow regular season co-champion Illinois State 74-54 Saturday afternoon. Sunday's title game will be nationally televised on ESPNU.

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