Bruins Set for WNIT First Round Matchup at Ball State Thursday Evening

MUNCIE, Ind. – Following a sixth regular season conference championship in seven seasons and a third consecutive conference tournament title game appearance, the Belmont University women's basketball team makes its third Postseason WNIT appearance Thursday evening in Muncie, Indiana. The Bruins (23-11) take on Ball State out of the Mid-American Conference in the opening round. Tipoff from Worthen Arena is slated for 5:30 p.m. CT/6:30 p.m. ET.
 
Thursday evening's first-round game will be broadcast on ESPN3 with Mick Tidrow (play-by-play) and David Eha (analyst) serving as on-air talent and Madison Surface reporting from the sideline. 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

• Belmont has earned a national postseason bid in 10 of 11 of seasons, including earning an automatic berth to the previous six NCAA Tournaments.
• The Bruins are making their first WNIT appearance since 2014. Belmont was also in the 2006 WNIT and would have received an at-large bid to the 2020 Postseason WNIT if it were not for the COVID-19 global pandemic that canceled the tournament.
• The Bruins have been fueled by the inspired play of junior guard Destinee Wells, who scored 96 points and averaged 32 in last weekend's Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. Collecting MVC All-Tournament Team honors, Wells has surpassed 30 points in three of the last four games.
• Belmont won its ninth regular season conference championship with a gritty 70-67 road victory at Valparaiso in its regular season finale on Saturday, March 4.
• The Bruins ended the regular season on a 14-game winning streak and had a 16-game winning streak, which was tied for the fifth-longest active winning streak in the nation, heading into the MVC Tournament title game.  
• Second-seeded Belmont was upset 89-71 by fourth-seeded Drake in the 2023 MVC Tournament championship.
• The Bruins have reached 20 wins for eight-straight seasons.
• Belmont is one of only three non-power conference programs to win 20 or more games for eight consecutive seasons, Florida Gulf Coast and South Dakota State are the other two.
• Belmont is the only school in the country to win 20-plus games in both men's and women's basketball for eight consecutive seasons.
• The Bruins are a near perfect 12-1 in February and March.
• After starting the season 3-7, Belmont has won 20 of its last 24 games.
• Seven of the Bruins' 10 non-conference opponents are in the 68-team NCAA Tournament field.
• Belmont defeated three NCAA Tournament automatic qualifiers during the regular season in Chattanooga (56-54), Saint Louis (78-68) and Drake (83-77).
• Since 2012-13, the Bruins have compiled a remarkable 157-32 (.831) record in league play and won 12 combined championships, including regular season and tournament titles.
• Head coach Bart Brooks is an astounding 97-12 (.890) in conference action over his six seasons guiding Belmont.
• Altogether, the Bruins have gone 180-37 (.829) against league opposition, including conference tournaments, over the last 11 seasons.
• Belmont's MVC regular season crown in its first season in the league is the Bruins' ninth regular season conference championship – five in the Ohio Valley Conference (2021-22, 2019-20, 2018-19, 2017-18, 2016-17) and three in the ASUN Conference (2006-07, 2005-06, 2003-04). Belmont went 17-3 in MVC play to win its 16th overall conference championship, including regular season and tournament titles, in its NCAA era.
• Wells and junior forward Madison Bartley were both named to the All-MVC First Team, while graduate guard Sydni Harvey landed a spot on the MVC All-Newcomer Team.
• Three different Bruins have turned in 30-point games this season led by Wells' four 30-point outings. Wells scored a career-high 35 in Belmont's home win over Indiana State on Feb. 12 before tallying back-to-back 30-point games at Valparaiso on March 4 (31) and versus Southern Illinois in the MVC Tournament quarterfinals on March 10 (34). In the MVC Tournament championship against the Bulldogs, Wells once again reached 34 points.
• Bartley scored a career-high 31 points in the road win at the University of Illinois Chicago (March 2).
• Harvey scored 33 points in a thrilling overtime home win over Troy on Dec. 20.
• Wells' two 34-point performances in the MVC Tournament tied for the sixth-most in a single game in tournament history. Her 96 points scored across the Bruins' three MVC Tournament games were the second-most in the history of the championship. In fact, the only other player to score more than 90 points in any MVC Tournament is Women's Basketball Hall of Fame member Jackie Stiles (103 in 2000).
• Against the Salukis in the quarterfinals, Wells scored 22 of Belmont's last 27 points from the six-minute mark of the third quarter forward. At Valparaiso in the regular season finale, Wells scored 26 second-half points and had 20 of the Bruins' 24 points in the fourth quarter. She is the only player in the nation to score 20 points in a fourth quarter this season.
• Scoring 28 points in last Saturday's MVC Tournament semifinal win over Northern Iowa, Wells set Belmont's NCAA era single-season scoring record. She has a remarkable 649 points on the season.
• With 1,613 career points, Wells is in seventh place on the Bruins' all-time scoring list. She passed current director of basketball operations Sally McCabe last Friday in the MVC Tournament quarterfinal win and is in second place on Belmont's NCAA era career scoring list after passing former forward Ellie Harmeyer (2015-20) in the MVC Tournament championship last Sunday.
• Wells has scored in double figures for 18-straight games, while Bartley has reached double figures in 15 of the last 18 games.
• Wells is one of only five players in the nation averaging at least 19 points, 4.5 assists and 3.0 rebounds.
• In the month of March for her career, Wells is averaging 23.8 points with four 30-point games.
• Wells has scored over 25 points in five of her last six outings. She owns five career 30-point games and 16 career 25-point contests. Wells has reached 20 points on 14 occasions this season.
• With a block around the eight-minute mark of the fourth quarter on the road at UIC (March 2), Bartley registered her 100th career block. In the MVC Tournament title game last Sunday, Bartley recorded seven rebounds to surpass 400 for her career. She needs only two more points to become the Bruins' 34th 1,000-point scorer.
• Since being reinserted into Belmont's starting lineup on Jan. 20 versus Missouri State, the Bruins have gone 16-1 with Bartley averaging 17.3 points and 5.6 rebounds.
• Sophomore forward Tessa Miller notched her third double-double of the season and team-best fourth of her career on the road against the Flames (March 2) with 11 points and 10 rebounds. She nearly had her fourth double-double of the season in the MVC Tournament semifinals last Friday with nine points and nine boards.
• Miller is one of only nine players in the country averaging at least 6.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists while shooting over 50 percent from the floor.
• Harvey won her 100th career game on senior day versus Drake (Feb. 25).
• Sophomore guard Kilyn McGuff is averaging 10.7 points and 5.5 rebounds in 25 starts this season.
• In February and March, Belmont has been at its best. The Bruins are a stunning 89-12 (.881) in the two key months since 2016 and coach Brooks has led Belmont to a 69-9 (.885) record in February and March since his arrival in Nashville.
• The Bruins received their first at-large berth into the WNIT as Belmont was an automatic qualifier for both the 2014 and 2006 Postseason WNIT.
• The Bruins are seeking their first WNIT win after falling by a single point in both of their first two WNIT games. In its first-ever WNIT appearance in 2006, Belmont was defeated 56-55 at Tennessee Tech. In their last WNIT appearance in 2014, the Bruins dropped a 48-47 decision at the Big Ten Conference's Indiana in Bloomington, Indiana.
• Belmont is one of four MVC teams in the 64-team WNIT field. Co-regular season champion Illinois State (24-8), Missouri State (20-12) and Northern Iowa (22-9) are also in the national postseason tournament with the Redbirds receiving the league's automatic bid. The Valley's four WNIT bids are tied for the most in the field with the Southeastern Conference, Conference USA and the Mountain West.
• Thursday will be the first-ever meeting between the Bruins and the Cardinals.
• Belmont is 2-8 all-time versus current MAC opponents with wins over Kent State (2013-14) and Bowling Green (1979-80).
• The Bruins' loss to the Bulldogs in the MVC Tournament championship was only Belmont's second loss in a conference tournament title game in its NCAA era. The Bruins entered championship Sunday having won their previous six conference tournament title games.
• Belmont is ranked just outside the top 80 of the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings at No. 81 as the third-highest ranked MVC team.
• The Bruins' non-conference strength of schedule is ranked as the ninth-most difficult in the nation. Furthermore, Belmont's average opponent NET ranking (No. 136) is tied for 83rd-highest in the country.
• Four different Bruins have posted multiple 20-point performances this season with Wells leading the way (14), followed by Bartley (8), McGuff (3) and Harvey (2).
• 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^® and is currently ranked 19th in the mid-major poll.
• 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 own the 17th-most victories in NCAA Division I women's basketball history (1,057).
• In 2021-22, Belmont and BYU were the only two schools in the nation 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 146-45 (.764) record and nine combined conference championships, including regular season and tournament titles.

About the Cardinals

• Led by 11th-year head coach Brady Sallee, Ball State enters national postseason play 25-8.
• The Cardinals tied for second in the MAC after going 14-4 in conference play and earned the No. 3 seed for their league tournament. Ball State was bounced from the MAC Tournament in the semifinals, 70-61, by second-seeded Bowling Green.
• The Cardinals are making their 11th WNIT appearance and eighth under coach Sallee.
• Ball State enters Thursday 6-10 in WNIT games.
• The Cardinals are ranked just ahead of Belmont in the NET at No. 76 as the third-highest ranked MAC team.
• Ball State boasts one of the best offenses in the nation, ranking in the top 20 in field goal percentage (46.8), scoring (77.6 PPG) and assist/turnover ratio (1.22). The Cardinals are also ranked 26th nationally in assists per game (16.4).
• Four Ball State players average double-figure scoring led by redshirt senior guard/forward Anna Clephane (15.4 PPG), a 5-foot-10 All-MAC First Team selection.
• Graduate student Thelma Dis Agustsdottir, a 6-foot guard/forward who claimed All-MAC honorable mention recognition, is averaging 12.5 points per outing as one of the top three-point shooters in the nation. Her 98 made threes rank fifth-most nationally and her 42.8 percent shooting from beyond the arc is 12th-best in the land.
• Sophomore guard Ally Becki, a 5-foot-8 All-MAC Second Team pick, leads the team in assists (5.1 APG) and rebounds (5.9 RPG) while averaging 11.4 points per contest.
• Sophomore 5-foot-9 guard Madelyn Bischoff also averages double figures at 10.2 points per game.

Up Next
With a win, the Bruins advance to the WNIT round of 32 where they will take on either Memphis (20-10) or Jackson State (21-9) this weekend. The two teams play each other in the first round later Thursday night in Memphis, Tennessee.   
 
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