Wells' 35 Not Enough in WNIT Opening Round Loss at Ball State

MUNCIE, Ind. – For the fourth time in five games junior guard Destinee Wells surpassed 30 points, but it wasn't enough for the Belmont University women's basketball team Thursday evening at Ball State in the first round of the 2023 Postseason WNIT. The visiting Bruins (23-12) had their 2022-23 campaign come to an end with a 101-86 loss to the host Cardinals (26-8), who were red-hot from beyond the arc.
 
Despite Wells' career-high tying 35 points, Ball State went 16-for-32 from outside and shot 54.4 percent from the field. The Cardinals shot a combined 63.9 percent (23-of-36) between the second and third quarters where they outscored Belmont 62-40.

Ball State hit six of its nine three-point attempts in the second quarter and erased an 11-point deficit following the first quarter of play.

The Bruins jumped out to an impressive 16-4 lead at the first media timeout thanks to a pair of three-pointers from sophomore forward Kendal Cheesman. A three from junior guard Blair Schoenwald kept Belmont in front by 12 at 21-9 with just under two minutes to go in the opening quarter and sophomore forward Tessa Miller scored on a layup with under 45 seconds left to make it 23-12.

Holding the Cardinals to 35.7 percent (5-of-14) shooting in the first stanza, including 2-for-6 from distance, the Bruins started 7-for-14 from the floor and 4-for-7 from long range.

Cheesman got a layup to go early in the second quarter to maintain Belmont's 11-point lead at 25-14 before Ball State put together a 10-0 scoring run over the next three minutes of action. A driving layup from sophomore guard Kilyn McGuff made it 29-26 for the Bruins but the Cardinals' Anna Clephane knotted the score with a triple midway through the second quarter.

Wells converted an old-fashioned three-point play after Cheesman drained her third trey of the evening to cap an 8-2 run and give Belmont a six-point lead at 37-31 with three minutes remaining in the half. However, Ball State went on an inspired 11-3 run to take a lead into the break. The Cardinals made a trio of threes with Madelyn Bischoff accounting for two of the three shots from deep, her triple at the first-half buzzer making it 42-40.

The Bruins were limited to 43.8 percent (7-of-16) shooting in the second quarter and went 1-for-5 from downtown. Ball State scored seven of its 30 second-quarter points on the fast break.
 
Both squads shot below 50 percent in the first half but the Cardinals went 8-for-15 (53.3 percent) from behind the arc.

Ball State began the second half on a 12-2 run capped by back-to-back threes from forward Thelma Dis Agustsdottir to open a 10-point lead. Wells then completely took control of Belmont's offense, scoring the Bruins' next 12 points.

Although Wells was scoring at will, Belmont simply couldn't gain any ground on the Cardinals as the hosts continued to make threes at ease. Another trey from Bischoff gave Ball State a 14-point lead at 72-58 with just under two minutes left in the third quarter.

Wells sunk a three-pointer to trim the deficit to nine but the Cardinals got a layup before the end of the quarter to make it 74-63 going into the fourth period.

Ball State scored a stunning 32 points in the third quarter on 68.4 percent (13-of-19) shooting, going 5-for-10 from outside. Wells accounted for 17 of the Bruins' 23 points in the quarter behind a perfect 6-for-6 shooting display. Belmont shot a blistering 69.2 percent (9-of-13) as a team in the third.

A pair of Wells free throws and a layup from Bartly began the fourth and got the Bruins within seven at 74-67 with 8:31 to go. However, it would be as close as Belmont would get for the remainder of the game. The Cardinals' Clephane pushed Ball State's lead back out to 10 on a conventional three-point play with just over eight minutes left and the home team led by double figures the rest of the way.

Both teams shot well over 55 percent in the second half with the Bruins shooting 57.1 percent (16-of-28) but going 2-for-8 from deep. The Cardinals shot 59.5 percent (22-of-37) and hit eight of their 17 three-point attempts.
 
Belmont finished 19-for-27 (70.4 percent) at the free-throw line, while Ball State went 11-for-12.
 
The Cardinals committed just six turnovers and assisted on 22 of their 37 made field goals. Ball State scored 17 points off 11 Bruin turnovers and got 14 of its points off the fast break.

Belmont outscored the Cardinals 14-8 off the bench and 34-32 in the paint.

Four Bruins reached double figures led by Wells' 35 on 11-for-20 shooting. Wells added a team-high five assists and went 11-for-12 at the foul line. Miller scored a career-high tying 16 points on 6-for-8 shooting and both McGuff and Cheesman tallied 11 points. McGuff also snagged six rebounds along with junior forward Madison Bartley.

Ball State had three players reach 20 points led by Clephane's career-high 31 points on 12-for-16 shooting. Bischoff finished 5-for-6 from three-point range and totaled 23 points, while Dis Agustsdottir scored 20 with six threes. The Cardinals also got nine points and a game-best 13 assists and seven boards from guard Ally Becki and 10 points from Marie Kiefer.

Of Note
With her first-quarter three-pointer, Bartley became Belmont's 34th 1,000-point scorer. She has totaled 1,007 points in 87 career games. Wells closes the season scoring 162 points across the last five games, averaging 32.4 points per contest in her final five outings. She finishes her junior year with 684 points, setting the single-season scoring record in the Bruins' NCAA era. Her 1,648 career points rank sixth on Belmont's all-time scoring list as Wells passed Daree Pilkinton (1988-91) Thursday with her 35 points. Both senior guard Nikki Baird and graduate guard Sydni Harvey complete their collegiate careers. Baird was a part of 89 victories during her four seasons as a Bruin, while Harvey earned 104 career wins. After scoring 1,142 points at the University of South Florida before transferring to Belmont, Harvey finishes with 1,418 career points. The Bruins are 0-3 in the Postseason WNIT with appearances in 2023, 2014 and 2006.

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