Bruins Embark on First MVC Road Trip of Season, Face Evansville Friday

 
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Making its first road trip of the new year, the Belmont University women's basketball team heads to Indiana this weekend to face Evansville and Indiana State. The Bruins (10-4, 3-0 MVC) take on the Purple Aces (2-12, 0-3 MVC) Friday morning at the Ford Center in Evansville. Tipoff is slated for 11 a.m.
 
The game is Evansville's annual Education Day where the school welcomes local Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation students to the Ford Center for a basketball game.
 
The morning matchup will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Casey Roehl (play-by-play) and Walt Ferber (analyst) on the call. The game can also be heard on Belmont Bruins Radio on iHeart Radio with Dr. Rich Tiner providing play-by-play of the action. Live in-game statistics will be available at BelmontBruins.com.
 
What's Bruin

• Off to a 3-0 start in just its second year in the MVC, Belmont hits the road for the first time in the Valley this season.
• Leading the conference in both scoring (61.5 PPG) and field goal percentage (.388) defense, the Bruins have given up no more than 61 points in their three MVC outings.
• Belmont has held nine of its 14 opponents this season under 65 points and kept six teams under 60 points.
• This past Saturday afternoon, the Bruins wrapped up an MVC opening three-game homestand by throttling visiting Bradley, 89-47. The 42-point home win was Belmont's largest margin of victory since a 101-45 drubbing of Southern Illinois in Nashville on Jan. 22, 2023.
• Head coach Bart Brooks earned his 100th career conference win in only 112 league games Saturday with the Bruins rout of the Braves. He is 100-12 (.893) in conference games in just over six seasons.
• Belmont is 2-2 in true road games this season and has gone 3-3 away from the Music City.
• Two of the Bruins' four losses have been against top-15 opponents.
• Prior to Belmont's loss at 13th-ranked Ohio State in its non-conference finale, the Bruins had won five straight. Belmont has put together at least a five-game winning streak in 12-straight seasons going back to 2012-13.
• The Bruins moved up five spots in this week's CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25^® and are now ranked in the top 10 at No. 10.

 
Ford Center Familiarity

• Belmont is more than familiar with the Ford Center in Evansville as the Bruins won four Ohio Valley Conference Tournament titles inside the arena (2022, 2021, 2019, 2018).
• Belmont went 12-1 across five OVC Tournaments inside at the Ford Center.
• In the Bruins' last game inside the Ford Center, the 2022 OVC Tournament championship game, Belmont gave up only 29 points in a 51-29 handling of second-seeded Tennessee Tech. The performance was one of the finest defensive displays in any NCAA Division I conference tournament title game.

 
Last Time Out

• Scoring a season-high 89 points, the Bruins were well-balanced offensively last weekend against Bradley. All 13 Belmont players saw at least three minutes of action on the court and 11 Bruins scored.
• Belmont scored 29 points in the fourth quarter, the Bruins' highest point total in any quarter this season, as part of a 52-point second half.
• For the first time of the season Belmont limited its turnovers to below 10, and the Bruins came up with a season-high 12 steals with four players recording multiple steals.
• Belmont hit 12 three-pointers and assisted on 17 of its 29 made field goals. The Bruins went 12-for-26 (46.2 percent) from beyond the arc and were 19-for-24 at the free-throw line.
• For the second-straight game, Belmont held its opponent to 33.3 percent shooting. The Bruins allowed only 17 made field goals and kept the Braves to 3-for-16 shooting from outside.
• Belmont outplayed Bradley in every facet of the game, holding a 43-31 advantage on the glass and scoring 14 points off 13 offensive boards. Outscoring the Braves 30-20 in the paint, the Bruins forced 18 turnovers.
• Belmont got 37 points off the bench, including a career-high 14 points from sophomore guard Kate Hollifield who went 4-for-5 from distance.
• Freshman standout guard Jailyn Banks poured in a game-high 16 points for the third consecutive game and junior forward Kendal Cheesman added 14. Freshman guard Kensley Feltner also had an outstanding game, scoring nine points in the fourth quarter on 3-for-4 shooting.

 
Another Challenging Non-Conference

• Once again playing one of the most strenuous non-conference schedules in the nation, the Bruins went 7-4 with their four losses coming against power conference opponents. Three of Belmont's four losses were away from Nashville with the Bruins going 4-1 at the Curb Event Center.
• Six of Belmont's 11 non-conference opponents were from power conferences. Five of the Bruins' first six games of the season were against power conference programs.
• Belmont defeated two power conference teams during the non-conference portion of the schedule, routing Southeastern Conference mainstay Georgia 76-50 in the Bruins' home opener on Nov. 10 and toppling the Big Ten Conference's Northwestern 83-61 at the Ball Dawgs Classic in Las Vegas on Nov. 24.
• Belmont owns five victories over power conference teams in four seasons. In addition to the Lady Bulldogs and the Wildcats, the Bruins have earned wins against Oregon, Ole Miss and Auburn in recent years.
• Belmont also came within a point of defeating receiving-votes Mississippi State on Sunday, Nov. 19 inside the Curb. A free-throw line jumper by Banks and a putback attempt from junior guard Kilyn McGuff both rimmed off in the final seconds.

 
Player Notes

• Junior forward Tessa Miller has scored in double figures in all but two games this season and has distributed at least three assists in six games. She led all Bruin scorers at top-15 ranked Ohio State with 15 points on 6-for-10 shooting after scoring a career-best 19 points in the win at Kennesaw State where she knocked down a career-high nine free throws on nine attempts. In Belmont's battle with top-five ranked Stanford at the Ball Dawgs Classic in the desert, Miller went 9-for-16 from the floor for 18 points after registering her fifth career double-double in the Bruins' blowout of Georgia with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
• After her true junior season was cut short due to injury last year, guard Tuti Jones returned for the opener at Missouri and has distributed at least four assists in 11 of the first 14 games of the season. Averaging a team-best 4.3 assists per game, Jones earned her second career double-double against Northwestern in Vegas with 12 points and a career-high 10 assists. Against the nationally-ranked Buckeyes, Jones racked up a season-high five steals. The Troy, Alabama (Charles Henderson HS), native has totaled 203 career steals, which ranks among the top 10 in program history. In fact, Jones is third in Belmont's NCAA era in steals as she ranks behind only Erica Davenport (210) and Tara Montgomery (244). Named to the preseason All-MVC Second Team, Jones was the OVC Defensive Player of the Year and an All-OVC First Team selection as a sophomore in 2021-22.
• Off to a sensational start to her collegiate career, Banks is the reigning MVC Freshman of the Week and has been selected for the conference weekly award four times already (Jan. 9, Dec. 11, Nov. 20, Nov. 13). Reaching double figures in 10 of her first 14 games, Banks is second on the team in scoring (12.9 PPG). A native of Spring Hill, Tennessee (Middle Tennessee Christian School), Banks tallied 23 points in the season opener against the Tigers, the fourth-most by any true freshman this season making her debut.
• Cheesman is proving to be one of the most elite three-point shooters in the country. Shooting 48.9 percent (22-of-45) from three-point range at the Curb this season, Cheesman is an impressive 48.5 percent (33-of-72) from deep. She pulled down a career-best 14 rebounds versus the fourth-ranked Cardinal and scored a game-high 21 points on 6-for-9 shooting, including going 4-for-7 from outside, in the convincing win over the Wildcats of Northwestern inside The Dollar Loan Center in Henderson, Nevada. In her first career start, Cheesman erupted for a career-high 28 points on 9-for-15 three-point shooting and collected nine boards in the home blowout of the Lady Bulldogs. Her nine three-pointers are tied for the third-most by a NCAA Division I women's basketball player in a game this season and were just one shy of both the single-game program and Curb Event Center record. The Tampa, Florida (H.B. Plant HS), native became the first player since at least 2009-10 to make nine threes and secure nine rebounds against a power conference team. For her performance, Cheesman was selected as Tennessee Sports Writers Association (TSWA) Player of the Week (Nov. 14).
• Going up against her father's program, McGuff secured a team-high six rebounds at Ohio State. She has scored in double figures on six occasions this season and notched two double-doubles. After recording her first career double-double in the win at Troy with 18 points and 10 boards, McGuff scored a season-best 22 points in the home victory over receiving-votes Middle Tennessee. For those two performances, McGuff captured her first MVC Player of the Week award on Dec. 4. In the 77th Battle of the Boulevard versus nearby rival Lipscomb, McGuff had a career-high 14 rebounds to go along with 13 points.
• In just her second game as a Bruin, sophomore guard Emily La Chapell scored a career-high 17 points on 6-for-9 shooting. After spending her freshman year at the BIG EAST Conference's Marquette, La Chapell made her Belmont debut in the MVC opener versus the University of Illinois Chicago. In the win over Illinois State to start the new year, La Chapell had a breakout game as she went 2-for-4 from long range and added a trio of boards and a block.

 
Among the Toughest Schedules in the Nation

• A total of 14 opponents on the Bruins' schedule had a winning record in 2022-23, while 10 adversaries won 20 or more games last season and 12 made a national postseason tournament last March.
• Belmont's schedule also features six NCAA Tournament teams from a season ago.

 
Nothing but NET

• Six of the Bruins' 14 opponents thus far are ranked in the top 90 of the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET), including No. 2 Stanford and No. 17 Ohio State. Belmont is currently 68th in the NET.
• The Purple Aces enter the weekend as the lowest ranked MVC team in the NET, sitting at No. 342.

 
Storied Success

• The Bruins won their sixth regular season conference championship in seven seasons last year. Belmont has captured nine regular season conference titles in the Bruins' NCAA era. Including the regular season and league tournament, Belmont has won 16 combined conference championships in three different Division I conferences (MVC, OVC and Atlantic Sun Conference).
• The Bruins are one of only 11 teams in the nation to have won 20 or more games for eight-straight seasons.
• Belmont (11) is one of only three programs to have won more than 10 combined conference championships (regular season and tournament) over the last seven seasons. UConn (14) and Florida Gulf Coast (12) are the other two.
• Belmont is the only school in the nation to win 20-plus games for eight consecutive seasons in both women's and men's basketball.
• The Bruins have either been ranked or received votes in at least one of the two major national polls each of the last eight seasons.
• Belmont has won the 17th-most games in NCAA Division I women's basketball history (1,067).

 
Conference Dominance

• Since the 2012-13 season, the Bruins have compiled a remarkable 160-32 (.833) record in league play and won 12 combined championships, including regular season and tournament titles.
• Coach Brooks is a ridiculous 100-12 (.893) in conference action in seven seasons.
• Altogether, including conference tournaments, Belmont has gone 183-37 (.832) against league opposition over the last 12 seasons.

 
Under Coach Brooks

• In his seventh season at the helm, coach Brooks picked up his 150th win in less than 200 career games with the Bruins' 72-68 victory at Troy on Nov. 29.
• Coach Brooks was named to the preseason watch list for the 2024 Kathy Delaney-Smith Mid-Major Coach of the Year Award presented by Her Hoop Stats. Since his arrival in Nashville, he has led Belmont to a 156-50 (.757) record, four NCAA Tournaments and back-to-back trips to the NCAA Tournament Round of 32 in 2021 and 2022. The third-fastest head coach to 100 career victories in Division I women's basketball history, Brooks owns an astounding record of 114-14 (.891) against conference opponents, including conference tournament games. He ranks among the top 10 of active Division I head coaches in terms of winning percentage.

 
MVC Preseason Poll

• The Bruins were picked fourth in the MVC but gained one first-place vote in the preseason predicted order of finish after capturing a regular season championship in Belmont's first year in the conference in 2022-23. Going 23-12 overall and 17-3 in the Valley, the Bruins reached their third-straight conference tournament title game and made their 10th national postseason appearance in 11 seasons with an at-large bid to the WNIT.

   
Versus Evansville

• Friday will be the fifth all-time meeting between the two programs and third since Belmont joined the Valley.
• The Bruins won both of last year's matchups, 93-53 in Nashville (Feb. 10) and 76-58 in Evansville (Jan. 29).
• The two teams met twice in the late 1990's when Belmont was a budding Division I program. Evansville won both of the first two games in the series.
• In the last meeting at the Curb, the Bruins made 36 field goals and hit 14 threes. Cheesman scored 14 points on 4-for-7 shooting from outside the arc.
• Last January in Evansville at Meeks Family Fieldhouse on campus, Belmont shot 50 percent and got double-figure scoring from both Miller and Cheesman. Miller notched her second career double-double with 11 rebounds and 10 points.

 
About the Purple Aces

• Led by third-year head coach Robyn Scherr-Wells, the Purple Aces own wins over Lindenwood (70-68) at home and Chicago State (103-102) in triple overtime on the road.
• In MVC play, Evansville has dropped contests to Indiana State (66-49), Northern Iowa (82-52) and Drake (78-68).
• The Purple Aces return to Evansville after spending last week in Iowa.
• Evansville has not won since Dec. 16 versus Lindenwood.
• Picked 11th in the preseason predicted order of finish, the Purple Aces went 11-19 overall in 2022-23 and tied for ninth in the Valley with a 6-14 mark in conference play.
• Sophomore 5-foot-8 guard Kynidi Mason Striverson leads Evansville in scoring (14.6 PPG), while freshman 6-foot-1 forward Maggie Hartwig (11.2 PPG) and freshman 5-foot-11 forward Nevaeh Thomas (10.8 PPG) are also averaging double figures.
• Graduate 6-foot-2 center Barbora Tomancova leads the team in rebounding (8.2 RPG) and Mason Striverson is averaging a team-best 4.0 assists per game.

 
Up Next
The Bruins travel to Terre Haute, Indiana, Sunday for a 12 p.m. CT/1 p.m. ET tip at Indiana State. Next weekend, Belmont remains on the road and travels to Iowa to take on Drake and Northern Iowa.
 
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