Women's Basketball Rolls Past Evansville, 84-40, Midday Friday

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Returning to the familiar Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana, the Belmont University women's basketball team dismantled the University of Evansville 84-40 midday Friday for its fourth-straight victory. Remaining unbeaten in Missouri Valley Conference play, the Bruins (11-4, 4-0 MVC) set season highs in made field goals (32), assists (20) and rebounds (54).
 
Picking up where it left off inside the Ford Center in March of 2022, Belmont held its second-straight opponent below 50 points as the Bruins limited the Purple Aces (2-13, 0-4 MVC) to 24.6 percent shooting and only 15 field goals (15-of-61).
 
Belmont never trailed, posted a plus-20 margin on the boards and outscored Evansville 34-22 in the paint. The Bruins got 20 points off 19 Purple Ace turnovers and tallied 14 offensive rebounds.
 
All 12 available Belmont players saw at least three minutes of action on the court and 10 different Bruins scored. Belmont got 27 points from its bench.
 
Shooting 46.4 percent (32-of-69) from the field, the Bruins went 10-for-27 (37 percent) from beyond the arc and assisted on all but 12 of their baskets.
 
Four players reached double-figure scoring and Belmont had six players score at least nine points.
 
Junior forward Kendal Cheesman recorded her first career double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds, while fellow junior forward Tessa Miller led all scorers with 15 points on 7-for-10 shooting and seven boards. Freshman standout guard Jailyn Banks notched 14 points and distributed a career-best six assists. Coming off the bench, sophomore guard Emily La Chapell reached double figures for the second time in four outings with 10 points on 2-for-3 marksmanship from outside.
 
Earning her second career start, senior guard Blair Schoenwald went 3-for-4 from three-point range for nine points. For the second consecutive game, freshman guard Kensley Feltner scored nine as she went 4-for-5 from the floor.
 
The Bruins scored 26 points in the second quarter alone after leading by just five through one quarter of play. Between the second and third quarters, Belmont outscored Evansville 49-20 and the Bruins allowed only seven points in the fourth period.
 
Within the first three minutes Belmont took a 6-0 lead, and a Banks bucket made it 8-2 before the Purple Aces responded. Evansville got within a point twice at 12-11 and 14-13 on layups from Barbora Tomancova. However, an 18-3 Bruin scoring run from the last minute of the first quarter to the midway point of the second stanza doubled the score for Belmont. A Cheesman reverse layup put the Bruins up 32-16 with five minutes to go in the half.
 
Banks closed the first half with a strong drive and finish, giving Belmont a 44-22 lead going into the break.
 
The Bruins shot 48.5 percent (16-of-33) across the first 20 minutes and were 5-for-10 from distance.
 
A triple from redshirt junior guard Tuti Jones began Belmont's scoring in the second half and the Bruins took a 30-point lead at 54-24 midway through the third quarter on a conventional three-point play from Miller. Belmont led 67-33 through three quarters.

.@tessaraemiller AND THE FOUL! ??#ItsBruinTime | #Splashville pic.twitter.com/e9s7d27qXH

— Belmont WBasketball (@BelmontWBB) January 12, 2024

The Purple Aces scored seven of the first 10 points in the fourth, before the Bruins ended the game on a 12-0 run over the final 6:32. Three-pointers from Feltner and sophomore guard Claire Hyde put an exclamation point on the day.

Claire Hyde with the Bruins' 10th ?? of the day!!#ItsBruinTime | #Splashville pic.twitter.com/FHo739A07k

— Belmont WBasketball (@BelmontWBB) January 12, 2024

Belmont held Evansville to 18.8 percent shooting and only six made field goals (6-for-32) in the second half. The Bruins outscored the Purple Aces 40-18.
 
Redshirt freshman forward Caroline Bachus registered her first career assists in the fourth quarter.
 
Kynidi Mason Striverson led Evansville with 11 points and the Purple Aces got 10 points from Nevaeh Thomas.

?? | Postgame with HC @BartABrooks as the Bruins earn a 44-point win in their return to the Ford Center in Evansville ??#ItsBruinTime | #Splashville pic.twitter.com/f2E8wDqQ9F

— Belmont WBasketball (@BelmontWBB) January 12, 2024

  Of Note

• Belmont has earned back-to-back 40-point wins for the first time since the 2017-18 season.
• The Bruins improve to 13-1 all-time at the Ford Center. In Belmont's last game at the Ford Center on March 5, 2022, the Bruins routed second-seeded Tennessee Tech 51-29 to capture the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament title. It was one of the finest defensive performances in any NCAA Division I conference tournament championship game.
• Belmont won four OVC Tournament titles inside the Ford Center (2022, 2021, 2019, 2018).
• The Bruins take a 3-2 lead in the series with Evansville.
• Belmont has scored more than 80 points in consecutive games for the first time this season.
• The Bruins have given up no more than 61 points in their four MVC contests.
• Belmont has held 10 of its 15 opponents this season under 65 points and kept seven teams under 60 points.

 
Up Next
The Bruins head to Terre Haute, Indiana, for a Sunday noon CT/1 p.m. ET tip at Indiana State. The MVC road matchup will be broadcast on ESPN+. Next weekend, Belmont travels to Iowa to take on Drake next Friday and Northern Iowa next Sunday, Jan. 21.
 
How to Follow
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.