Belmont Welcomes Illinois State to the Curb Thursday Night

 
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – In the middle of a Missouri Valley Conference opening three-game homestand, the Belmont University women's basketball team hosts fellow 2022-23 MVC regular season co-champion Illinois State Thursday night at the Curb Event Center. Tipoff between the two defending Valley regular season champions is slated for 6:30 p.m. from the Music City.
 
The primetime matchup will be broadcast on The Valley on ESPN available on ESPN+ with Scott Warmann (play-by-play) and Kelly Burke (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.
 
Tickets for Thursday night are on sale for only $5 and can be purchased here.
 
What's Bruin

• The Bruins (8-4, 1-0 MVC) go for a 2-0 start in MVC play for the second consecutive season after defeating the University of Illinois Chicago 69-61 this past Saturday afternoon in Nashville.
• Belmont is 5-1 at the Curb this season.
• The Redbirds are the only team to earn a Valley win in the Music City as Illinois State topped the Bruins 70-56 on Jan. 15 last year. After the home setback, Belmont rattled off 16-straight wins.
• The Bruins, who lead the 12-team conference in scoring defense (63.5 PPG), earned their eighth consecutive league opening victory with the weekend win over the visiting Flames. Head coach Bart Brooks improved to 7-0 in conference openers.
• Belmont will be playing in its first Thursday contest of the season. The Bruins went 3-1 on Thursdays in 2022-23.
• Two of Belmont's four losses have been against top-15 opponents.
• Prior to the Bruins' loss at 13th-ranked Ohio State in their non-conference finale, Belmont had won five straight. The Bruins have put together at least a five-game winning streak in 12-straight seasons going back to 2012-13.
• Belmont is ranked 15th in this week's CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25^®.

 
Last Time Out

• The Bruins worked their way back from a halftime deficit versus UIC and outscored the Flames 36-25 in the second half. Belmont limited UIC to only 10 made field goals across the second 20 minutes of action and came up with a season-high tying 11 steals. Forcing 21 Flame turnovers, the Bruins scored 17 points off UIC's offensive miscues. After committing a season-high 23 turnovers on the road against the nationally-ranked Buckeyes right before the Christmas break, Belmont committed only 13 turnovers in the Valley opener versus the Flames.
• A trio of Bruins paced Belmont led by redshirt junior guard Tuti Jones' 17 points, five assists, three rebounds and two steals. Freshman standout guard Jailyn Banks also distributed five assists, matching her career best, and scored 16. Junior forward Tessa Miller continued her outstanding play with 16 points on 7-for-12 shooting.
• Making her Bruin debut, sophomore guard Emily La Chapell splashed in a pair of three-pointers in the opening quarter and finished with seven points, two assists, two rebounds and two steals.

 
Another Challenging Non-Conference

• Once again playing one of the most strenuous non-conference schedules in the nation, Belmont went 7-4 with its four losses coming against power conference opponents. Three of the Bruins' four losses were away from Nashville with Belmont going 4-1 at the Curb.
• Six of the Bruins' 11 non-conference opponents were from power conferences. Five of Belmont's first six games of the season were against power conference programs.
• The Bruins defeated two power conference teams during the non-conference portion of the schedule, routing Southeastern Conference mainstay Georgia 76-50 in Belmont's 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.
• The Bruins own five victories over power conference teams in four seasons. In addition to the Lady Bulldogs and the Wildcats, Belmont has earned wins against Oregon, Ole Miss and Auburn in recent years.
• The Bruins 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

• Miller has scored in double figures in all but one game this season and has distributed at least three assists in six of her last seven games. She led all Belmont 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 the Bruins' 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 Belmont's blowout of Georgia with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
• After her true junior season was cut short due to injury last year, Jones returned for the opener at Missouri and has distributed at least four assists in nine of the first 12 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 195 career steals, which ranks among the top 10 in program history. In fact, Jones is third in the Bruins' 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 Ohio Valley Conference 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 has three times been selected as MVC Freshman of the Week (Dec. 11, Nov. 20, Nov. 13). Reaching double figures in eight of her first 12 games, Banks is second on the team in scoring (12.4 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.
• Junior forward Kendal Cheesman is proving to be one of the most elite three-point shooters in the country. Shooting 55.6 percent (20-of-36) from three-point range at the Curb this season, Cheesman is an impressive 49.2 percent (31-of-63) 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 in five of the last seven games 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.

 
Among the Toughest Schedules in the Nation

• The Redbirds are the 11th of 14 opponents on Belmont's schedule who had a winning record in 2022-23, the seventh of 10 adversaries who won 20 or more games last year and the ninth of 12 teams who made a national postseason tournament last March.
• The Bruins' schedule also features six NCAA Tournament teams from a season ago.

 
Nothing but NET

• Half of Belmont's 12 opponents thus far are ranked in the top 80 of the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET), including No. 2 Stanford and No. 17 Ohio State. The Bruins are currently 78th in the NET.
• Illinois State is also in the top 100 in the NET at No. 96 as the third-highest ranked MVC team in the national metric.

 
Storied Success

• Belmont won its sixth regular season conference championship in seven seasons last year. The Bruins have captured nine regular season conference titles in Belmont's NCAA era. Including the regular season and league tournament, the Bruins have won 16 combined conference championships in three different Division I conferences (MVC, OVC and Atlantic Sun Conference).
• Belmont is one of only 11 teams in the nation to have won 20 or more games for eight-straight seasons.
• The Bruins (11) are 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 (1,065).

 
Conference Dominance

• Since the 2012-13 season, the Bruins have compiled a remarkable 158-32 (.832) record in league play and won 12 combined championships, including regular season and tournament titles.
• Coach Brooks is a ridiculous 98-12 (.891) in conference action in seven seasons.
• Altogether, including conference tournaments, Belmont has gone 181-37 (.830) against league opposition over the last 11 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 154-50 (.755) 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 112-14 (.889) 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.

 
Bruins at Home

• Belmont is 94-13 (.879) at home since the start of the 2015-16 season.
• The Bruins have a home winning percentage of .744 (192-66) inside the Curb since the arena was opened prior to the 2003-04 season.
• Under coach Brooks, Belmont is an exceptional 70-12 (.854) inside the Curb.
• In conference play, the Bruins have been even more dominant at home going 84-11 (.884) since 2012. In seven seasons, coach Brooks has lost only five league games at the Curb with a 50-5 (.909) record.

 
Versus Illinois State

• Thursday evening will be only the second all-time meeting between the two programs.
• The Redbirds connected on 10 of their 21 three-point attempts (47.6 percent) in last season's lone matchup, outscoring Belmont 21-4 in the first quarter and doubling the Bruins' score by halftime. Illinois State got a game-high 26 points on 7-for-13 three-point shooting from graduate guard Mary Crompton.
• Belmont was held to 36 percent shooting and went 4-for-22 from distance.
• McGuff was one of three Bruins to reach double figures, scoring 15 and adding six rebounds.

 
About the Redbirds

• The Redbirds (8-3, 1-0 MVC) escaped a scare from Bradley in their Valley opener last Saturday, earning a hard-fought 78-74 win. Illinois State trailed early in the fourth quarter and was down by six at halftime.
• Going 7-3 in non-conference action, two of the Redbirds' losses were against top-25 teams. Illinois State suffered its last setback on Dec. 10 at home against 19th-ranked Marquette (64-62) after dropping a 79-61 affair at fifth-ranked North Carolina State (Dec. 3). The Redbirds were also defeated 88-62 at Green Bay on Nov. 11.
• Owning one of the top offenses in the MVC, Illinois State's 80.5 points per game rank 31st nationally. The Redbirds are also among national leaders in three-point field goal percentage (.389), field goal percentage (.475) and free-throws made per contest (16.5).
• Matching Belmont's 17-3 conference mark last season, Illinois State went 24-9 overall in 2022-23 and earned the top seed for the Hoops in the Heartland tournament. Bounced by MVC Tournament champion Drake in the semifinals, the Redbirds earned the Valley's automatic bid to the WNIT where they fell in the opening round at Missouri.
• Illinois State was picked third in the preseason coaches' poll but received two first-place votes.
• Graduate 6-foot-2 forward DeAnna Wilson, a returning All-MVC Second Team selection and preseason All-MVC First Team pick, leads the Redbirds with 15.5 points per game.
• Redshirt senior 5-foot-8 guard Maya Wong is averaging 13.7 points and a team-best 4.9 assists per outing.
• Junior 5-foot-4 guard Caroline Waite, a Bradley transfer, is also averaging double-figure scoring (11.1 PPG), while senior 6-foot-2 forward Kate Bullman leads Illinois State on the boards (8.7 RPG).

 
Up Next
The Bruins wrap up their three-game homestand Saturday afternoon with Bradley. Tipoff from the Curb is set for 2 p.m. with the weekend MVC tilt broadcast on ESPN+.
 
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.