NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Behind a strong defensive performance and a career-high 17 points from sophomore guard
Emily La Chapell, the Belmont University women's basketball team picked up a key Missouri Valley Conference win Thursday night in the Music City with a 64-52 triumph over Illinois State. Limiting one of the top offensive teams in the nation to a season-low 52 points on a season-low 33.3 percent shooting inside the Curb Event Center, the Bruins (9-4, 2-0 MVC) avenged their lone home loss in the Valley.
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Thursday night was only the second-ever meeting between Belmont and the Redbirds (8-4, 1-1 MVC). Last January, Illinois State defeated the Bruins 70-56 at the Curb before Belmont rattled off 16 consecutive victories.
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Outscoring the Redbirds 26-18 in the paint and 25-19 off the bench, the Bruins jumped on Illinois State early and led for all but the scoreless opening 21 seconds and a combined 34 seconds in the second quarter when things were knotted up. Belmont held the Redbirds to just 18 made field goals (18-of-54) and 6-for-27 (22.2 percent) shooting from beyond the arc.
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The Bruins also held a 37-32 advantage on the glass.
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Overcoming 18 turnovers, which led to 21 Illinois State points, Belmont led by eight at the break and went up by 18 late in the third quarter.
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Freshman standout guard
Jailyn Banks scored 16 points on 6-for-12 shooting and junior forward
Tessa Miller once again reached double figures with 12 points. Redshirt junior guard
Tuti Jones put together quite the stat line with seven points, a team-best seven rebounds, a game-high tying four assists and a season-high tying five steals.
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A deep Banks fadeaway jumper gave the Bruins a 4-0 lead a minute in and a three-pointer from senior guard
Blair Schoenwald put Belmont up 11 at 14-3 after 6:15 of play. The Redbirds responded with a 10-0 run to close the gap to one, but a layup by La Chapell and a buzzer-beating jumper by Miller on an in-bound play ended the first quarter with the Bruins ahead 18-13.
Scoring seven of the first nine points of the second quarter, Illinois State evened the score at 18 and 20 before a Jones steal led to an open three for La Chapell to put Belmont back up by five. Banks capped an 11-3 Bruin scoring run to end the half with a layup giving Belmont a 31-23 lead heading into the locker room.
Miller tallied nine of her 12 points in the first half as the Bruins kept the Redbirds to 32 percent (8-of-25) shooting. Belmont was a perfect 7-for-7 at the free-throw line in the first 20 minutes.
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Illinois State trimmed the lead to three within the first 90 seconds of the second half, but from there the Bruins would put together a dominant 17-2 run over the next 5:42 of action. A layup from junior guard
Kilyn McGuff gave Belmont an 11-point lead at 40-29 and junior forward
Carmyn Harrison extended the advantage to 17 at 46-29. La Chapell scored on a driving layup with just over three minutes to go in the third to give the Bruins their largest lead of the night at 48-30.
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However, Belmont didn't score again until nearly three minutes into the fourth quarter. A three by the Redbirds' Kate Bullman sparked a 7-0 Illinois State scoring run to close the third quarter.
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The Bruins shot 50 percent (7-of-14) in the third period and took a 48-37 lead into the final quarter.
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La Chapell ended Belmont's scoring drought with 7:17 remaining as the Bruins didn't allow a Redbird basket for the first 4:19 of the fourth. Jones knocked down a top-of-the-key triple to make it 53-40 with 5:24 to go.
Making her second trey of the game, La Chapell put Belmont comfortably up 14 with just under five minutes left but Illinois State would continue to battle and get within seven twice in the last two minutes. The Redbirds' Abbie Aalsma scored seven-straight points and made it 56-49 with 1:40 on the clock. A tough, contested Banks layup halted Illinois State's momentum with 1:26 remaining and Miller hit a free throw to put the Bruins back up by double digits at 59-49 with only 48 seconds left.
Redbird starting guard Maya Wong trimmed the lead down to seven once again with a three-pointer, but La Chapell and Jones converted five free throws in the final 35 seconds.
Belmont shot 47.8 percent (11-of-23) in the second half and went 4-for-11 (36.4 percent) from outside. La Chapell scored 10 of her 17 points in the closing 20 minutes, finishing 6-for-9 from the field.
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Illinois State's Wong recorded a team-high 16 points, and the Redbirds got a game-best 10 boards from Bullman. Guard Shannon Dowell also reached double figures for Illinois State with 10 points off the bench.
Of Note
- Jones registered her 200th career steal with 6:17 to go. She ranks among the top 10 in program history in steals and is third in the Bruins' NCAA era behind only Erica Davenport (210) and Tara Montgomery (244).
- Belmont is 95-13 (.880) at home since the start of the 2015-16 season and the Bruins have a winning percentage of .745 (193-66) inside the Curb since the arena was opened prior to the 2003-04 season.
- Miller has scored in double figures in all but one game this season.
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Up Next
Belmont closes out its MVC opening three-game homestand Saturday afternoon with Bradley. Tipoff from the Curb is slated for 2 p.m. with the weekend matchup broadcast on
ESPN+.
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How to Follow
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