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Kate_Hollifield_vs_Bradley2024
Belmont Athletics
47
Bradley BRAD 4-10,0-3 MVC
89
Winner Belmont BEL 10-4,3-0 MVC
Bradley BRAD
4-10,0-3 MVC
47
Final
89
Belmont BEL
10-4,3-0 MVC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Bradley BRAD 5 13 13 16 47
Belmont BEL 21 16 23 29 89

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Bruins Rout Braves 89-47 Saturday Afternoon at the Curb

Belmont Moves to 3-0 in Missouri Valley Conference Play

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A balanced offensive display and a 52-point second half led the Belmont University women's basketball team to an 89-47 drubbing of Bradley University Saturday afternoon inside the Curb Event Center. Closing out an undefeated 3-0 homestand to begin Missouri Conference play, the Bruins (10-4, 3-0 MVC) hit 12 three-pointers and enjoyed their largest margin of victory thus far this season.
 
All 13 Belmont players saw at least three minutes of action on the court and 11 different Bruins scored.
 
Freshman standout guard Jailyn Banks poured in a game-high 16 points for the third consecutive game and Belmont got 14-point outings from junior forward Kendal Cheesman and sophomore guard Kate Hollifield, who reached double figures for the first time in her career.
 
Assisting on 17 of their 29 made field goals, the Bruins reached a season-high point total and limited their turnovers to below 10 for the first time of the season. Four players came up with multiple steals and Belmont made a season-high 12 steals as a team.
 
For the second-straight game, the Bruins held their opponent to 33.3 percent shooting. Belmont allowed the Braves (4-10, 0-3 MVC) to make only 17 field goals (17-of-51) across the 40 minutes and Bradley was kept to 3-for-16 (18.8 percent) shooting from outside.
 
The Bruins went 12-for-26 (46.2 percent) from beyond the arc and were 19-for-24 (79.2 percent) at the free-throw line.
 
Belmont controlled the game in every facet, owning a 43-31 advantage on the glass and scoring 14 points off 13 offensive boards. Forcing 18 turnovers, the Bruins outscored the Braves 30-20 in the paint.
 
Belmont scored 37 points off the bench.

Banks nailed a three 18 seconds in and the Bruins never looked back. A three-pointer from senior guard Blair Schoenwald and a layup from redshirt junior guard Tuti Jones put Belmont up 13-2 midway through the opening quarter. Holding Bradley to only two baskets in the first quarter, the Bruins led 21-5 after 10 minutes of action,
 
Junior forward Tessa Miller gave Belmont its first 20-point lead of the afternoon with a jumper less than two minutes into the second quarter as the Bruins began the second stanza on a 10-4 run. A driving Banks layup pushed Belmont in front 31-9 with 5:52 to go in the half.
 
The Bruins more than doubled the Braves in the first half, leading 37-18 at intermission. Limiting Bradley to 29.2 percent (7-of-24) first-half shooting, Belmont got 11 points from Cheesman.

Starting the second half on a 10-0 run, the Bruins went up 47-18 with a fastbreak triple from Jones. Belmont took its first 30-point lead of the day on a pair of free throws by junior forward Carmyn Harrison with 4:10 left in the third quarter. A three by reigning MVC Freshman of the Week Halli Poock trimmed the lead down to 26 in the closing minute of the third, but the Bruins took a sizable 60-31 advantage into the final quarter.
 
In a quarter that saw only nine combined field goals by both teams, Belmont connected on all 11 of its third-quarter foul shots.

Earning her first collegiate buckets, freshman guard Kensley Feltner scored seven points in the first 3:32 of the fourth quarter. Her layup put the Bruins ahead 34 at 69-35. Leading 71-43 with five minutes remaining, Belmont went on a 12-1 run ignited by a Hollifield layup. In fact, Hollifield accounted for eight of the Bruins' 12 points during the scoring run. Redshirt freshman forward Caroline Bachus sunk her first career three-pointer from the top of the key with 1:19 left, making it 86-47. Moments later with 45 seconds to go, Hollifield splashed in her fourth triple of the afternoon to cap the dominant win. With Hollifield and Feltner combining to go 7-for-9 from the field, including 4-for-5 from deep, in the quarter, Belmont shot a blistering 71.4 percent (10-of-14) in the fourth and went 5-for-7 from long range. All nine of Feltner's points came in the fourth quarter and Hollifield scored 11 of her 14 in the period.
 
The Braves had their best shooting in the fourth as well, going 6-for-12 from the floor.

The Bruins shot 51.7 percent (15-of-29) in the second half and went 7-for-12 (58.3 percent) from distance. Belmont made 15 of its 18 second-half free throws (83.3 percent).

Hollifield finished 5-for-7 from the field and was 4-for-5 from three-point range in the second half. Jones totaled eight points, a season-high tying eight rebounds, four assists and three steals, while Miller tied her career high with a trio of steals and added eight points and six boards. Sophomore guard Claire Hyde dished out a career-best three assists in the fourth quarter. Reserve guard Poock led Bradley with 14 points off the bench and the Braves got eight points and a game-high tying eight rebounds from Claire McDougall.

Of Note
  • The 29 points scored in the fourth quarter are the most by the Bruins in any quarter this season.
  • The 47 points scored by Bradley are the fewest by an opponent against Belmont since the Bruins defeated Southern Illinois 101-45 on Jan. 22, 2023.
  • Belmont's 42-point win is the largest margin of victory since the Bruins toppled the Salukis by 56 last January.
  • Head coach Bart Brooks earned his 100th career conference win in only 112 league contests. He is 100-12 (.893) in conference games in just over six seasons.
  • Belmont has held nine of its 14 opponents this season under 65 points and kept six teams under 60 points.
  • The Bruins have allowed no more than 61 points in their last three games.
  • Jones has distributed at least four assists in 11 of her 14 outings.
Up Next
Belmont makes its first MVC road trip of the season next weekend when the Bruins travel to Indiana to face Evansville Friday and Indiana State next Sunday, Jan. 14. Tipoff against the Purple Aces Friday in Evansville, Indiana, is slated for 11 a.m. from the Ford Center. The game will be 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.
 
#ItsBruinTime
 
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