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HOME OF the BELMONT BRUINS
Emily_La_Chapell_vs_NorthernIowa2024
Zachary Timmerman
72
UNI UNI 9-13,8-5 MVC
84
Winner Belmont BEL 18-6,11-2 MVC
UNI UNI
9-13,8-5 MVC
72
Final
84
Belmont BEL
18-6,11-2 MVC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
UNI UNI 16 18 17 21 72
Belmont BEL 21 19 29 15 84

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Bruins Win Ninth Straight at Home, Defeat Northern Iowa 84-72 Thursday Night

Belmont Women’s Basketball Goes 15-for-30 from Deep, Four Bruins Reach Double Figures

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A well-balanced and explosive offensive performance led to the Belmont University women's basketball team's ninth-straight home victory Thursday night inside the Curb Event Center. Led by four double-figure scorers, including outstanding games from junior forwards Tessa Miller and Kendal Cheesman, the Bruins earned a convincing 84-72 win over Northern Iowa in Missouri Valley Conference action in the Music City.
 
Moving to 11-2 in MVC play and 18-6 overall, Belmont hit a season-high 15 three-pointers and shot 50.9 percent (29-of-57) from the field. In a complete team effort, the Bruins assisted on all but six of their made baskets with a season-best 23 assists.
 
Miller nearly recorded a double-double with 18 points, a career-high nine assists and a team-best six rebounds, while Cheesman scored a game-high 21 points on 7-for-9 shooting from beyond the arc.
 
Redshirt junior guard Tuti Jones put together an impressive stat line of 15 points, six assists, three steals and two boards and sophomore guard Emily La Chapell had 13 points off the bench.
 
The Panthers (9-13, 8-5 MVC) led by six early but a strong scoring run at the end of the opening quarter shifted momentum and Belmont never looked back. The Bruins scored 29 points in the third quarter to really distance themselves and led by as much as 20. Belmont held the advantage for over 33 minutes of the contest.

Only a game removed from committing a season-high 27 turnovers and getting zero points from their reserves, the Bruins limited their turnovers to 10 and got 25 points off the bench. Belmont overcame a 39-26 deficit on the glass and a 26-22 deficit in points in the paint.
 
The two teams exchanged early threes before Northern Iowa took a 14-8 lead nearly four minutes in on a layup from starting forward Grace Boffeli. A jumper by La Chapell five minutes in ignited a 13-2 Bruin run to end the first quarter. Belmont took a 15-14 lead with 3:21 to go in the opening period when La Chapell and freshman standout guard Jailyn Banks combined for a steal and Banks finished at the rim off a La Chapell outlet pass. La Chapell ended the first with a trey to put the Bruins up 21-16. Belmont connected on four of its first eight three-point attempts. Beginning 4-for-4 from outside, Cheesman gave the Bruins a 10-point, 31-21 lead four minutes into the second quarter with her fourth triple. After the Panthers scored six-straight points, threes from freshman guard Kensley Feltner and La Chapell pushed Belmont's lead back out to 10. Senior guard Blair Schoenwald knocked down a three-pointer with a little over 90 seconds left in the first half, making it an 11-point game at 40-29. Northern Iowa scored the last five points of the second quarter, but the Bruins took a 40-34 lead into halftime.
 
Belmont made nine threes in the first half on 44.1 percent (15-of-34) shooting from the floor. The Panthers were 6-for-12 from long range in the first half but were held to 38.7 percent (12-of-31) shooting overall.
 
Starting guard Kayba Laube scored 11 first-half points for Northern Iowa and Cheesman had 12 points in 11 minutes on the floor at the break.

The Bruins shot a blistering 75 percent in the third quarter, going 9-for-12 from the field and 5-for-6 from behind the arc. Outscoring the Panthers 29-17 in the quarter, Belmont went back up by 11 on another Cheesman triple 2:21 into the second half. Northern Iowa got within seven at 49-42 at the 5:57 mark of the third, but it would be as close as the Panthers would get the rest of the way. Over only 3:13 of play, the Bruins went on a commanding 17-5 scoring run. A Jones jumper and Schoenwald's second three sparked the bulk of the scoring before Miller ended the run with four consecutive free throws. Miller's foul shots gave Belmont a 20-point lead at 69-49 with 50 seconds remaining in the third quarter. The Bruins led 69-51 heading into the final quarter.

Belmont limited Northern Iowa to 41.2 percent (7-of-17) shooting in the third and the Panthers were 0-for-1 from distance.

Miller splashed in a jumper to push the Bruins' lead back to 20 early in the fourth quarter before Northern Iowa began to claw into Belmont's command. The Panthers went on a 9-4 run over five minutes of on-court action to get within 12 at 75-63 with just over three-and-a-half minutes to go. However, Cheesman's seventh trey and two more Miller free throws made it a comfortable 80-64 with just over two-and-a-half minutes left. Northern Iowa got within 11 twice in the closing 90 seconds but sophomore guard Claire Hyde ended the game with a free throw and a steal in the final 30 seconds.

The Panthers went 9-for-12 from the floor in the fourth quarter and outscored the Bruins 21-15.
 
Belmont shot 60.9 percent (14-of-23) across the second 20 minutes of play and was 6-for-9 from three-point range. Northern Iowa shot 55.2 percent (16-of-29) in the second half but was 1-for-4 from deep.
 
The Bruins finished 15-for-30 from outside and scored 18 points off 15 Panther turnovers.
 
Miller went 8-for-11 at the free-throw line and scored 16 of her 18 points in the second half.
 
Starting point guard Maya McDermott led Northern Iowa with 15 points, 10 of which came in the second half, and a team-best five assists. The Panthers also got 13 points and nine rebounds from Boffeli as Laube claimed a game-high tying nine boards as well to go along with her 11 points. Of Note
  • Belmont improves to 5-0 all-time versus Northern Iowa.
  • The 15 made three-pointers are the most for the Bruins in a game since going 15-for-33 from beyond the arc in a home win over Troy on Dec. 20, 2022.
  • Belmont is 11-1 at the Curb this season.
  • Miller has scored in double figures in 18 of 24 games this season.
  • Jones has distributed at least four assists in 16 of 24 games this season.
  • Miller has dished out at least three assists on 13 occasions this season.
 
Up Next
The Bruins host defending MVC Tournament champion Drake inside the Curb Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. The game will be broadcast on The Valley on ESPN available on ESPN+ with Scott Warmann (play-by-play) and Kelly Burke (analyst) on the call. Next week, Belmont travels to Valparaiso Thursday and Murray State Sunday, Feb. 25.

How to Follow
Follow Belmont women's basketball on social media - @BelmontWBB on X, formerly 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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