NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Beginning the final stretch of regular season play, the Belmont University women's basketball team secured its 21st win of the season Friday night with an 87-62 dismissal of visiting Indiana State inside the Curb Event Center in Nashville. The Bruins, who moved to 21-7 on the season and 14-3 in Missouri Valley Conference action with the victory, put together a dominant total team performance behind a tantalizing 51-point second half.
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Belmont outscored the Sycamores (10-17, 6-11 MVC) 51-29 in the second half, knocked down 13 three-pointers and assisted on 22 of 31 made baskets.
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Four Bruins reached double figures and 10 different players scored. Belmont got 27 points off its bench and was relentless in the paint. The Bruins outscored Indiana State 32-20 down low and outrebounded the Sycamores 46-34.
Limiting Indiana State to 34.5 percent (19-of-55) shooting, Belmont scored 24 points off 16 Sycamore turnovers while committing only 11. The Bruins came up with 10 steals and never let Indiana State find its rhythm in the second half.
After a competitive first 20 minutes of play, Belmont blew open a double-digit lead two minutes into the second half and never looked back. The Bruins outpaced the Sycamores 27-11 in the third quarter after leading by only three at halftime.
In fact, Belmont trailed 20-17 after the inaugural quarter and faced a deficit for 13:14 of the contest. Indiana State led by as much as six early in the second quarter and the Bruins had to go on a 6-0 scoring run at the end of the half to move in front at the break.
The Sycamores scored the first four points of the evening before a layup from junior forward
Tessa Miller evened the score at seven-all. Indiana State led for the majority of the opening quarter, but redshirt junior guard
Tuti Jones once again knotted things up at 17 with a three. Sycamore starting guard Bella Finnegan responded with a triple to put Indiana State back on top at the end of the period.
After one quarter, the Sycamores were 8-for-16 from the field.
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Another Finnegan trey gave Indiana State its largest lead of the game at 23-17 less than 30 seconds into the second quarter. Senior guard
Blair Schoenwald connected on a three during a 10-2 Belmont run, tying the game at 25 before junior forward
Carmyn Harrison made a challenging up-and-under layup midway through the quarter to give the Bruins their first lead of the night.
Down 30-27 following yet another Finnegan triple, Belmont ended the half on a 9-3 scoring run and took a 36-33 lead into the locker room.
The Bruins held the Sycamores to 23.1 percent (3-of-13) shooting in the second stanza and 37.9 percent (11-of-29) in the first half. Indiana State made four of its first seven three-point attempts as Belmont shot 45.2 percent (14-of-31) across the first 20 minutes.
Courtesy of a pair of three-pointers from junior forward
Kendal Cheesman and two Miller free throws, the Bruins began the second half on an 8-0 run. Jones capped a 9-0 run and a 17-2 start to the third quarter with a deep wing three giving Belmont a commanding 53-35 lead. In the final minute of the third, Jones collected her third steal and found sophomore guard
Emily La Chapell for an open trey. La Chapell's three-pointer put the Bruins up 63-44 heading into the closing stages.
Belmont kept the Sycamores to 3-for-14 (21.4 percent) from the field in the third quarter and 1-for-6 from outside.
Indiana State trimmed the deficit to 14 a little over 90 seconds into the fourth quarter, but the Bruins proceeded to go on a game-sealing 11-0 run. Five consecutive points from Schoenwald, including her third triple, made it 76-51 with 4:51 to go.
Moments later, sophomore guard
Claire Hyde splashed in Belmont's final three-pointer and gave the Bruins their largest lead at 83-57. Junior guard
Liz Suder finished things off with a steal, layup and jumper in the closing minute.
Belmont made 10 field goals in the fourth quarter and hit eight second-half threes. The Bruins held the Sycamores to 30.8 percent (8-of-26) shooting in the second half.
Jones led all scorers with 17 points on 6-for-10 shooting and distributed a game-high six assists to go along with five rebounds and four steals. Schoenwald tied her career high with 14 points on 3-for-5 shooting from distance, while Miller also scored 14 points and dished out five assists.
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La Chapell scored 14 off the bench and reached season highs in both rebounds (5) and assists (4). Harrison tied her career high with a team-best seven boards.
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Indiana State was led by Finnegan's 14 points and the Sycamores got 13 points and seven rebounds from starting guard Kiley Bess. Starting forward Chelsea Cain tallied a game-high 10 boards for Indiana State.
Of Note
- Belmont is 12-2 at the Curb this season and the Bruins have won 10 of their last 11 at home.
- Belmont improves to 7-2 all-time versus the Sycamores.
- The Bruins have won three straight.
- Belmont has held opponents under 65 points 18 times this season and kept teams under 60 points on 12 occasions.
- Miller has scored in double figures in 22 of 28 games this season and has distributed at least three assists on 17 occasions.
- Jones has accounted for at least four assists in 19 of 28 games this season.
- Jones is only nine steals away from tying the Bruins' NCAA era career steals record, which is held by Tara Montgomery (244).
- Jones needs only 30 more points to become Belmont's 35th 1,000-point scorer.
Up Next
The Bruins host Evansville Sunday afternoon for senior day. Tipoff from the Curb is slated for 1 p.m. Both
Blair Schoenwald and
Tuti Jones will be honored prior to the game, which will be broadcast on
ESPN+.
How to Follow
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