MOLINE, Ill. – After reaching its conference tournament championship game for three-straight years, the Belmont University women's basketball team will not be playing for the 2024 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament title after being upset in the semifinals late Saturday afternoon in Moline, Illinois. Third-seeded Missouri State defeated the second-seeded Bruins 63-48 at Vibrant Arena at The MARK in the Quad Cities after outscoring Belmont 34-21 in the second half.
The Bruins had played for a conference tournament championship in seven of their previous eight seasons.
Belmont, who is 25-8 on the season, was limited to 33.3 percent (16-of-48) shooting and conceded 16 points on 17 turnovers. The Lady Bears (23-8) outscored the Bruins 24-16 in the paint and got 15 points from 14 offensive boards. Missouri State held a 40-33 advantage on the glass.
Extended stretches of play without a basket kept Belmont from being able to make a run and the Bruins forced only eight turnovers.
A 17-10 third quarter dominated by the Lady Bears gave Missouri State all of the momentum heading into the most important 10 minutes of action. Belmont made just three shots in the third stanza and was held without a field goal for the last 5:37 of the quarter.
In a contest of two defensive-minded teams, the Lady Bears went 15-for-17 (88.2 percent) at the free-throw line while the Bruins were 9-for-15 (60 percent).
Junior forward
Kendal Cheesman started the game 3-for-3 from deep and Belmont led 14-8 at the first media timeout. However, the Bruins were held scoreless for the last five minutes of the opening quarter until the 7:17 mark of the second quarter. The nearly eight-minute scoring drought was punctuated by Belmont going over eight-and-a-half minutes without a field goal.
The Bruins' six-point lead midway through the first would be Belmont's largest of the day. Missouri State ended the first quarter on a 6-0 run, evening up the score at 14.
Extending their run to 10-0, the Lady Bears took an 18-14 lead 90 seconds into the second quarter. Sophomore guard
Emily La Chapell hit a three-pointer to put the Bruins back on top at 19-18 a little over three-and-a-half minutes into the second period.
Cheesman connected on her fourth and final three with 4:12 to go in the first half, keeping Belmont in front by a point at 22-21. It would be the Bruins' last lead of the semifinal matchup as Belmont was only able to tie the rest of the way.
Junior forward
Tessa Miller scored the Bruins' last five points of the half and knotted the score at 27 with a pair of free throws, but Missouri State starting point guard Lacy Stokes hit a jumper before the break to give the Lady Bears a two-point lead.
Belmont went 3-for-14 (21.4 percent) from the field in the second quarter and was 2-for-8 from outside. Miller scored seven of the Bruins' 13 points in the quarter.
Cheesman and Miller combined for 22 of Belmont's 27 first-half points. The Bruins shot 29.6 percent (8-of-27) in the first half.
Redshirt junior guard
Tuti Jones scored five points early in the second half, but Belmont found itself down 36-32 three minutes in. A 7-0 Missouri State run put the Lady Bears up 41-32 and La Chapell made the Bruins' last bucket of the third quarter with a layup. Miller got three free throws before the end of the quarter, but Belmont trailed by nine at 46-37 heading into the fourth.
Missouri State went 3-for-6 from distance in the third.
Freshman guard
Kensley Feltner scored on a driving baseline layup to cut the deficit to seven on the Bruins' first possession of the fourth quarter, but it would be as close as Belmont would get. The Bruins were down by 12 at 55-43 with 5:45 left and 56-45 with under five minutes to go.
With three minutes remaining, Belmont had its most promising chance to go on a run. Jones splashed in a deep wing three to get the Bruins within eight at 56-48 and Miller drew an offensive foul. After Miller grabbed an offensive rebound, another Jones deep three rimmed out. It would have made it a two-possession game with two minutes to work with.
Belmont outscored the Lady Bears 11-10 across the first seven minutes of the fourth quarter.
All eight of Jones' points came in the second half as the Bruins shot 38.1 percent (8-of-21) and went 2-for-8 from long range.
Missouri State shot 40 percent (10-of-25) in the second half, knocked down four of its nine three-point attempts (44.4 percent) and went 10-for-12 (83.3 percent) at the foul line.
Belmont finished 7-for-24 (29.2 percent) from beyond the arc.
Miller led the Bruins with 17 points on 9-for-13 shooting at the free-throw line. She also added six rebounds, while Cheesman totaled 14 points and five boards. Junior forward
Carmyn Harrison collected a career-high nine rebounds and Jones distributed a team-best four assists.
Stokes claimed a game-high 21 points on 6-for-11 shooting, snagged six rebounds and came up with four steals for the Lady Bears. Missouri State also got 13 points from starting guard Kyrah Daniels.
Of Note
- The Lady Bears snapped Belmont's season-best seven-game winning streak.
- The 48 points are the fewest scored by the Bruins this season.
- Belmont is 21-3 in conference tournaments since 2016.
- The loss is only seventh-year head coach Bart Brooks' third in a conference tournament. He is 15-3 in league tournaments with four titles.
- Miller has scored in double figures in 27 of 33 games this season.
- Jones has dished out at least four assists in 23 of 33 games this season.
Up Next
The Bruins await their national postseason fate on Selection Sunday. The women's NCAA Tournament selection show will air at 7 p.m. CT on
ESPN. The inaugural Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT), a 32-team postseason event organized and funded by the NCAA, will have its selection show streamed live on
NCAA.com at 8 p.m. CT.
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
