Women's Basketball Closes Regular Season Home Slate with Evansville Sunday

 
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Looking to clinch a top-three seed for the 2024 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, the Belmont University women's basketball team hosts the University of Evansville for senior day Sunday afternoon. Tipoff from the Curb Event Center in the Music City is set for 1 p.m.
 
The matinee matchup will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Dr. Rich Tiner (play-by-play) and former Bruin forward Ellie Harmeyer Strutz ('20) (analyst) on the call. Landen Secrest will be reporting from the sideline. The home contest can also be heard on Belmont Bruins Radio on iHeart Radio. Live in-game statistics will be available at BelmontBruins.com.
 
Presented by Ascend Federal Credit Union, Sunday's game is the second of two women's and men's basketball doubleheaders for Belmont this season. The Bruins hosted nearby rival Lipscomb for a Battle of the Boulevard doubleheader on Dec. 6.

Guards Tuti Jones and Blair Schoenwald will be honored pregame with a special on-court recognition.
 
What's Bruin

• Winners of three straight, Belmont (21-7, 14-3 MVC) dispatched Indiana State in convincing fashion, 87-62, Friday night in Nashville.
• The Bruins are 12-2 at home this season.
• Only nine other programs have also won 20-plus games for nine-straight seasons – UConn, Stanford, Baylor, South Carolina, Iowa, NC State, Indiana, South Dakota State and Florida Gulf Coast.
• Belmont has earned four regular season sweeps (Indiana State, Southern Illinois, Northern Iowa, Murray State) and blew out the Purple Aces (4-24, 2-15 MVC) 84-40 on Jan. 12 in Evansville, Indiana.
• Drake, Northern Iowa, Missouri State, No. 2 Ohio State, No. 4 Stanford and Missouri are the only teams who have been able to score more than 70 points against the Bruins in 2023-24.
• Belmont won five straight to begin MVC play and also won five in a row near the end of its non-conference schedule. The Bruins have put together at least a five-game winning streak in 12-straight seasons dating back to 2012-13.
• Belmont has held opponents under 65 points 18 times this season and kept teams under 60 points on 12 occasions.
• Leading the Valley in both scoring (61.6 PPG) and field goal percentage (38.9) defense, the Bruins are limiting opponents to 60.2 points per game through 17 MVC contests. Belmont has held its opponent under 60 points in eight of 17 MVC games.
• The Bruins won consecutive games by over 40 points for the first time since the 2017-18 season with a 44-point drubbing at Evansville (84-40) on Jan. 12 after walloping Bradley by 42 points (89-47) at home on Jan. 6.
• Head coach Bart Brooks earned his 100th career conference win in only 112 league games on Jan. 6 with Belmont's lopsided victory over the visiting Braves.
• Two of the Bruins' seven losses have been against top-15 opponents – then fourth-ranked Stanford and 13th-ranked Ohio State.
• Belmont continues to be ranked among the top 15 mid-major programs, checking in at No. 15 in this week's CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25^®.

 
Last Time Out

• The Bruins put together a dominant total team performance Friday night behind a tantalizing 51-point second half.
• Belmont outscored the Sycamores 51-29 in the second half, knocked down 13 three-pointers and assisted on 22 of 31 baskets.
• 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 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 opened 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.
• Belmont made 10 field goals in the fourth quarter and hit eight second-half threes. The Bruins held the Sycamores to 30.8 percent 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 junior forward Tessa Miller also scored 14 points and dished out five assists.
• Sophomore guard Emily La Chapell scored 14 off the bench and reached season highs in both rebounds (5) and assists (4). Junior forward Carmyn Harrison tied her career high with a team-best seven boards.

 
Another Challenging Non-Conference

• Once again playing one of the most strenuous non-conference schedules in the nation, Belmont went 7-4 with its four losses coming against power conference opponents. Three of the Bruins' four losses were away from Nashville as Belmont went 4-1 at the Curb.
• Six of the Bruins' 11 non-conference opponents were from power conferences. Five of Belmont's first six games of the season were against power conference programs.
• The Bruins defeated two power conference teams during the non-conference portion of the schedule, routing Southeastern Conference mainstay Georgia 76-50 in Belmont's home opener on Nov. 10 and toppling the Big Ten Conference's Northwestern 83-61 at the Ball Dawgs Classic in Las Vegas on Nov. 24.
• The Bruins own five victories over power conference teams in four seasons. In addition to the Lady Bulldogs and the Wildcats, Belmont has earned wins against Oregon, Ole Miss and Auburn in recent years.
• The Bruins also came within a point of defeating receiving-votes Mississippi State on Sunday, Nov. 19 inside the Curb. A free-throw line jumper by freshman standout guard Jailyn Banks and a putback attempt from junior guard Kilyn McGuff both rimmed off in the final seconds.

 
Player Notes

• Miller has scored in double figures in 22 of 28 games this season, distributed at least three assists 17 times and surpassed 20 points in two of her last four outings. In the road victory at Murray State on Feb. 25, Miller scored a career-high 25 points on 10-for-19 shooting. During the home win over Northern Iowa on Feb. 15, Miller earned a career-best nine assists. Against the MVC-leading Bulldogs on Feb. 17, Miller recorded her sixth career double-double with 24 points on 11-for-16 shooting, 12 rebounds and five assists. She led all Belmont players against the nationally-ranked Buckeyes with 15 points on 6-for-10 shooting and scored 19 in the win at Kennesaw State where she knocked down a career-high nine free throws on nine attempts. In the Bruins' battle with the top-five ranked Cardinal at the Ball Dawgs Classic in the desert, Miller went 9-for-16 from the floor for 18 points after registering her fifth career double-double in Belmont's trouncing of Georgia with 17 points and 11 boards. With seven rebounds in the home win over Murray State on Feb. 2, Miller surpassed 500 for her career. She is the first Bruin to record 500 career rebounds since Ellie Harmeyer Strutz (2015-20) and Maddie Wright (2016-20).
• Off to a sensational start to her collegiate career, Banks has been selected as MVC Freshman of the Week six times this season and was chosen for the conference weekly award three-straight weeks in January (Jan. 9, Jan. 16, Jan. 23). Reaching double figures in 17 of her first 24 games, Banks is second on the team in scoring (12.7 PPG). A native of Spring Hill, Tennessee (Middle Tennessee Christian School), Banks tallied 23 points in the season opener at Missouri, the fourth-most by any true freshman this season making her debut. Already etching her name in Belmont's record book, Banks set the program record for made free throws in a game on Feb. 9 at Missouri State. Going 17-for-20 at the foul line against the Lady Bears, Banks broke the Bruins' single-game made free throws record of 15, which had been held by Candice Mitchell (1998-02) since Jan. 26, 2002.
• Reaching double-figure scoring in six consecutive games from Jan. 6-26 for the first time in her career, Cheesman has recorded multiple blocks in 11 contests this season. In the home win over Missouri State on Jan. 26, Cheesman claimed her third career and second-straight double-double with a game-best 18 points and 12 boards. Among the top three-point shooters in the nation (41.2 percent), Cheesman is shooting 46.3 percent (38-of-82) from deep at the Curb this season. She pulled down a career-best 14 rebounds versus fourth-ranked Stanford and scored a game-high 21 points on 6-for-9 shooting, including going 4-for-7 from outside, in the convincing win over Northwestern inside The Dollar Loan Center in Henderson, Nevada. In her first career start, the home blowout of the SEC's Lady Bulldogs, Cheesman erupted for a career-high 28 points on 9-for-15 three-point shooting and collected nine boards. Her nine three-pointers are tied for the third-most by a NCAA Division I women's basketball player in a game this season and were just one shy of both the single-game program and Curb Event Center record. The Tampa, Florida (H.B. Plant HS), native became the first player since at least 2009-10 to make nine threes and secure nine rebounds against a power conference team. For her performance, Cheesman was selected as Tennessee Sports Writers Association (TSWA) Player of the Week (Nov. 14).
• After her true junior season was cut short due to injury last year, Jones returned for the opener against the Tigers and has distributed at least four assists in 19 of 28 games this season. Averaging a team-best 4.0 assists per game, Jones earned her second career double-double versus the Wildcats in Vegas with 12 points and a career-high 10 assists. Against top-15 ranked Ohio State, Jones racked up a game-high five steals before coming up with a season-best six steals at Valparaiso on Feb. 22. The Troy, Alabama (Charles Henderson HS), native has totaled 235 career steals, which is fifth-most in program history. In fact, Jones is second in Belmont's NCAA era in steals as she ranks behind only Tara Montgomery (244). With 970 career points, Jones needs just 30 more to become the Bruins' 35th 1,000-point scorer. Named to the preseason All-MVC Second Team, Jones was the Ohio Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year and an All-OVC First Team selection as a sophomore in 2021-22.
• Going up against her father's program, McGuff secured a team-high six rebounds versus the Buckeyes in Columbus, Ohio. She has scored in double figures on 10 occasions this season and notched two double-doubles. After recording her first career double-double in the win at Troy with 18 points and 10 boards, McGuff scored a season-best 22 points in the home victory over receiving-votes Middle Tennessee. For those two performances, McGuff captured her first MVC Player of the Week award on Dec. 4. In the 77th Battle of the Boulevard against nearby rival Lipscomb, McGuff had a career-high 14 rebounds to go along with 13 points.
• In just her second game donning the Belmont jersey on Jan. 4, La Chapell scored a career-high 17 points on 6-for-9 shooting versus Illinois State. She has reached double figures in over half of her first 17 games as a Bruin, including her last three outings. After spending her freshman year at the BIG EAST Conference's Marquette, La Chapell made her Belmont debut in the MVC opener versus the University of Illinois Chicago.

 
Among the Toughest Schedules in the Nation

• A total of 14 opponents on the Bruins' schedule had a winning record in 2022-23, while 10 adversaries won 20 or more games last season and 12 made a national postseason tournament last March.
• Belmont's schedule also features six NCAA Tournament teams from a season ago (Georgia, Mississippi State, Stanford, Middle Tennessee, Ohio State, Drake).
• The Bruins' non-conference strength of schedule is currently 36th in the nation, while Belmont's 2023-24 schedule as a whole is the 98th-most difficult among 360 teams.

 
Nothing but NET

• The Bruins have faced eight opponents ranked inside the top 100 of the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET), including No. 3 Stanford and No. 8 Ohio State. Belmont is currently 68th in the NET as the highest ranked team from the MVC.
• The Purple Aces enter Sunday with the lowest NET ranking in the Valley, sitting just inside the top 350 at No. 341.

 
Storied Success

• The Bruins won their sixth regular season conference championship in seven seasons last year. Belmont has captured nine regular season conference titles in the Bruins' NCAA era. Including the regular season and league tournament, Belmont has won 16 combined conference championships in three different Division I conferences (MVC, OVC and Atlantic Sun Conference).
• The Bruins are one of only 10 teams in the nation to have won 20 or more games for nine-straight seasons.
• Belmont (11) is one of only three programs to have won more than 10 combined conference championships (regular season and tournament) over the last seven seasons. UConn (14) and Florida Gulf Coast (12) are the other two.
• Belmont is the only school in the nation to win 20-plus games for eight consecutive seasons in both women's and men's basketball.
• The Bruins have either been ranked or received votes in at least one of the two major national polls each of the last eight seasons.
• Belmont has won the 17th-most games in NCAA Division I women's basketball history (1,078).

 
Conference Dominance

• Since the 2012-13 season, the Bruins have compiled a remarkable 171-35 (.830) record in league play and won 12 combined championships, including regular season and tournament titles.
• Coach Brooks is a ridiculous 111-15 (.881) in conference action in seven seasons.
• Altogether, including conference tournaments, Belmont has gone 194-40 (.829) against league opposition over the last 12 seasons.

 
When it Matters Most

• In February and March, the Bruins have been at their best. Belmont is a stunning 94-15 (.862) in the two key months since 2016.
• Under coach Brooks, the Bruins have gone 74-12 (.860) in February and March.

 
Under Coach Brooks

• In his seventh season at the helm, coach Brooks picked up his 150th win in less than 200 career games with Belmont's 72-68 victory at Troy on Nov. 29.
• Coach Brooks was named to the preseason watch list for the 2024 Kathy Delaney-Smith Mid-Major Coach of the Year Award presented by Her Hoop Stats. Since his arrival in Nashville, he has led the Bruins to a 167-53 (.759) record, four NCAA Tournaments and back-to-back trips to the NCAA Tournament Round of 32 in 2021 and 2022. The third-fastest head coach to 100 career victories in Division I women's basketball history, Brooks owns an astounding record of 125-17 (.880) against conference opponents, including conference tournament games. He ranks among the top 10 of active Division I head coaches in terms of winning percentage.

 
MVC Preseason Poll

• Belmont was picked fourth in the MVC but gained one first-place vote in the preseason predicted order of finish after capturing a regular season championship in the Bruins' first year in the conference in 2022-23. Going 23-12 overall and 17-3 in the Valley, Belmont reached its third-straight conference tournament title game and earned its 10th national postseason berth in 11 seasons with an at-large bid to the WNIT.

 
Bruins at Home

• The Bruins are 101-14 (.878) at home since the start of the 2015-16 season.
• Belmont has a home winning percentage of .748 (199-67) inside the Curb since the arena opened prior to the 2003-04 season.
• Under coach Brooks, the Bruins are an exceptional 77-13 (.855) inside the Curb.
• In conference play, Belmont has been even more dominant at home, going 91-12 (.883) since 2012. In seven seasons, coach Brooks has lost only six league games at the Curb with a 57-6 (.905) record.

 
Versus Evansville

• Sunday afternoon will be the sixth all-time meeting between the two programs with the Bruins holding a slight 3-2 lead in the series.
• A perfect 3-0 since joining the MVC, Belmont has won both of the last two matchups by 40-plus points. In addition to the Bruins' 84-40 win at Evansville in January, Belmont defeated the Purple Aces 93-53 last February at the Curb.
• In the first matchup this year, the Bruins drained 10 threes and six different players scored at least nine points. Belmont held Evansville to 24.6 percent shooting and only 15 made field goals.

 
About the Purple Aces

• Led by third-year head coach Robyn Scherr-Wells, the Purple Aces have lost four straight.
• Half of Evansville's four wins have come in MVC play with the Purple Aces winning back-to-back games on Feb. 11 and Feb. 15. Evansville defeated Valparaiso 71-68 on the road before outlasting Southern Illinois 93-89 in overtime at home.
• The Purple Aces earned non-conference wins against Lindenwood (70-68) at home and Chicago State (103-102) in triple overtime on the road.
• Picked 11th in the preseason predicted order of finish, Evansville went 11-19 overall in 2022-23 and tied for ninth in the Valley with a 6-14 mark in conference play.
• Freshman 5-foot-11 forward Nevaeh Tomas leads the Purple Aces in scoring (15.1 PPG), while sophomore 5-foot-8 guard Kynidi Mason Striverson leads Evansville in assists (3.8 PAG) and is averaging 12.1 points per contest.
• Freshman 6-foot-1 forward Maggie Hartwig (11.3 PPG) is also averaging double-figure scoring and has collected a team-high 211 rebounds.
• Graduate 6-foot-2 center Barbora Tomancova leads the team in rebounding (8.1 RPG) and is averaging 9.1 points per game but hasn't played since Feb. 3.

 
Up Next
The Bruins close out the regular season on the road, traveling to Bradley next Thursday and Illinois State next Saturday. Tipoff Thursday night versus the Braves is set for 6 p.m. at Renaissance Coliseum in Peoria, Illinois. Both road games will be broadcast on ESPN+.
 
How to Follow
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