Bruins' WBIT Run Ends in State College, Pennsylvania

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – Despite a three-point halftime lead and a plus-11 rebounding margin, the Belmont University women's basketball team's national postseason run came to an end Monday evening at Penn State in the second round of the inaugural Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT). The top-seeded Lady Lions (21-12) defeated the visiting Bruins (26-9) 74-66 following a 45-point second half inside the Bryce Jordan Center in State College, Pennsylvania.

Penn State outscored Belmont 45-34 in the second half, including 22-13 in the third quarter, after the Bruins led by as much as eight late in the first half.
 
Another valiant effort against a power conference team saw four Belmont players reach double-figure scoring for the first time since the beginning of March.
 
The Bruins were hampered by 20 turnovers, including 11 in the second half, which led to 23 points for the Lady Lions. Belmont was also uncharacteristic from behind the three-point line, going 7-for-26 (26.9 percent) from distance.
 
Outrebounding Penn State 39-28, the Bruins scored 16 points off 13 offensive boards. Belmont held an impressive 20-9 advantage on the glass in the first half and assisted on 18 of its 25 total made field goals.
 
Committing only nine turnovers for the 40 minutes, the Lady Lions outscored the Bruins 20-12 off the bench.
 
The competitive postseason affair featured 10 lead changes and six ties.
 
Junior guard Kilyn McGuff led all scorers with 20 points on 7-for-12 shooting, her second consecutive 20-point outing, and secured a game-best eight rebounds. Junior forward Tessa Miller went 5-for-7 from the field and scored 14 to go along with a game-high six assists and six boards. Both senior guard Blair Schoenwald and sophomore guard Emily La Chapell reached 12 points.
 
In her final collegiate game, Schoenwald was a perfect 4-for-4 from beyond the arc. She led Belmont in three-point percentage her senior season, shooting at a 50.5 percent (46-of-91) clip from outside.
 
Schoenwald gave the Bruins their first lead of the evening, nailing a three-pointer a little over a minute in to put Belmont up 5-2. After the score became knotted up at eight-all, the Bruins took a 14-10 lead on a three from junior forward Kendal Cheesman.
 
Penn State once again evened things up at 14 before the end of the opening quarter. Belmont began the game 5-for-11 from the field.
 
Both squads shot over 50 percent in the second quarter with the Bruins scoring seven of the first nine points. A Miller offensive rebound led to a La Chapell layup that gave Belmont a 21-16 lead with seven minutes to go in the half. Outpacing the Lady Lions 16-8 across the first seven-and-a-half minutes of the quarter, the Bruins took an eight-point, 30-22 lead on a La Chapell steal and score with 2:41 left in the half.

GIMMIE THAT | @emlachapell with the steal and score#ItsBruinTime pic.twitter.com/kWWLLMm9Rs

— Belmont WBasketball (@BelmontWBB) March 25, 2024

Penn State closed the half on a 7-2 run as Belmont led 32-29 at the break.
 
The Bruins went 8-for-15 from the floor in the second quarter, while the Lady Lions were 6-for-11. La Chapell had eight of Belmont's 18 points in the period.
 
Shooting 50 percent (13-of-26) across the first half, the Bruins scored 12 points off six Penn State turnovers.
 
The Lady Lions came out of the locker room determined in the second half. A 7-0 run in the first 90 seconds of the third quarter put Penn State up 36-32 before Belmont got a pair of triples from Schoenwald and a Miller free throw to retake the lead. Schoenwald's third three of the contest made it 39-36 Bruins three-and-a-half minutes into the second half.

FOR THREE | @bschoenwald10 Gets us going in the second half pic.twitter.com/soPsmEWjqc

— Belmont WBasketball (@BelmontWBB) March 25, 2024

A 12-2 Lady Lion run over the next four minutes of action ensued. A putback by Penn State starting guard Ashley Owusu gave the home team a seven-point lead at 48-41 with two-and-a-half minutes remaining in the third quarter and Belmont would get no closer the three the rest of the way. The Bruins trailed 51-45 heading into the final quarter.
 
Belmont was held to 26.7 percent (4-of-15) shooting in the third quarter and went 2-for-8 from long range. Conversely, the Lady Lions went 9-for-18 from the field in the third with Owusu scoring eight of Penn State's 22 points.

After a scoreless opening 1:11 of the fourth quarter, Schoenwald knocked down her fourth three-pointer to keep the Bruins within four at 55-51 with 6:41 to go. However, the Lady Lions responded with a three from starting guard Makenna Marisa and an Owusu steal and layup. Owusu's fastbreak bucket gave Penn State its largest lead of the matchup at 60-51 with 5:45 left.

Just can't leave her that open | @bschoenwald10 for THREE pic.twitter.com/pPAp5I73ta

— Belmont WBasketball (@BelmontWBB) March 25, 2024

Trailing by nine once again with five minutes remaining, Miller ignited an 8-2 Belmont scoring run. Redshirt junior guard Tuti Jones connected on a three before McGuff hit a fastbreak trey to get the Bruins within three at 64-61 with 3:21 on the clock.
 
The Lady Lions matched McGuff's triple with a three from Chanaya Pinto giving Penn State a six-point advantage with two-and-a-half minutes to go. The lead then blossomed to eight at 69-61 following a turnover on Belmont's next possession. A Bruin comeback looked promising, though, as a McGuff layup, Jones steal, and Miller score got Belmont within four at 69-65 with 49 ticks remaining. After Pinto went 1-for-2 at the free-throw line, Miller hit a second foul shot to get the Bruins back within four at 70-66. With only 27 seconds left Belmont was forced to foul, and the Lady Lions went 4-for-4 at the charity stripe down the stretch. The Bruins were unable to get anything to fall on their last two possessions.
 
With eight points from McGuff, Belmont shot a blistering 61.5 percent (8-of-13) in the fourth quarter and was 3-for-6 from three-point range. Penn State went 9-for-11 at the free-throw line in the final stanza as Marisa accounted for nine of the Lady Lions' 23 points.

Twelve of McGuff's 20 points were scored in the second half, but the Bruins gave up 16 points on turnovers. Penn State got 14 second-half points from Marisa and turned the ball over only three times.

Jones finished with a game-high four steals.
 
The Lady Lions were led by Marisa's 18 points and Owusu's 16 points. Penn State also got 11 points and seven rebounds from starting guard Leilani Kapinus and 10 points from reserve guard Jayla Oden.

Of Note

• Belmont has won a national postseason game in three of the last four seasons, including two NCAA Tournament victories.
• The Bruins have earned a national postseason bid in 11 of 12 seasons.
• Belmont finishes the season with 282 steals, only four steals shy of tying the Bruins' NCAA era single-season record.
• Miller scored in double figures in 28 of 35 games and distributed at least three assists 22 times.
• Miller is only 84 points away from becoming Belmont's 36th 1,000-point scorer.
• The Bruins end the season with 26 wins, the most since 2018-19.

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.