NORMAL, Ill. – Redshirt junior guard
Tuti Jones drained a deep wing three-pointer with three seconds left to propel the Belmont University women's basketball team past Illinois State late Saturday afternoon at CEFCU Arena in Normal, Illinois. Jones was a perfect 7-for-7 from beyond the arc for the day and finished with a season-high 25 points as the Bruins (24-7, 17-3 MVC) earned their sixth-straight victory to wrap up regular season play.
With its impressive road triumph, Belmont has won 24 games in a single season for the first time since 2018-19.
The Bruins finish Missouri Valley Conference action 17-3 for the second consecutive season and have earned a top-two seed in their conference tournament for nine-straight years. Belmont is the No. 2 seed for next weekend's MVC Tournament and has earned a first-round bye and a spot in the quarterfinals Friday.
Sinking a near season-high 14 threes on 25 attempts (56 percent), the Bruins outscored the Redbirds (20-10, 13-7 MVC) 44-29 between the second and third quarters after trailing by as much as 12 in the first half. Belmont used a 21-14 second quarter to claw its way back into the game before taking an eight-point lead in the third quarter.
Junior forward
Kendal Cheesman was also lights out from distance, splashing in five triples en route to 23 points.
The Bruins assisted on 20 of their 28 baskets and committed only nine turnovers. Earning just two free throws for the 40 minutes of play, Belmont held Illinois State to 38.1 percent (24-of-63) shooting.
The Redbirds went 9-for-22 (40.9 percent) from long range and were 12-for-15 (80 percent) at the foul line.
Jones opened the Bruins' scoring after Belmont was scoreless for nearly the first two-and-a-half minutes. Moments later, she hit her second three to reach 1,000 career points at the 6:09 mark of the opening quarter.
Sophomore guard
Emily La Chapell gave the Bruins their first lead of the game at 10-9 just past the midway point of the first quarter, but Illinois State ended the period on a 12-2 scoring run.
The Redbirds led 21-12 after one quarter after hitting three of their first five shots from outside. Belmont began 5-for-14 (35.7 percent) from the field.
Illinois State starting guard Abbie Aalsma gave the home team its largest lead of the contest within the first 20 seconds of the second quarter when she connected on a three to make it 24-12. From there, the Bruins put together a lengthy 17-6 run over the next six minutes of on-court action. Layups from junior forward
Tessa Miller and Jones trimmed the deficit to one at 30-29 with 3:43 to go in the half.
After the Redbirds led 35-31 in the last minute of the first half, junior guard
Kilyn McGuff scored on a layup to keep Belmont within two at 35-33 heading into the break.
The Bruins shot 56.3 percent (9-of-16) in the second quarter with Cheesman scoring 12 of Belmont's 21 points on 5-for-7 shooting. Limiting Illinois State to 4-for-16 shooting in the quarter, the Bruins were 3-for-4 from deep.
With 14 first-half points from Cheesman, Belmont was 5-for-10 from downtown at intermission.
The Bruins couldn't have asked for a much better start to the second half, outpacing the Redbirds 18-8 across the opening four-and-a-half minutes. Cheesman nailed her third trey of the outstanding stretch, giving Belmont a 51-43 lead at the 5:36 mark of the third quarter. Jones then rattled in a three-pointer to make it 54-46 Bruins.
Belmont led 56-50 heading into the final stanza after going 5-for-8 from three-point range in the third. Cheesman and Jones combined for 17 of the Bruins' 23 third-quarter points.
Illinois State quickly made it a one-point affair within the first two minutes of the fourth quarter with a jumper from Redbird starting guard Maya Wong.
Jones gave Belmont a little breathing room with 5:18 left, putting the Bruins up 61-57 with her fifth three. It would be the first of three big-time threes for Jones. After Illinois State scored six-straight points to retake the lead at 63-61, Jones came up clutch once again. With just under two-and-a-half minutes to go, Jones hit a step-back three to push Belmont back in front, 64-63.
Like Jones midway through the fourth, senior guard
Blair Schoenwald extended the Bruins' lead to four with her second triple of the day giving Belmont a 69-65 lead with one minute remaining. However, the Redbirds' Aalsma cut the lead to one with a three with 46 seconds left. After the Bruins came up empty on their ensuing possession, Illinois State starting forward DeAnna Wilson was fouled on a rebound and hit the first of two free throws to even the score at 69 with 15 seconds on the clock.
Jones brought the ball up the floor, passed it off and then received it on the right wing where she launched the game winner and found nothing but net. Following a timeout the Redbirds got a three-point shot off at the buzzer, but it only grazed the rim.
Belmont went 9-for-15 from distance in the second half and was 4-for-7 in the pivotal fourth quarter. Seventeen of Jones' game-high 25 points came in the second half on 6-for-9 shooting.
Jones added five rebounds, four assists and two steals, while Cheesman collected a team-high seven boards. Miller scored 12 points, snagged six rebounds, dished out a game-best five assists and made a season-high three blocks. Schoenwald tallied eight points, four boards and three assists.
All five of Illinois State's starters reached double figures led by Wilson's 16 points and game-high nine rebounds. The Redbirds also got 15 points and six boards from guard Daijah Smith.
Of Note
- Under head coach Bart Brooks the Bruins have never lost more than three conference games in a season. In seven seasons, coach Brooks is a ridiculous 114-15 (.884) in conference play.
- Illinois State entered Saturday 13-1 at home this season.
- The six-game winning streak is Belmont's longest of the season.
- The Bruins have earned seven regular season sweeps this year (Illinois State, Bradley, Evansville, Indiana State, Murray State, Northern Iowa, Southern Illinois).
- Jones becomes the 35th 1,000-point scorer in program history.
- Jones is only two steals shy of breaking Belmont's NCAA era career steals record. She has compiled 243 steals in a little over three seasons and is only one steal away from tying Tara Montgomery (244).
- Miller has scored in double figures in 25 of 31 games this season.
Up Next
The Bruins head back to Illinois this upcoming week for Hoops in the Heartland, held at Vibrant Arena at The MARK Thursday-Sunday, March 14-17. Second-seeded Belmont will face either seventh-seeded UIC or 10th-seeded Valparaiso next Friday at 6 p.m. The MVC Tournament quarterfinal matchup will be broadcast on
ESPN+.
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