Women's Basketball Faces Northern Iowa on the Road Saturday Afternoon

 
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – Following a road victory at Missouri Valley Conference leader Drake Thursday evening, the Belmont University women's basketball team takes on Northern Iowa Saturday afternoon in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Tipoff from the McLeod Center is scheduled for 2 p.m.
 
The matinee MVC matchup in the Hawkeye State will be broadcast on ESPN+. The game can also be heard on Belmont Bruins Radio, available online, with Dr. Rich Tiner providing live play-by-play of the action. Live stats can be followed by visiting BelmontBruins.com.
 
What's Bruin

• The Bruins (10-7, 5-1 MVC) won their season-best fourth straight Thursday inside the Knapp Center, defeating the Bulldogs 80-65 for their first-ever victory in Des Moines, Iowa. The 80 points represent the most scored by Belmont in a game this season.
• Handing Drake its first MVC loss in nearly a year, the Bruins snapped the Bulldogs' 19-game winning streak against Valley teams. Belmont became the first MVC team to defeat Drake at the Knapp Center since Jan. 11, 2023 (UNI).
• Against the defending MVC regular season and tournament champions, the Bruins scored a season-high 44 points in the first half, trailed for only 3:12 of the game and led by as much as 17 in the second half. Inspired play from graduate guard Tuti Jones and a complete team effort highlighted Belmont's relentless execution on both sides of the ball.
• Claiming just their second win over the Bulldogs and first since Feb. 25, 2023, in Nashville, the Bruins put up 22 points in each of the first three quarters and made a season-high 30 field goals with 10 three-pointers. Defensively, Belmont came up with a season-high tying 14 steals and forced 17 Drake turnovers, which led to 18 points. Determined on the offensive glass, the Bruins outscored the Bulldogs 14-2 on second-chance points thanks to nine offensive rebounds.
• Belmont held Drake, who entered Thursday night ranked sixth in the nation in made threes per game (10.2), to 6-for-25 (24 percent) from beyond the arc. Just as impressively, the Bruins outrebounded the Bulldogs 33-32. Entering the game, Drake ranked 14th nationally in average rebounding margin (10.4).
• Jones scored a season-high 22 points on 9-for-15 shooting in the win over the Bulldogs, while senior forward Carmyn Harrison nearly notched a double-double with nine points and a game-best eight rebounds. Five of Harrison's caroms were offensive boards. Graduate guard Kendall Holmes scored 17 points against Drake, including 13 in the first half, and senior forward Kendal Cheesman tallied 15 points and five rebounds. Sophomore guard Jailyn Banks notched 12 points and distributed a team-high four assists.
• Eight different players recorded at least a steal versus the Bulldogs led by Jones' four takeaways.
• With her four steals Thursday, Jones reached 300 for her career. She is one of only 14 current players across all NCAA divisions and one of only six at the Division I level with 300 steals. Already Belmont's NCAA era career steals leader, Jones moved into second place all-time in program history with a pair of steals in the MVC-opening win over Bradley on Dec. 29.
• Facing four top-20 opponents and six power conference teams, the Bruins went 5-6 during their strenuous non-conference schedule.
• Belmont has held its opponent under 67 points in all 10 of its victories this season, including seven below 60 points.
• The Bruins' strength of schedule is currently ranked as the 11th-most difficult in the country according to the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET).
• Belmont enters Saturday 5-6 away from home this season, including 4-4 in true road games and 2-1 on the road in the Valley.
• At least four Bruins have scored in double figures in nine different games this season.
• Banks tied her career high of 23 points in both of Belmont's last two non-conference games against Southeastern Conference opponents (No. 16/15 Kentucky and Mississippi State). In fact, all three of Banks' career-high 23-point performances have been against SEC opponents away from home. A native of Spring Hill, Tennessee (Middle Tennessee Christian School), Banks also put up 23 points in her collegiate debut at Missouri to begin the 2023-24 season.
• Reaching double figures in 12 of 17 games this season, Banks has scored in double digits in eight consecutive outings.
• Holmes has reached double figures in 11 of 17 games this season, while Jones has scored in double figures in seven of the last eight.
• Cheesman registered her eighth career and third double-double of the season in last Friday's home win over the University of Illinois Chicago with a career-high tying 14 rebounds and 10 points.
• Five Bruins scored in double figures in Belmont's battle at 16th-ranked Kentucky on Dec. 20 to close out non-conference play.
• Junior guard Emily La Chapell scored a career-high 26 points on a career-best 12-for-17 shooting in the Bruins' decisive, 65-52 victory over mid-state foe Middle Tennessee on Dec. 7.
• On Nov. 17, Belmont nearly upset top-15 ranked Ohio State inside the Curb Event Center in Nashville. The Bruins were knotted up with the Buckeyes at 63 with 30 seconds remaining and held a nine-point, 59-50 lead with just over five minutes to go.
• Belmont's season opener was at 13th-ranked Kansas State on Nov. 7.

Newcomer of the Week

• Following her valiant effort against the nationally-ranked Wildcats in Lexington, Kentucky, Holmes was named MVC Newcomer of the Week on Monday, Dec. 23.
• Collecting the Bruins' first weekly conference award of the season, Holmes scored 18 points at top-20 ranked Kentucky on 6-for-10 shooting, including going 4-for-6 from beyond the arc.
• A native of Plainfield, Illinois (Benet Academy), Holmes sparked Belmont's comeback attempt as she scored 11 of her 18 in the fourth quarter on a perfect 3-for-3 shooting from distance. It was her deep wing three-pointer that got the Bruins within a possession in the final minute.
• Holmes is only 64 points from reaching 1,000 for her career.

Nothing but NET

• With the NET rankings released on a daily basis since the beginning of December, Belmont sits at No. 57.
• Last season, the Bruins finished 71st in the NET.
• Six of Belmont's seven losses this season have been against teams ranked in the top 35 of the NET – No. 5 Kansas State, No. 9 Duke, No. 11 Ohio State, No. 17 Kentucky, No. 24 Michigan and No. 34 Mississippi State.
• The Bruins own the highest NET ranking in the 12-team MVC. Murray State at No. 60 and Northern Iowa at No. 73 are also ranked in the top 75 of the NET.
• The Panthers enter Saturday with the third -highest NET ranking in the Valley.

Conference Dominance

• Since the 2012-13 season, Belmont has compiled a remarkable 179-36 (.833) record in conference play and won 12 combined championships, including regular season and tournament titles.
• Head coach Bart Brooks is a ridiculous 119-16 (.881) in conference action in eight seasons and has never lost more than three league games in a single season.
• Altogether, including conference tournaments, the Bruins have gone 203-42 (.829) against league opposition across 13 seasons.

MVC Preseason Poll

• Belmont was picked third in the MVC Preseason Poll as voted upon by the league's head coaches, media members and communications contacts but garnered three first-place votes.
• The Bruins have finished first or second in their conference each of the last nine seasons.

Early Tests Against Some of the Nation's Best

• Belmont went up against three teams who are ranked in the top 15 of both the Associated Press (AP) Top 25 and USA Today Sports/Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Coaches Poll within the first three weeks of the season. In addition to their season-opening visit to now No. 11/10 K-State, the Bruins hosted now No. 9/8 Ohio State and traveled to No. 14/14 Duke on Nov. 21.

A Winning Program

• Belmont is the winningest program in the state of Tennessee over the previous 10 seasons, having claimed 237 victories with a winning percentage of .731 from 2014-24.
• 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.
• The Bruins have won the 16th-most games of any NCAA Division I women's basketball program (1,093).
• Belmont is the only school in the nation to win 20-plus games for nine consecutive seasons in both women's and men's basketball.

A Championship Program

• The Bruins (11) are one of only five teams in the nation to have won more than 10 combined conference championships, regular season and tournament, over the last eight seasons. UConn (16), Florida Gulf Coast (14), South Carolina (11) and Princeton (10) are the other four.

National Postseason Success

• Belmont has made six of the last eight NCAA Tournaments and reached the Round of 32 back-to-back years in 2022 and 2021.
• The Bruins capped their 2023-24 season by claiming their third national postseason victory in four years with a 77-59 road win at Ball State in the first-ever Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT) game.

National Recognition

• Belmont has either been ranked or received votes in at least one of the two major national polls in eight of the previous nine seasons.

Mid-Major Poll

• The Bruins are ranked 22nd in the 10th CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25^® poll of the regular season. Northern Iowa checks in at No. 24 in this week's mid-major poll.

Last Season

• Belmont went 26-9 to secure its most wins in a season since 2018-19. Going 17-3 in MVC play, the Bruins finished second in their second year in the Valley.

Experience and Youth

• Returning starters Jones, Cheesman and Banks, all of whom were All-MVC Third Team selections last year and were named Preseason All-MVC Second Team, are three of eight returning letter winners for Belmont.
• The Bruins have a great mix of experience and youth in 2024-25 with fifth-year Jones, senior Cheesman and graduate transfer guards Jacee Busick (Charlotte) and Holmes (South Dakota/DePaul) providing plenty of starting knowledge. Busick and Holmes brought in a combined 1,382 points and 150 Division I starts. In her Belmont debut at top-15 ranked K-State, Holmes scored a team-high 12 points. Through 17 games, Holmes is the Bruins' second-leading scorer (11.2 PPG).
• Over the summer, Belmont also welcomed a trio of talented freshmen with guard Quinn Eubank (Union, Ky.), forward Hilary Fuller (Brisbane, Queensland, Australia) and guard Sanaa Tripp (Covington, Ga.) arriving in the Music City.

Under Coach Brooks

• In his eighth season at the helm, coach Brooks was named to the preseason watch list for the Kathy Delaney-Smith Mid-Major Coach of the Year Award presented by Her Hoop Stats for the second consecutive year.
• On Nov. 29, 2023, Brooks picked up his 150th win in less than 200 career games with the Bruins' 72-68 victory at Troy. He has led Belmont to a remarkable record of 182-62 (.746) and the Bruins are an astonishing 134-19 (.876) against conference opponents, including league tournament games, under his leadership.
• In conference tournament games, Brooks has gone 15-3 and he is 4-1 in championship contests.
• In the key months of February and March under Brooks' direction, Belmont is 79-14 (.849).
• The third-fastest head coach to 100 career victories in Division I women's basketball history, Brooks ranks among the top 20 of active Division I head coaches in terms of winning percentage.

Among the Toughest Schedules in the Nation

• The Bruins annually play one of the best non-conference schedules in the country and this season is no different. Six of Belmont's 11 non-conference opponents were from power conferences. Combined with their MVC slate, the Bruins face 10 teams who won 20 or more games last season and have a date with nine programs who finished in the top 100 of the final 2023-24 NET rankings.
• Additionally, Belmont takes on 12 national postseason teams from a year ago, including six who reached the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

Bruins at Home

• The Bruins are 107-15 (.877) at home since the start of the 2015-16 season.
• Belmont has a home winning percentage of .751 (205-68) inside the Curb since the arena opened prior to the 2003-04 season.
• Under coach Brooks, the Bruins are an exceptional 83-14 (.856) inside the Curb.
• In conference play, Belmont has been even more dominant at home, going 95-12 (.888) since 2012. In seven seasons, coach Brooks has lost only six league games at the Curb with a 61-6 (.910) record.
• The Bruins went 13-2 at home last season, securing the most home wins in a single season since 2019-20.

Versus Northern Iowa

• Saturday afternoon will be the sixth all-time meeting between Belmont and the Panthers of Northern Iowa.
• The Bruins have won all five of the previous matchups, including two victories in Cedar Falls and a 69-62 triumph in the 2023 MVC Tournament semifinals in Moline, Illinois.
• Last February's 84-72 win over the Panthers in Nashville represented the largest margin of victory in the series. Each of the first four games between Belmont and Northern Iowa were decided by five to seven points.
• Last January, the Bruins defeated the Panthers 72-67 on the road behind Cheesman's double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds. Belmont held Northern Iowa to nine points in the second quarter.
• In last season's high-scoring home win over the Panthers, Cheesman went 7-for-9 from distance for a game-high 21 points and Jones scored 15 points to go along with six assists and three steals.

About the Panthers

• Led by the winningest coach in MVC history, 18th-year leader Tanya Warren, Northern Iowa is off to 4-2 start in Valley play.
• The Panthers are coming off a 95-89 home loss to Murray State Thursday evening. Northern Iowa was also defeated 79-66 at Illinois State last Friday.
• Wins at Indiana State (75-65) and Bradley (67-44) and versus Valparaiso (93-70) and UIC (75-64) represent the Panthers' four MVC victories.
• Northern Iowa went 5-6 against a difficult non-conference schedule, which included home games with top-10 ranked Iowa State and receiving-votes Creighton and a road matchup at No. 21 Iowa. The Panthers upset then eighth-ranked Iowa State 87-75 on Nov. 20 inside the McLeod Center.
• Picked second in the MVC Preseason Poll, Northern Iowa received six first-place votes.
• The Panthers went 14-6 in the Valley and 16-16 overall last season, finishing fourth in the final conference standings before taking top-seeded and eventual champion Drake to overtime in the MVC Tournament semifinals. In national postseason play, Northern Iowa accepted a bid to the 2024 WNIT where the Panthers dropped their opening round game at Saint Louis.
• One of the top shooting teams in the country, Northern Iowa ranks sixth nationally in three-point field goal percentage (.386) and 31st in overall field goal percentage (.463).
• Senior 5-foot-6 guard Maya McDermott, an All-MVC First Team selection last season, was named to the midseason watch list for the Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award presented by Her Hoop Stats earlier this week. A prolific scorer, McDermott is averaging 20.5 points to go along with a team-leading 4.9 assists per game.
• Graduate 5-foot-9 guard Kayba Laube is averaging 14.7 points per contest on 52.3 percent shooting. She leads the nation in three-point percentage (.519) and is eighth nationally in made threes (56-of-108).
• Junior 5-foot-11 forward Ryley Goebel is also averaging double figures (10.1 PPG) and is tied for the team lead in rebounding (5.5 RPG).

Up Next
The Bruins return to the Music City and welcome Evansville and Indiana State to the Curb next weekend. Belmont hosts the Purple Aces next Friday evening and the Sycamores next Sunday, Jan. 26. Tipoff between the Bruins and Evansville is set for 6:30 p.m. with the MVC home matchup broadcast on ESPN+.
 
Ticket Info
Season tickets are on sale for $199 per seat and include all women's and men's basketball home games. Flex pack plans for the 2024-25 season, along with single-game tickets, are also available.
 
For more information, visit BelmontBruins.com/Tickets or call 615-460-BALL.
 
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.