Women's Basketball Wins Fifth Straight, Defeats Northern Iowa 74-60 on the Road

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – Behind a near triple-double from sophomore guard Jailyn Banks and another complete team performance, the Belmont University women's basketball team won its fifth in a row Saturday afternoon inside the McLeod Center in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The Bruins (11-7, 6-1 MVC) defeated host Northern Iowa 74-60 after outscoring the Panthers (9-9, 4-3 MVC) 41-25 in the second half.
 
Finishing off a perfect 2-0 week in the state of Iowa, Belmont dominated across the closing 20 minutes of play after trailing for five-and-a-half minutes in the first half. The Bruins crashed the offensive glass early and outworked Northern Iowa 17-6 in second-chance points. Belmont had seven offensive boards in the opening quarter alone.
 
Holding one of the best three-point shooting teams in the nation to 16.7 percent (3-of-18) from beyond the arc, the Bruins limited the Panthers to 35.1 percent (20-of-57) shooting overall. Northern Iowa entered the game shooting 38.6 percent from distance on the season.
 
Forcing 18 turnovers, Belmont scored 17 points off the Panthers' miscues.
 
The Bruins drained a season-high 12 three-pointers on 36.4 percent (12-of-33) shooting from long range.
 
Banks recorded her first career double-double with 16 points on 5-for-10 shooting, including going 3-for-4 from deep, a career-high 10 rebounds and a career-best eight assists. She also added a pair of steals.

Only ?? dimes shy of a triple-double ??

10 rebounds (career high)
8 assists (career high)
16 points @Jailynbanks3 ??#ItsBruinTime | #Splashville pic.twitter.com/rMO3XoB6zZ

— Belmont WBasketball (@BelmontWBB) January 19, 2025

Belmont assisted on 14 of its 23 made field goals and for the 10th time this season four Bruins scored in double figures. Junior guard Emily La Chapell led all scorers with 19 points on 7-for-14 shooting as she went 4-for-8 from downtown. For the second consecutive game, graduate guard Tuti Jones came up with four steals and added 13 points. Fellow graduate guard Kendall Holmes was 7-for-8 at the free-throw line and tallied 12 points and six boards.
 
The two teams were deadlocked at 14 following the first quarter of play with Banks scoring 10 of Belmont's first 12 points.
 
La Chapell began the second quarter with a conventional three-point play before Northern Iowa scored six-straight points to take a three-point, 20-17 lead two minutes into the stanza. It would be the Panthers' largest lead of the day.
 
A Holmes three put the Bruins back in front 25-22 before freshman guard Sanaa Tripp capped a 13-5 Belmont scoring run with her triple making it 30-25 with 2:26 to go in the first half. Moments later, La Chapell gave the Bruins their largest lead of the half on a three that made it 33-27 with 1:46 before the break.
 
From there, Northern Iowa closed the half on an 8-0 run and took a 35-33 lead into halftime.
 
The Panthers shot 53.3 percent (8-of-15) in the second quarter and connected on two of their four three-point attempts.
 
La Chapell scored 11 of Belmont's 19 points in the second quarter as the Bruins shot just 33.3 percent (12-of-36) in the first half.
 
Northern Iowa shot 48.1 percent (13-of-27) across the first 20 minutes of action.
 
Threes from La Chapell and senior forward Kendal Cheesman got Belmont going early in the second half and gave the Bruins a four-point lead only 75 seconds into the third quarter. A layup from senior forward Carmyn Harrison then finished an 11-2 Belmont run and made it a seven-point game at 44-37 midway through the third.
 
After the Panthers got back within four at 44-40, the Bruins proceeded to go on a 10-2 run ignited by a Jones three. A Jones layup completed the scoring run and pushed Belmont in front by 12 at 54-42 with 40 seconds to go in the third quarter.
 
Although Northern Iowa scored the last five points of the third, the Bruins took a confident 54-47 lead into the final quarter.
 
Belmont shot a scorching 61.5 percent (8-of-13) in the third and was 5-for-8 from outside the arc, while the Panthers were held to 26.7 percent (4-of-15) shooting. Jones scored eight of her 13 in the quarter.
 
The Bruins swelled their lead to 17 less than three minutes into the fourth on La Chapell's fourth three-pointer of the afternoon. Her trey with 7:19 left capped a 10-0 Belmont start to the quarter and kept all the momentum with the Bruins.
 
Free throws from Jones with 4:26 remaining gave Belmont its largest lead of the contest at 70-52. Despite not making a field goal in the last six minutes of the game, the Bruins didn't allow Northern Iowa to get hot and remained composed and in control.
 
All 13 of Jones' points came in the second half as Belmont shot 47.8 percent (11-of-23) from the floor and went 6-for-15 (40 percent) from distance. Turning up the defensive pressure in the second half, the Bruins held the Panthers to 23.3 percent (7-of-30) shooting in the half and 1-for-10 from deep. Six of Belmont's eight steals were recorded in the second half.
 
The Bruins shot 39 percent (23-of-59) for the game.
 
Tripp matched her career high with five points and Cheesman finished with nine rebounds and seven points.
 
Northern Iowa starting guard Maya McDermott led the Panthers with 16 points, five assists and four steals, while starting forward Ryley Goebel totaled 14 points and five boards.

?? Postgame comments from sophomore guard @Jailynbanks3 and HC @BartABrooks following the Bruins' 2-0 trip to Iowa ????#ItsBruinTime | #Splashville pic.twitter.com/LkS7BDNJJf

— Belmont WBasketball (@BelmontWBB) January 19, 2025

Of Note

• Belmont improves to 6-0 all-time versus Northern Iowa.
• Saturday's win is the largest margin of victory in the series.
• The Bruins move to 5-4 in true road games this season and 6-6 away from home.
• Banks has scored in double figures in nine consecutive outings and 13 of 18 games this season.
• Jones has reached double figures in eight of the last nine games.

Up Next
Belmont returns to the Music City next weekend, welcoming Evansville and Indiana State to the Curb Event Center. The Bruins host the Purple Aces Friday evening at 6:30 p.m. and the Sycamores next Sunday, Jan. 26. Both MVC home matchups will be 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.