Women's Basketball Closes Out Weekend with Indiana State at the Curb Sunday Afternoon

 
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – In the middle of a three-game homestand and on a six-game winning streak, the Belmont University women's basketball team hosts Indiana State Sunday afternoon in the Music City. Tipoff from the Curb Event Center is set for 2 p.m.
 
The Missouri Valley Conference home matchup will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Dr. Rich Tiner (play-by-play) and former Bruin guard Hannah Harmeyer ('19) (analyst) on the call. Landen Secrest will be reporting from the sideline. The game can also be heard on Belmont Bruins Radio, available online. Live stats can be followed by visiting BelmontBruins.com.
 
Denim BU ball caps will be given away to all fans in attendance, while supplies last, and the Bruins will be available for postgame autographs in the Maddox Grand Atrium.
 
What's Bruin

• Belmont (12-7, 7-1 MVC) continued its season-best winning streak Friday night at the Curb with a 90-65 rout of the University of Evansville.
• The Bruins put together a highly-balanced performance against the visiting Purple Aces with six double-figure scorers, a season-high 26 assists and a season-best 34 made field goals. Eight different players scored at least eight points, and Belmont got a season-high tying 36 points off the bench.
• Last week, the Bruins completed their first 2-0 trip to Iowa since joining the MVC, including picking up Belmont's first-ever win in Des Moines, Iowa, at Drake.
• With an 80-65 road victory last Thursday evening, the Bruins handed the Bulldogs their first MVC loss in nearly a year and snapped Drake's 19-game winning streak against Valley opponents. Belmont became the first MVC team to defeat the Bulldogs inside Drake's Knapp Center since Jan. 11, 2023 (Northern Iowa).
• Last Saturday afternoon, the Bruins topped the Panthers of Northern Iowa 74-60 in Cedar Falls. A perfect 6-0 versus the Panthers, it was Belmont's largest margin of victory in the series.
• The Bruins have held their opponent under 67 points in all 12 of their victories this season, including seven below 60 points.
• At least four Belmont players have scored in double figures in 11 different games this season, including five of the last six.
• The Bruins' strength of schedule is currently ranked as the 29th-most difficult in the country according to the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET).
• Facing four top-20 opponents and six power conference teams, Belmont went 5-6 during its strenuous non-conference schedule which ranked as the third-toughest in the nation.
• Having won five straight at home, the Bruins are 6-1 at the Curb this season.
• Five players scored in double figures in Belmont's wire-to-wire battle at 16th-ranked Kentucky on Dec. 20 to close out non-conference play.
• On Nov. 17, the Bruins nearly upset top-15 ranked Ohio State inside the Curb in Nashville. Belmont was 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.
• The Bruins' season opener was at 13th-ranked Kansas State on Nov. 7.

Last Time Out

• Belmont shot a season-high 54 percent (34-of-63) from the field, including a season-best 50 percent (10-of-20) from beyond the arc, in Friday's night's dominant win over Evansville.
• The Bruins led from the first basket 40 seconds in onward and went up by as much as 40 in the third quarter.
• Defensively, Belmont forced 20 turnovers and scored 31 points off the Purple Aces' miscues.
• The Bruins outworked Evansville 48-26 in the paint and put together their highest-scoring quarter and half. Belmont led 28-10 after the opening quarter of play and scored a season-high 50 points in the first half.
• The 90 points scored were the most for the Bruins since a 93-53 home win over the Purple Aces on Feb. 10, 2023.
• Both Belmont's 26 assists and six double-figure scorers were the most in a single game in just over three years since a Jan. 20, 2022, win at Morehead State.
• The Bruins improved to 5-0 versus Evansville since joining the MVC.

Player Notes

• Sophomore guard Kensley Feltner scored a career-high 11 points in Friday's victory, nine of which came in the second half.
• Graduate guard Jacee Busick notched a season-high eight points against the Purple Aces.
• Both freshman forward Hilary Fuller (8 points) and freshman guard Quinn Eubank (6 points) recorded career highs in the win over Evansville.
• Graduate guard Tuti Jones dished out a season-high seven assists Friday and was a perfect 4-for-4 from the floor, including 2-for-2 from distance. With 10 points versus the Purple Aces, Jones has scored in double figures in nine of the last 10 games.
• Tallying four steals in both of Belmont's wins in Iowa, Jones scored a season-high 22 points on 9-for-15 shooting in the Bruins' road victory at Drake. With her four takeaways against the Bulldogs, Jones reached 300 career steals. The Troy, Alabama (Charles Henderson HS), native is one of just 18 active players across all NCAA divisions and one of only nine 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 home win over Bradley on Dec. 29.
• Sophomore guard Jailyn Banks was phenomenal in last Saturday's road triumph at Northern Iowa, nearly notching a triple-double with her first career double-double. She scored 16 points, grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds and distributed a career-best eight assists, not to mention collecting a pair of steals.
• Reaching double figures in 14 of 19 games this season, Banks has scored in double figures in 10-straight outings.
• Banks tied her career high of 23 points in both of the Bruins' 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.
• Graduate guard Kendall Holmes has reached double figures in 13 of 19 games this season and is only 41 points from reaching 1,000 for her career.
• Junior guard Emily La Chapell led all scorers in Cedar Falls, Iowa, against the Panthers with 19 points on 7-for-14 shooting as she went 4-for-8 from downtown. In Belmont's decisive, 65-52 victory over mid-state foe Middle Tennessee on Dec. 7, La Chapell scored a career-high 26 points on a career-best 12-for-17 shooting.
• Senior forward Kendal Cheesman registered her eighth career and third double-double of the season in the home win over the University of Illinois Chicago on Jan. 10 with a career-high tying 14 rebounds and 10 points. On Friday, Cheesman finished with a team-high 12 points and seven rebounds.
• After averaging 15.5 points on 76.9 percent (10-of-13) shooting, 7.0 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 1.5 steals in the Sunshine State against Davidson and receiving-votes Michigan, senior forward Carmyn Harrison was named to the Fort Myers Tip-Off Shell Division All-Tournament Team. The post player scored at least 13 points in three-straight outings and reached double figures in four of five games from Nov. 14-30.

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 outside 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.

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. 7 Kansas State, No. 8 Duke, No. 15 Ohio State, No. 21 Kentucky, No. 23 Michigan and No. 32 Mississippi State.
• The Bruins own the second-highest NET ranking in the 12-team MVC. Murray State at No. 54 leads the league, while Missouri State at No. 80, Northern Iowa at No. 81 and Drake at No. 87 are also ranked in the top 100 of the NET.
• The Sycamores enter Sunday ranked 283rd in the NET, which is the third-lowest NET ranking in the Valley.

Conference Dominance

• Since the 2012-13 season, Belmont has compiled a remarkable 181-36 (.834) record in conference play and won 12 combined championships, including regular season and tournament titles.
• Head coach Bart Brooks is a ridiculous 121-16 (.883) 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 205-42 (.830) 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. 10/8 K-State, the Bruins hosted No. 12/12 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 (1,095).
• 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 moved up a spot this week and are ranked 21st in the 11th CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25^® poll of the regular season.

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 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 19 games, Holmes is the Bruins' second-leading scorer (11.2 PPG).
• Over the summer, Belmont also welcomed a trio of talented freshmen with Eubank (Union, Ky.), 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 184-62 (.748) and the Bruins are an astonishing 136-19 (.877) 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 was 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 108-15 (.878) at home since the start of the 2015-16 season.
• Belmont has a home winning percentage of .752 (206-68) inside the Curb since the arena opened prior to the 2003-04 season.
• Under coach Brooks, the Bruins are an exceptional 84-14 (.857) inside the Curb.
• In conference play, Belmont has been even more dominant at home, going 96-12 (.889) since 2012. In eight seasons, coach Brooks has lost only six league games at the Curb with a 62-6 (.912) record.
• The Bruins went 13-2 at home last season, securing the most home wins in a single season since 2019-20.

Versus Indiana State

• Sunday afternoon will be the 10th all-time meeting between Belmont and Indiana State with the Bruins holding a 7-2 lead in the series.
• Belmont has won all four outings with the Sycamores since joining the MVC with an average margin of victory of 14 points.
• On March 1 last year, the Bruins defeated Indiana State 87-62 at the Curb behind four double-figure scorers and 13 three-pointers. Jones led all scorers with 17 points on 4-for-8 shooting from long range. She also distributed six assists, snagged five boards and made four steals.
• Last season's road affair with the Sycamores was decided in the final seconds with Banks making an incredible play to give Belmont the lead late. The Bruins trailed by as much as 11 in the third quarter before outscoring Indiana State 21-7 in the fourth quarter. Banks came up with a result-altering steal and layup in the closing 15 seconds as Belmont overcame 4-for-23 shooting from outside. Jones was also the leading scorer in the road win, totaling 13 points and six rebounds.
• The two teams met five times prior to becoming MVC adversaries and split a home-and-home series during the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons.
• The Bruins went 2-1 against the Sycamores in the mid-to-late 1970s.

About the Sycamores

• Led by first-year head coach Marc Mitchell, Indiana State suffered a 97-71 loss at Murray State Friday evening. The Sycamores (3-15, 1-6 MVC) have lost three in a row with their last win taking place on Jan. 12, a 90-74 home triumph over Evansville.
• Indiana State's only other wins this season were non-conference road victories at Southeast Missouri State (68-65) and Wright State (68-51).
• The Sycamores have also faced Missouri State (57-73), Southern Illinois (58-63), Bradley (52-65), Illinois State (69-96) and Northern Iowa (65-75) in MVC play.
• Picked to finish ninth in the Valley according to the MVC Preseason Poll, Indiana State tied for eighth in the league last season with a 6-14 conference record. The Sycamores went 11-21 overall last year and reached the quarterfinals of the MVC Tournament as the No. 9 seed.
• Junior 6-foot guard Bella Finnegan, a 2022-23 MVC All-Freshman Team selection, leads Indiana State in scoring (13.9 PPG).
• Sophomore 5-foot-10 guard Keslyn Secrist is also averaging double-figure scoring (12.9 PPG), while sophomore 6-foot-1 forward Saige Stahl is averaging a near double-double of 9.3 points and a team-leading 9.0 rebounds per contest.
• Senior 5-foot-9 guard Deja Jones leads the Sycamores in assists (3.6 APG) and is averaging 8.7 points per game.

Up Next
Belmont will have nearly a week off from game action before wrapping up its three-game homestand next Saturday with conference rival Murray State. Tipoff from the Curb is scheduled for 4 p.m. The marquee MVC matchup between league leaders 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.