Women's Basketball Takes on Southern Illinois in Road Action Saturday

 
CARBONDALE, Ill. – Attempting to bounce back from a tough loss Thursday night at Missouri State, the Belmont University women's basketball team returns to road action Saturday afternoon at Southern Illinois. Tipoff from the Banterra Center in Carbondale, Illinois, is scheduled for 2 p.m.
 
The Missouri Valley Conference matchup will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Mike Trude (play-by-play) and Jamaal Tatum (analyst) on the call. 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 (6-7, 1-1 MVC) came up just short in a 57-55, wire-to-wire contest Thursday in Springfield, Missouri, after earning their ninth consecutive victory in a conference opener last Sunday with a 69-61 win over Bradley inside the Curb Event Center.
• Facing four top-20 opponents and six power conference teams, Belmont went 5-6 during its strenuous non-conference schedule.
• The Bruins have held their opponent under 62 points in all six of their victories this season.
• Belmont's strength of schedule is currently ranked as the third-most difficult in the country. Only Alabama State and Southern University have played a more difficult schedule according to the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET).
• Despite trailing for over 35 minutes of the game, the Bruins had multiple chances to tie or take the lead in the final 30 seconds against the Lady Bears Thursday night. Belmont was within two possessions for most of the night and went in front by a point twice in the second half, including going up 53-52 with 1:46 remaining on a layup by graduate guard Tuti Jones. However, Missouri State starting forward Sarah Linthacum scored back-to-back layups, including an offensive rebound and putback, to give the Lady Bears a 56-53 lead with 59 seconds left. The Bruins were unable to capitalize on Missouri State going 1-for-6 at the free-throw line in the closing 30 seconds.
• Belmont shot an uncharacteristic 3-for-15 (20 percent) from beyond the arc in Thursday's loss, including going 0-for-4 from deep in the fourth quarter. The Bruins outscored the host Lady Bears 36-24 in the paint but were held to 35 percent (21-of-60) shooting from the field.
• After tying 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), sophomore guard Jailyn Banks has led all Bruin scorers in their first two MVC games. She had 18 points on an efficient 5-for-7 shooting in last Sunday's home win over the Braves and poured in 16 at Missouri State.
• All three of Banks' career-high 23-point performances have been against SEC opponents away from home. The Spring Hill, Tennessee (Middle Tennessee Christian School), native also put up 23 points in her collegiate debut at Missouri to begin the 2023-24 season.
• Like Banks, Jones has also scored in double figures for four-straight games. Belmont's NCAA era career steals leader with 290 takeaways, Jones collected a pair of steals in the victory over Bradley last Sunday to move into second place all-time in program history.
• Freshman forward Hilary Fuller recorded two blocks Thursday versus the Lady Bears for her second multi-block game of the season.
• Graduate guard Jacee Busick played a season-high 19 minutes at Missouri State.
• Six times this season the Bruins have had at least four players score in double figures.
• Five different Belmont players scored in double figures in the Bruins' 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 Belmont's decisive, 65-52 win over mid-state foe Middle Tennessee on Dec. 7.
• La Chapell has reached double figures in nine of 13 games this season.
• 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.

Newcomer of the Week

• Following her valiant effort against the nationally-ranked Wildcats in Lexington, Kentucky, graduate guard Kendall Holmes was named MVC Newcomer of the Week on Monday, Dec. 23.
• Collecting Belmont's 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 the Bruins' comeback attempt as she scored 11 of her 18 points in the fourth quarter on a perfect 3-for-3 shooting from distance. It was her deep wing three-pointer that got Belmont within a possession in the final minute.
• Holmes is only 113 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, the Bruins sit at No. 56.
• Last season, Belmont finished 71st in the NET.
• All seven of the Bruins' losses this season have been against teams ranked in the top 95 of the NET.
• Belmont owns the highest NET ranking in the 12-team MVC. Both Murray State at No. 61 and Northern Iowa at No. 72 are also ranked in the top 75 of the NET.
• The Salukis enter Saturday ranked 339th of 362 total teams in the NET, which is the lowest NET ranking in the Valley.

Conference Dominance

• Since the 2012-13 season, the Bruins have compiled a remarkable 175-36 (.829) record in conference play and won 12 combined championships, including regular season and tournament titles.
• Head coach Bart Brooks is a ridiculous 115-16 (.878) in conference action in eight seasons and has never lost more than three league games in a single season.
• Altogether, including conference tournaments, Belmont has gone 199-42 (.826) against league opposition across 13 seasons.

MVC Preseason Poll

• The Bruins were 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.
• Belmont has finished first or second in its conference each of the last nine seasons.

Early Tests Against Some of the Nation's Best

• The Bruins 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 its season-opening visit to now No. 12/11 K-State, Belmont hosted now No. 10/9 Ohio State and traveled to No. 14/14 Duke on Nov. 21.

A Winning Program

• The Bruins are 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.
• Belmont has won the 16th-most games of any NCAA Division I women's basketball program (1,089).
• 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 24th in the eighth 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, forward Kendal 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 13 games, Holmes is the Bruins' third-leading scorer (10.8 PPG).
• Over the summer, Belmont also welcomed a trio of talented freshmen with guard Quinn 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 178-62 (.742) and the Bruins are an astonishing 130-19 (.872) 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 this season 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 105-15 (.875) at home since the start of the 2015-16 season.
• Belmont has a home winning percentage of .749 (203-68) inside the Curb since the arena opened prior to the 2003-04 season.
• Under coach Brooks, the Bruins are an exceptional 81-14 (.853) inside the Curb.
• In conference play, Belmont has been even more dominant at home, going 93-12 (.886) since 2012. In seven seasons, coach Brooks has lost only six league games at the Curb with a 59-6 (.908) record.
• The Bruins went 13-2 at home last season, securing the most home wins in a single season since 2019-20.

Versus Southern Illinois

• Saturday will be the seventh all-time meeting between Belmont and Southern Illinois. The Bruins have won all six previous matchups, including two 10-point victories in Carbondale.
• Last February, Belmont defeated the Salukis 65-55 in Illinois behind four double-figure scorers. The Bruins went 17-for-17 at the free-throw line and overcame a season-high 27 turnovers. Belmont limited Southern Illinois to 35 percent (22-of-63) shooting, including 2-for-15 from distance.
• The Bruins also topped the Salukis 72-64 in Nashville late last January.
• Belmont's first-ever MVC Tournament triumph was against Southern Illinois when the second-seeded Bruins ousted the seventh-seeded Salukis 70-64 in the 2023 quarterfinals of Hoops in the Heartland.
• The first meeting in the series took place on Dec. 21, 2002, on a neutral floor in Long Beach, California, where Belmont beat Southern Illinois 67-57.

About the Salukis

• Led by third-year head coach Kelly Bond-White, the Salukis have dropped both of their first two MVC games. On Thursday evening, Murray State routed Southern Illinois 92-69 after the Salukis fell 69-51 at Valparaiso last Sunday to begin league play.
• Southern Illinois went 2-7 in non-conference action with its two wins coming at Indiana University Indianapolis (85-80) and at home versus NAIA Central Methodist (Mo.) (74-38).
• The Salukis were picked 10th in the Valley's preseason predicted order of finish after going 6-14 in the MVC last year and tying for eighth place in the final conference standings. Southern Illinois went 11-20 overall in 2023-24.
• Last season's MVC Most Improved Player, Saluki forward Laniah Randle, transferred to Missouri.
• Junior 6-foot-3 forward Gift Uchenna, a native of Ebonyi State, Nigeria (Kochi Chuo HS) and an international transfer from Shih Shih University Taipei, is averaging a double-double and leads Southern Illinois in scoring (15.3 PPG) and rebounding (12.5 RPG). The reigning MVC Newcomer of the Week is second in the nation in rebounding, leads the country in offensive rebounds per outing (5.7) and has compiled 22 blocks. Uchenna has already posted seven double-doubles this season, which are tied for the 13th-most nationally.
• Sophomore 5-foot-9 guard Kayla Cooper, an Oklahoma transfer, leads the Salukis in assists (2.4 APG) and steals (2.2 SPG) and is averaging 8.4 points per game.

Up Next
The Bruins return to the comforts of the Curb next weekend, hosting UIC Friday night and Valparaiso Sunday afternoon. Next Friday's tipoff versus the Flames is set for 6:30 p.m. 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.
 
View available seating and purchase your seats.
 
Flex pack plans for the 2024-25 season are also on sale and can be purchased here.
 
For more information, call 615-460-BALL or visit BelmontBruins.com/Tickets.
 
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.