League Leaders Meet Saturday Afternoon at the Curb

 
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Closing out a three-game homestand, the Belmont University women's basketball team welcomes Missouri Valley Conference rival Murray State to the Curb Event Center Saturday afternoon. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.
 
The marquee matchup between Valley leaders will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Dr. Rich Tiner (play-by-play) and former Bruin forward Ellie Harmeyer Strutz ('20) (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.
 
Saturday's game will be a red out with fans encouraged to wear red. Additionally, Belmont Athletics red t-shirts will be given away to all fans in attendance, while supplies last. Rolla Bolla, the ultimate halftime entertainment show, will put together an electrifying performance at halftime and the Bruins will be available for postgame autographs in the Maddox Grand Atrium.
 
What's Bruin

• Belmont (13-7, 8-1 MVC) has won a season-best seven in a row. It marks the 10th-straight season the Bruins have held a seven-game winning streak.
• Last weekend, Belmont defeated Indiana State (88-58) and Evansville (90-65) at the Curb in convincing fashion with unparalleled balanced scoring. In last Friday night's victory over the visiting Purple Aces, the Bruins scored 90 points with a season-best six double-figure scorers and eight different players scoring at least eight points. In last Sunday afternoon's win over the Sycamores, Belmont put up 88 points with five double-figure scorers and seven different players scoring at least eight points.
• Five or more Bruins have reached double figures on three occasions this season.
• Belmont has had at least four players score in double figures in 12 different games, including six of the last seven contests.
• The Bruins have held their opponent under 67 points in all 13 of their victories this season, including eight below 60 points.
• For three consecutive weeks, Belmont has gone a perfect 2-0 in MVC action, including the Bruins' first road sweep in Iowa two weeks ago.
• Belmont earned its first-ever win in Des Moines, Iowa, with a dominant 80-65 victory at Drake on Jan. 16. 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).
• The Bruins' strength of schedule is currently ranked as the 43rd-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 six straight at home, the Bruins are 7-1 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 53.1 percent versus Indiana State last Sunday on a season-high tying 34 made field goals.
• For the second consecutive outing, the Bruins got a season-high tying 36 points off their bench.
• Belmont scored the first six points of the game and led by as much as 34 in the fourth quarter.
• Securing a season-high tying 47 rebounds, the Bruins were plus-21 on the glass and scored 19 points off 14 offensive boards. Belmont controlled the interior, outscoring the Sycamores 46-26 in the paint.
• Scoring at least 20 points in each of the last three quarters, the Bruins distributed over 20 assists for the second-straight game (21).
• Belmont held Indiana State to 36.7 percent (22-of-60) shooting, including 25 percent (4-of-16) from outside.
• All 12 available Bruins saw action on the court and 11 scored at least three points.
• With the triumph, Belmont improved to 5-0 against the Sycamores since joining the MVC.

Player Notes

• Graduate guard Tuti Jones paced all Bruins in the win over Indiana State with 15 points on 5-for-8 shooting from beyond the arc, six assists and four steals.
• Earning four steals in three of the last four games, Jones has scored in double figures in 10 of the last 11 outings.
• 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 (310), 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.
• Senior forward Kendal Cheesman registered her ninth career and fourth double-double of the season in last Sunday's victory over the Sycamores with a career-high 15 rebounds and 11 points.
• Sophomore guard Kensley Feltner has scored a career-high 11 points in back-to-back games. In last weekend's rout of Indiana State, Feltner nearly notched a double-double with a career-high eight rebounds.
• Graduate guard Jacee Busick posted a season-best 10 points on 5-for-6 shooting versus Indiana State.
• Sophomore guard Jailyn Banks was phenomenal in the Bruins' 74-60 win at Northern Iowa two weeks ago, nearly recording 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 15 of 20 games this season, Banks has scored in double figures in 11-straight outings.
• 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.
• Graduate guard Kendall Holmes has reached double figures in 13 of 20 games this season and is only 33 points from reaching 1,000 for her career.
• Junior guard Emily La Chapell led all scorers in the road win over the Panthers in Cedar Falls, Iowa, with 19 points on 7-for-14 shooting as she went 4-for-8 from downtown. In the Bruins' 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.
• Both freshman forward Hilary Fuller (8 points) and freshman guard Quinn Eubank (6 points) recorded career highs in last Friday's win over Evansville.
• 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 from Memphis, Tennessee (Hutchison School), 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 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 outside the arc.
• A native of Plainfield, Illinois (Benet Academy), Holmes sparked the Bruins' 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 Belmont within a possession in the final minute.

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.
• Six of the Bruins' 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. 20 Kentucky, No. 30 Michigan and No. 34 Mississippi State.
• Belmont owns the second-highest NET ranking in the 12-team MVC. The Racers at No. 51 lead the league, while Missouri State at No. 67, Drake at No. 80 and Northern Iowa at No. 93 are also ranked in the top 100 of the NET.

Conference Dominance

• Since the 2012-13 season, the Bruins have compiled a remarkable 182-36 (.835) record in conference play and won 12 combined championships, including regular season and tournament titles.
• Head coach Bart Brooks is a ridiculous 122-16 (.884) 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 206-42 (.831) 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. 11/11 K-State, Belmont hosted now No. 8/8 Ohio State and traveled to now No. 10/10 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 (1,096).
• 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

• For the second consecutive week the Bruins are ranked 21st in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25^® poll. Murray State is ranked 22nd 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 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 20 games, Holmes is the Bruins' second-leading scorer (11.1 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 185-62 (.749) and the Bruins are an astonishing 137-19 (.878) 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 109-15 (.879) at home since the start of the 2015-16 season.
• Belmont has a home winning percentage of .753 (207-68) inside the Curb since the arena opened prior to the 2003-04 season.
• Under coach Brooks, the Bruins are an exceptional 85-14 (.859) inside the Curb.
• In conference play, Belmont has been even more dominant at home, going 97-12 (.890) since 2012. In eight seasons, coach Brooks has lost only six league games at the Curb with a 63-6 (.913) record.
• The Bruins went 13-2 at home last season, securing the most home wins in a single season since 2019-20.

Versus Murray State

• Saturday afternoon will be the 28th all-time meeting between the two teams with Belmont holding a commanding 23-4 lead in the series.
• Since the two programs joined the MVC prior to the 2022-23 season, the Bruins are 3-1.
• Belmont has won three in a row in the conference rivalry and 18 of the last 20 dating back to the 2000-01 season.
• The Racers haven't won in the Curb since Jan. 19, 2021 (72-66), which was Murray State's lone victory over the Bruins in Nashville.
• Belmont swept the Racers last season by an average of 16 points. The Bruins defeated Murray State 73-54 in Belmont's 2024 red out game on Feb. 2 last year, before earning a 76-63 triumph over the Racers in Murray, Kentucky, late last February.
• La Chapell scored in double figures off the bench in both of last season's wins over Murray State.
• The Bruins have held the Racers' high-octane offense under 43 percent shooting in each of their last three wins against Murray State.
• Belmont went 14-1 versus the Racers during the Bruins' 10-year run in the Ohio Valley Conference.

About the Racers

• Led by eighth-year head coach Rechelle Turner, Murray State (14-4, 8-1 MVC) has lost only four games this season.
• Riding a six-game winning streak, the Racers' lone setback in the Valley came at Missouri State (85-78) on Jan. 4.
• Murray State went 6-3 in non-conference action with road losses at receiving-votes Alabama (90-63) and seventh-ranked LSU (74-60) and a home defeat against Southern Indiana (82-75).
• The Racers' 88.8 points per game are the third-most in the nation and Murray State also ranks third nationally in made threes per contest (10.5).
• The Racers are in the top 10 in the country in both free throws made per game (16.6) and free-throw percentage (.784).
• Murray State's 18.4 assists per game are 17th-most nationally.
• Picked fourth in the MVC Preseason Poll, the Racers went 20-12 last season and 12-8 in the MVC. After finishing sixth in the Valley race, Murray State reached the quarterfinals of the MVC Tournament and accepted an at-large bid to the 2024 WNIT where the Racers were bounced in the opening round.
• Graduate Katelyn Young, the program's all-time leading scorer with over 2,600 points, is the reigning U.S. Basketball Writers Association National Player of the Week. The 6-foot-1 forward averaged 29 points and 8.0 rebounds last week while shooting 73 percent from the field. Also the reigning MVC Player of the Week, Young leads Murray State in scoring (19.3 PPG) and is averaging 6.2 rebounds per outing.
• Sophomore 5-foot-6 guard Halli Poock, an All-MVC Third Team and MVC All-Freshman Team performer at Bradley last season, is averaging 16.4 points and 4.8 assists per game.
• Fellow 5-foot-6 sophomore guard Haven Ford, who was also a MVC All-Freshman Team selection last year, leads the team in assists (87/4.83 APG) and is averaging 15.6 points per contest.
• Senior 6-foot-1 guard/forward Ava Learn, who was named to the 2023-24 MVC All-Newcomer Team after transferring from Purdue, is averaging a near double-double of 13.8 points and a team-best 9.8 rebounds.

Up Next
Belmont hits the road next weekend, traveling to Valparaiso next Friday and the University of Illinois Chicago next Sunday, Feb. 9. Tipoff between the Bruins and Beacons in Valparaiso, Indiana, next Friday is set for 6 p.m. from the Athletics-Recreation Center. Both of next weekend's MVC road 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.