Women's Hoops Defeats Southern Illinois 79-66 on the Road Saturday

CARBONDALE, Ill. – Behind a 42 second-half points and four double-figure scorers, the Belmont University women's basketball team picked up its first Missouri Valley Conference road victory of the season with a 79-66 triumph at Southern Illinois Saturday afternoon. Leading for all but three minutes of the road affair, the Bruins (7-7, 2-1 MVC) shot a season-high tying 50 percent (28-of-56) from the field and were a season-best 40.9 percent (9-of-22) from distance inside the Banterra Center in Carbondale, Illinois.
 
Senior forward Kendal Cheesman and graduate guard Tuti Jones went a combined 6-for-11 from three-point range and combined for 33 points, while sophomore guard Jailyn Banks (18 points) and graduate guard Kendall Holmes (10 points) also reached double figures.
 
Belmont assisted on 20 of its 28 made field goals as junior guard Emily La Chapell distributed a career-high seven assists.
 
After the Salukis (2-10, 0-3 MVC) knotted up the score at 54 late in the third quarter, the Bruins outscored the hosts 25-12 across the last 12 minutes of play to secure the win.
 
Holding Southern Illinois scoreless for the first 2:19, Belmont jumped out to an early 10-2 lead on a conventional three-point play from Banks a little over two-and-a-half minutes in. A Jones jumper put the Bruins up 15-6 midway through the opening quarter before the Salukis went on their first run. Southern Illinois climbed within a point at the end of the quarter by closing the period on a 12-4 run.
 
A three by the Salukis' Tyranny Brown made it 19-18 after the first 10 minutes of action.
 
Southern Illinois took its first lead at the beginning of the second quarter on a layup from starting forward Gift Uchenna, but Belmont responded with a 13-4 run. Sophomore guard Kensley Feltner gave the lead back to the Bruins with a layup before a pair of Banks free throws capped the scoring run to make it 32-24 with 3:25 to go in the first half.
 
Over the next three minutes of play, the Salukis went on a 10-2 run with a Uchenna layup tying the score at 34 with 17 seconds remaining in the half. However, Jones splashed in a deep wing three-pointer at the first-half buzzer to give Belmont a 37-34 lead at the break.
 
After shooting 50 percent in the first quarter, the Bruins shot 43.8 percent (7-of-16) in the second stanza. Belmont held Southern Illinois to 33.3 percent (12-of-36) shooting in the first half, while the Bruins shot 46.7 percent (14-of-30) from the floor. The Salukis went 4-for-8 from deep across the first 20 minutes.
 
Banks (11) and Cheesman (9) combined for 20 of Belmont's 37 first-half points.
 
Jones picked up right where she left off with back-to-back triples to begin the second half, her second giving the Bruins a commanding 43-34 lead less than a minute into the third quarter. A three from La Chapell made it 49-41 at the 7:20 mark of the third and Cheesman knocked down a trey of her own to keep Belmont in front by nine at 52-43 with just under six minutes to go in the quarter.
 
From there, Southern Illinois put together a game-tying 11-2 run. Saluki starting guard Tkiyah Nelson evened the score at 54 with a layup with two minutes left in the third quarter.
 
Ending an over three-and-a-half-minute scoring drought, Jones completed an old-fashioned three-point play to break the 54-54 tie before Cheesman closed out the third with her third triple of the day. The 6-0 spurt in the final 1:01 of the quarter gave the Bruins a promising 60-54 lead heading into the final quarter.
 
Both teams shot exceptionally well in the third quarter with Belmont going 8-for-14 (57.1 percent) from the field and 5-for-7 (71.4 percent) from beyond the arc. Southern Illinois shot 60 percent (9-of-15) in the quarter.
 
Nine of Jones' season-high 16 points came in the third.
 
The Bruins outpaced the Salukis 19-12 in the fourth quarter and Belmont limited Southern Illinois to 23.1 percent (3-of-13) shooting, including 1-for-6 from outside.
 
Scoring the first four points of the quarter, the Bruins kept the Salukis without a basket for nearly four minutes of action going back to the two-minute mark of the third. A Feltner free throw completed a 9-2 run to begin the fourth and gave Belmont its first 13-point lead at 69-56 with 7:11 remaining.
 
Layups by Cheesman and graduate guard Jacee Busick capped an impressive, outcome-defining 21-5 run that began at the end of the third quarter. Busick's bucket with 3:05 to go put the Bruins in front 75-59, Belmont's largest advantage of the afternoon.
 
There was only one made field goal in the last three minutes of the contest, a three by Southern Illinois' Alice Curman with 31 seconds left.
 
The Bruins shot 53.8 percent (14-of-26) in the second half and were 5-for-8 (62.5 percent) from long range.
 
Belmont limited the Salukis to 37.5 percent (24-of-64) shooting for the game and Southern Illinois went 6-for-17 (35.3 percent) from distance.
 
The two teams combined for 35 turnovers with the Salukis scoring 24 points off 17 Bruin miscues.
 
Banks' 18 points led all scorers, and she was a perfect 8-for-8 at the free-throw line. She added four assists and two steals, while Cheesman finished with 17 points, a team-high eight rebounds, five assists, two blocks and a steal. In addition to her 16 points, Jones had five boards, a career-best tying two blocks and a trio of steals.
 
Southern Illinois also had four players in double figures led by Uchenna with a double-double of 16 points and 17 rebounds. The Salukis got 11 points from Nelson and both starting guards Jeniah Thompson and Kayla Cooper scored 10.
 
Of Note

• It marks the seventh time this season that at least four Belmont players have reached double figures.
• The Bruins improve to 7-0 all-time versus Southern Illinois, including 3-0 in Carbondale.
• Both Banks and Jones have scored in double figures in five-straight games.

Up Next
Belmont returns to the Music City next weekend to host UIC Friday night and Valparaiso Sunday afternoon. Next Friday's tipoff versus the Flames is set for 6:30 p.m. from the Curb Event Center. 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.