Bruins Take on Lady Vols in Knoxville

 
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – For the first time since its last NCAA Tournament run, the Belmont University women's basketball team will make its way to east Tennessee to face the University of Tennessee Thursday night in Knoxville. Tipoff from Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center is set for 6 p.m. CT/7 p.m. ET.
 
The matchup between the top two women's basketball programs in the state will be broadcast on primetime national TV on the SEC Network. Sam Gore (play-by-play) and former Purdue, Florida and WNBA head coach Carolyn Peck (analyst) will be on the call. Dr. Rich Tiner will also provide play-by-play action of the game on Belmont Bruins Radio, available online. Live stats can be followed by visiting BelmontBruins.com.
 
A pregame fan hangout and party is being held at Calhoun's On The River near the arena from 4-6:30 p.m. ET. Fans can RSVP to the free event here.

HC @BartABrooks and guards @acestrickland and @SanaaTripp preview the Bruins' matchup at top-15 Tennessee Thursday night ??#ItsBruinTime | #Splashville pic.twitter.com/QiReVLrbHZ

— Belmont WBasketball (@BelmontWBB) November 13, 2025

What's Bruin

• The Bruins (1-1) return to Knoxville and Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center after reaching the round of 32 in the 2022 NCAA Tournament.
• As a No. 12 seed, Belmont upset fifth-seeded Oregon in double overtime, 73-70, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Knoxville before coming within a ball bounce of defeating fourth-seeded Tennessee in the round of 32.
• With their thrilling victory over the Ducks at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center, the Bruins became only the second program in history to win NCAA Tournament first-round games in consecutive seasons as a No. 12 seed or lower (Middle Tennessee in 2004 and 2005).
• Two of Belmont's first three games of the season are at Southeastern Conference top-15 teams as the Bruins began their 2025-26 campaign at sixth-ranked Oklahoma last Monday.
• Belmont defeated Brown University 83-61 in its home opener at the Curb Event Center last Friday night. The win was the Bruins' first against an Ivy League team.
• The Bruins went on a historic national postseason run in the 2025 Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT), where they reached the championship game. It was Belmont's deepest national postseason run in any sport.
• For the second time in four seasons, the Bruins are the preseason favorites to win the Missouri Valley Conference. Belmont captured a regular season championship in its first season in the Valley in 2022-23.
• Including last season, the Bruins have reached the MVC Tournament championship game two of the last three years.
• Belmont went 26-13 last season and 15-5 in the MVC, tying for third in the final league standings.
• The Bruins' three returning starters – graduate guard Tuti Jones, junior guard Jailyn Banks and senior guard Emily La Chapell – in addition to graduate transfer guard Avery Strickland (Tennessee/Pittsburgh), were named players to watch by the MVC.
• Jones, Banks and La Chapell were the only three players to start all 39 games for Belmont last season.
• The Bruins return eight total letter winners and feature seven newcomers, including five freshmen – guard Rylie Beers (Littleton, Colo.), guard Kate McGinnis (Kimberly, Wis.), forward Dacarra Ward (Memphis, Tenn.), forward Leah West (Greensburg, Ind.) and guard Tatum Woodson (Minnetonka, Minn.) – and two transfers – Strickland and junior center KK Brodie (Pepperdine).

Last Time Out

• After a lackluster first half, Belmont scored 48 second-half points and closed on a 33-10 run against the Bears of Brown.
• The Bruins trailed by as much as five late in the opening half and faced a 37-35 halftime deficit but used an impressive 19-2 scoring run to put the game away in the fourth quarter. Belmont outscored the Bears 27-9 in the fourth behind 61.1 percent (11-of-18) shooting.
• Six different Bruins reached double figures, and Belmont forced nearly 20 Brown turnovers while coming up with 14 steals. The Bruins scored 24 points off the Bears' miscues and cashed in on 20 of their 25 free throws.
• The sophomore trio of guards Quinn Eubank and Sanaa Tripp and forward Hilary Fuller combined for 39 points and 23 rebounds as Eubank recorded her first career double-double with a career-high 12 points and a career-best 10 boards. Fuller also reached career highs with a team-high 17 points on 6-for-11 shooting and eight rebounds. Tripp tallied 10 points and five boards in 21 minutes of action off the bench.
• Jones was outstanding, going 3-for-5 from beyond the arc en route to totaling 14 points, six rebounds, a team-high four assists and a game-best six steals.

B-Dub and Pat Summitt

• Belmont program founder and matriarch Betty Wiseman "B-Dub" started one of the first college women's basketball programs in the Southeast. Her summer camps attracted area girls, including Pat (Head) Summitt, who attended Cheatham County High School.
• The first head coach in school history, Wiseman led the Bruins for 16 seasons from 1968-84. She later recruited Summitt to play at Belmont, but Pat chose the University of Tennessee at Martin.
• Coach Wiseman went 6-3 against the Lady Volunteers.
• During the Bruins' 2022 NCAA Tournament run in Knoxville, Wiseman garnered national social media attention as she was dubbed "Belmont Betty" on Twitter, now X, after being featured on the ESPN broadcast of Belmont's second round matchup with nationally-ranked Tennessee. Following the Bruins' NCAA Tournament run, "Belmont Betty" t-shirts resembling her trademark white hair and collared shirt were created and sold. A portion of each "Belmont Betty" t-shirt sale was donated to the Betty Wiseman Mission Fund.
• This past March, Wiseman was inducted into the MVC Hall of Fame as the Valley's 2025 Paul Morrison Award winner.

Tennessee Notables

• Avery "Ace" Strickland played for the Lady Vols the past two seasons and saw action in all three of Tennessee's NCAA Tournament games this past March.
• A University of Tennessee graduate, Strickland played in 39 games for the Lady Vols and was a two-time SEC Academic Honor Roll honoree.
• A Knoxville native, Strickland starred at Farragut High School ('22) and led the Lady Admirals to their first state championship game. Her senior year, she averaged 17.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.5 steals per game and was named Tennessee Sports Writers Association (TSWA) All-State. In the state semifinals, Strickland put together a 31-point, nine-rebound performance and landed a spot on the 2022 Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA) All-State Tournament Team.
• Second-year graduate assistant for basketball operations Virginia Stuart is a 2024 Tennessee graduate and served as a student manager for two seasons under former Lady Vols head coach Kellie Harper.

A Winning Program

• In its 58th season as a program, Belmont has claimed the 15th-most victories in NCAA Division I women's basketball (1,110).
• The Bruins entered 2025-26 with the 30th-best all-time winning percentage (.658).
• Belmont is one of only nine teams in the nation to have won 20-plus games for 10-straight seasons. UConn, South Carolina, Baylor, Iowa, NC State, Indiana, South Dakota State and Florida Gulf Coast are the others.
• The Bruins' 73.1 winning percentage (226-83) over the previous 10 seasons is the highest of any Division I women's basketball program in the state of Tennessee.
• Belmont is the only school in the nation to win 20-plus games for 10 consecutive seasons in both women's and men's basketball.

A Championship Program

• The Bruins (11) are one of only six programs in the country to have won 10 or more combined conference championships, regular season and tournament, over the last nine seasons. UConn (18), Florida Gulf Coast (16), South Carolina (13), South Dakota State (11) and Princeton (10) are the others.
• Since the 2012-13 season, Belmont has won 12 combined conference championships, including regular season and tournament titles.
• The Bruins have won 16 total conference championships – nine regular season and seven tournament titles – in Belmont's NCAA era.

National Postseason Success

• The Bruins have claimed seven national postseason wins in the last five years, including back-to-back trips to the NCAA Tournament round of 32 in 2021 and 2022.
• Belmont has earned a national postseason bid in 12 of the last 13 seasons, including six trips to the NCAA Tournament (2022, 2021, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016).
• The Bruins also reached the Big Dance in 2007 after winning the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament.
• Belmont has participated in the last two WBITs and the 2023 WNIT.
• Playing into April for the first time in school history, the Bruins rattled off four wins in the 2025 WBIT. After taking out nearby Middle Tennessee in the opening round, Belmont overcame a 21-point deficit against Northern Arizona in the second round. The Bruins then doubled up top-seeded James Madison, who was an NCAA Tournament bubble team and receiving votes in both national polls, by 45 points on the road in the quarterfinals. In the WBIT semifinals inside historic Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Belmont ousted BIG EAST Conference mainstay Villanova.
• The Bruins' comeback against the Lumberjacks of Northern Arizona in the WBIT second round last March tied for the largest deficit overcome to win any NCAA postseason game in Division I women's basketball history.

Conference Dominance

• Belmont has finished in the top three of its conference in 13 of the last 14 seasons, including each of the last 10.
• The Bruins have played in a conference tournament championship game eight of the last 10 years.
• Since the 2012-13 season, Belmont has compiled a remarkable 189-40 (.825) record in conference play.
• Altogether, including conference tournaments, the Bruins have gone 215-47 (.821) against league opponents across the last 13 seasons.

Head Coach Bart Brooks

• For the third-straight year, ninth-year head coach Bart 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.
• In nine seasons, coach Brooks has compiled a remarkable 199-69 record. His 74.3 winning percentage ranks among the top 20 of active head coaches in Division I women's basketball.
• No other current Division I head coach with eight seasons or fewer under their belt has won more games than coach Brooks.
• Coach Brooks is a ridiculous 129-20 (.866) in conference action with nine combined conference championships, including regular season and tournament titles. He has never lost more than five league games in any given season and has finished no worse than third across two different conferences.
• Including conference tournament games, coach Brooks is an astonishing 146-24 (.859) against conference opponents.
• Over the last eight postseasons, coach Brooks has gone 24-11 (.686).
• In the key months of February and March under coach Brooks' direction, Belmont is 92-19 (.829).
• Coach Brooks was the third-fastest head coach to 100 career victories in Division I women's basketball history (Leon Barmore, Louisiana Tech and Karl Smesko, Florida Gulf Coast).

Challenging the Nation's Best

• Coach Brooks and the Bruins annually play one of the toughest non-conference schedules and this season is no different.
• At least six of Belmont's 11 non-conference opponents are receiving votes in either or both the Associated Press (AP) Top 25 and USA TODAY Sports/Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Coaches Poll. The Bruins take on a trio of top-15 teams, including hosting No. 15/11 Duke (Dec. 20) after traveling to both No. 6/6 Oklahoma (Nov. 3) and No. 12/12 Tennessee (Nov. 13). Belmont also hosts No. 23/20 Kentucky (Dec. 14).
• The Bruins face no fewer than six NCAA Tournament teams from a season ago during their non-conference slate – Oklahoma, Tennessee, Ohio State, Princeton, Kentucky and Duke. Of those, five reached at least the second round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament and three made it to the Sweet 16 with the Blue Devils continuing on to the Elite Eight.
• Playing in the 2025 Baha Mar Hoops Pink Flamingo Championship in Nassau, Bahamas, during Thanksgiving week, Belmont may also see West Virginia, who is receiving votes in both national polls and reached the round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament last March.

Mid-Major Rankings

• The Bruins are ranked 15th in this week's CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll and are 10th in the SB Nation Mid-Major Madness Other Top 25 rankings.

Versus Tennessee

• Thursday night will be the 12th all-time meeting between the Bruins and Tennessee with Belmont holding a 6-5 lead in the series.
• The Bruins' last win over the Lady Vols was on Jan. 28, 1977, in Nashville (60-59).
• Tennessee leads the series 2-0 since Belmont became an NCAA member prior to the 1996-97 season.
• The Bruins are 2-5 all-time against the Lady Vols in Knoxville.
• Belmont's last two matchups with Tennessee, both with coach Brooks at the helm, were decided by a combined 11 points.
• The 12th-seeded Bruins led the fourth-seeded and 18th-ranked Lady Vols by two with under 30 seconds remaining in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on March 21, 2022. Belmont had multiple chances to go up by two possessions in the final two minutes.
• In coach Brooks' second season leading the Bruins, Belmont led 10th-ranked Tennessee in the fourth quarter on Dec. 30, 2018, inside Thompson-Boling Arena. However, the Lady Vols ultimately ended up prevailing, 84-76.
• Jones is the only player left on the Bruins' roster who was a part of Belmont's 2022 NCAA Tournament run. Against Tennessee in the second round, Jones posted 17 points on 6-for-12 shooting, six rebounds, four assists and two steals. She scored four points in five seconds a little past the midway point of the third quarter to get the Bruins within four, shifting the momentum of the game.
• On Aug. 1, Belmont announced its home-and-home series with the Lady Vols. Tennessee will play at the Curb in 2026-27 on a date to be announced next summer.

Against the Top 25

• The Bruins are 1-37 all-time against nationally-ranked opponents in Belmont's NCAA era.
• The Bruins' lone victory over a top-25 team came in the 2021 NCAA Tournament first round when 12th-seeded Belmont dismissed 14th-ranked and fifth-seeded Gonzaga 64-59 in San Marcos, Texas, for its first-ever March Madness triumph.

Against the SEC

• The Bruins are 21-50 all-time versus current SEC members.
• Belmont held a three-point lead late in the third quarter against the top-10 ranked Sooners in Norman, Oklahoma, to begin the season.
• The Bruins will also host Kentucky on Dec. 14.
• Last season, Belmont faced Mississippi State in a neutral-site game and traveled to nationally-ranked Kentucky.
• Coach Brooks is 4-13 against SEC opponents with recent wins over Georgia, Ole Miss, Auburn and Vanderbilt.

About the Lady Vols

• The Lady Vols are off to a 2-1 start after a narrow, 72-61 win at the University of Tennessee at Martin Sunday afternoon for the Pat Summitt Heritage Classic.
• Tennessee is facing its third-straight Volunteer State opponent. The Lady Vols defeated East Tennessee State University 97-47 in their home opener last Friday night.
• Tennessee fell 80-77 in its season opener to ninth-ranked NC State in a neutral-site game in Greensboro, North Carolina, last Tuesday.
• The Lady Vols were picked fourth by the media and fifth by the league's head coaches in the SEC Preseason Polls. Tennessee tied for eighth in the SEC last season with an 8-8 conference mark.
• As a No. 5 seed, the Lady Vols reached the Sweet 16 last season before being bounced by No. 1 seed Texas. Tennessee finished the year 24-10 overall.
• The Lady Vols own the second-most national titles with eight but haven't lifted the national championship trophy since 2008.
• Second-year head coach Kim Caldwell won the 2022 NCAA Division II national title at Glenville State.
• Redshirt junior 6-foot guard Talaysia Cooper, a Naismith Defensive Player of the Year semifinalist last season and a Preseason All-SEC First Team selection, leads Tennessee with 17 points, six rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.3 steals per outing through three games.
• Senior 6-foot-4 forward Janiah Barker, a transfer from UCLA who was named Big Ten Conference Sixth Player of the Year last season, is averaging 13.7 points and five boards.
• Senior 6-foot-4 forward Zee Spearman, who was named to the Cheryl Miller Small Forward of the Year Preseason Top 20 Watch List, is averaging 12 points and a team-best 7.7 rebounds through three games.
• Freshman 6-foot guard Jaida Civil is also averaging double figures in her first three contests (11.3 PPG).
• The Lady Vols' 33.3 three-point attempts per game are the seventh-most in the country, while their 100 threes taken are the second-most.

Up Next
The Bruins travel to the University of Dayton for a Sunday matinee in Ohio. Tipoff from UD Arena in Dayton, Ohio, is scheduled for 12 p.m. CT/1 p.m. ET. The road game will be broadcast on ESPN+. Next Wednesday, Nov. 19, Belmont hosts nearby rival Lipscomb for the 79th Battle of the Boulevard. Tipoff from the Curb in the Music City is slated for 5 p.m. The rivalry game is a doubleheader with men's basketball's Battle of the Boulevard following.
 
Season Tickets
Season tickets, which include all Belmont women's and men's basketball home games, are on sale now and can be purchased by visiting BelmontBruins.com/Tickets or calling 615-460-BALL. Flex pack plans for the 2025-26 season are also on sale and can be purchased here.
 
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.