Women’s Basketball Travels to Dayton for Sunday Matinee

 
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Playing three of its first four games of the season the road, the Belmont University women's basketball team heads to Dayton, Ohio, to take on the University of Dayton midday Sunday. Tipoff from UD Arena in western Ohio is scheduled for 12 p.m. CT/1 p.m. ET.
 
The road game will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Alex Mikos (play-by-play) and Courtney Boyd (analyst) on the call. The game can also be heard on Belmont Bruins Radio, available online, with Dr. Rich Tiner providing play-by-play of the action. Live stats of the contest can be followed by visiting BelmontBruins.com.
 
What's Bruin

• The Bruins (1-2) were handed a 68-58 loss at 12th-ranked Tennessee Thursday night at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center in Knoxville. It was Belmont's first game against the Lady Vols since the Bruins' 2022 NCAA Tournament run in Knoxville.
• Two of the Bruins' first three games of the season were at Southeastern Conference top-15 teams. Belmont began its 2025-26 campaign at sixth-ranked Oklahoma on Monday, Nov. 3.
• The Bruins defeated Brown University 83-61 in their home opener at the Curb Event Center last Friday night. The win was Belmont's first against an Ivy League school.
• 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

• Belmont returned to the site of its last NCAA Tournament win earlier this week as the Bruins were a No. 12 seed in 2022 and upset fifth-seeded Oregon in double overtime, 73-70, in the first round at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center. In the round of 32 in the 2022 NCAA Tournament, Belmont came within a ball bounce of defeating fourth-seeded Tennessee (70-67).
• The Bruins held a five-point, 51-46 lead with nine-and-a-half minutes remaining Thursday night but were outscored 14-2 across the final four-and-a-half minutes of play.
• After trailing by 14 at the end of the first quarter, Belmont led 56-54 with just under five minutes to go following a layup from Banks and a free throw by Jones. However, the Lady Vols went on a 9-0 run in only 1:18 of play to pull in front 63-56 with three minutes left.
• The Bruins were outscored 22-9 in the fourth quarter after going 0-for-6 from deep and shooting 27.3 percent (3-of-11) in the final stanza.
• Belmont had put together a 9-0 run in the second quarter to claw its way back into the game after trailing 30-17 with 5:14 remaining in the first half.
• Behind 11 third-quarter points from Strickland and 50 percent shooting, the Bruins outpaced Tennessee 23-14 in the third period and were 5-for-6 from beyond the arc.
• After connecting on at least 10 three-pointers in both of its first two games, Belmont went 6-for-19 (31.6 percent) from long range.
• The Bruins were unable to overcome 20 turnovers, which resulted in 23 points for the Lady Vols. Tennessee outrebounded Belmont 48-36 and scored 19 points off 23 offensive rebounds.
• Both teams shot below 38 percent as the Bruins limited the Lady Vols to 20.6 percent (7-of-34) shooting from three-point range. Belmont held Tennessee to 34.8 percent (24-of-69) shooting overall.
• Returning to her hometown and playing against her former team, Strickland scored a team-high 14 points on 4-for-6 shooting from outside.
• Both Banks and sophomore forward Hilary Fuller scored in double figures for the third-straight game. Banks finished with 13 points, a team-high six rebounds and a trio of assists. Fuller accounted for six of the Bruins' nine fourth-quarter points and totaled 10 points and five boards to go along with a block and a steal.

UD Arena

• Belmont's men's basketball program earned its first NCAA Tournament victory inside UD Arena in 2019. The 11th-seeded Bruins ousted Temple 81-70 in the First Four.

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 199-70 record. His 74.0 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 Dayton

• Sunday will be the first-ever meeting between Belmont and Dayton.

Against the A-10

• The Bruins are 3-2 all-time against current Atlantic 10 Conference teams.
• Belmont has defeated an A-10 team two of the last three seasons with a pair of neutral-site wins in MTEs (multi-team events). The Bruins topped Davidson 69-59 in the 2024 Elevance Health Fort Myers Tip-Off in Florida last November. Belmont also beat Saint Louis 78-68 on Nov. 26, 2022, in Estero, Florida, as part of the 2022 Gulf Coast Showcase.
• The Bruins split games with VCU during the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons and took on Richmond during the 2008-09 season.

About the Flyers

• The Flyers are 2-1 following consecutive wins over Mercyhurst (86-44) and Xavier (71-66) on the road.
• Dayton began its season with an opening-night 87-76 loss at fellow MVC member Illinois State.
• The Flyers were picked fifth in the 14-team A-10 Preseason Poll after a vote by the conference's head coaches. Dayton tied with former member UMass and Rhode Island for fifth in last year's final A-10 standings, going 11-7 in league play and 18-13 overall.
• The sixth-seeded Flyers exited the 2025 A-10 Tournament in the quarterfinals following a 56-36 loss to third-seeded Davidson.
• Like coach Brooks, fourth-year Dayton head coach Tamika Williams-Jeter was named to the preseason watch list for the Kathy Delaney-Smith Mid-Major Coach of the Year Award presented by Her Hoop Stats.
• Shooting 52.6 percent from the field through their first three games, the Flyers rank 14th nationally in field goal percentage.
• Dayton is averaging 5.3 blocks per outing with 16 in three games.
• Senior 5-foot-10 guard Nayo Lear is averaging 17.7 points through her first three games and has shot 64.5 percent (20-of-31) from the floor.
• Junior 6-foot-3 center Fatima Ibrahim is averaging 12 points on 88.9 percent (16-of-18) shooting and a team-best 8.0 rebounds per outing. A transfer from North Dakota, Ibrahim was last year's Summit League Defensive Player of the Year.
• Sophomore 5-foot-10 guard Olivia Leung is also averaging double figures (10.7 PPG) and is averaging a team-high 1.7 steals per contest.
• Graduate 5-foot-7 guard Nicole Stephens, a member of the A-10 Preseason All-Conference Third Team, made her first start of the season at Xavier but has distributed a team-best six assists in each of the last two games.

Up Next
Belmont hosts nearby rival Lipscomb on Wednesday for the 79th Battle of the Boulevard. Tipoff from the Curb in Nashville is set for 5 p.m. The Music City rivalry game is a doubleheader presented by Elite Sports Medicine and Orthopedics with men's basketball's Battle of the Boulevard following. Both games will be broadcast on ESPN+.
 
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.