Ohio State Gets Past Belmont with Stifling Fourth Quarter

NASSAU, Bahamas – The Belmont University women's basketball team was deadlocked with receiving-votes Ohio State through three quarters of play before the Buckeyes outscored the Bruins 20-8 in the pivotal fourth quarter in the opening game of the 2025 Baha Mar Hoops Pink Flamingo Championship midday Monday. Heading into the final quarter the score was knotted up at 48, but Ohio State's strong fourth resulted in a 68-56 win for the Buckeyes inside the Baha Mar Convention, Arts & Entertainment Center in Nassau, Bahamas.
 
Belmont (3-3) led by as much as seven in the first half and held a one-point, 31-30 advantage at halftime. However, slow starts to both the third and fourth quarters resulted in Ohio State (4-1) outscoring the Bruins 38-25 in the second half.
 
A deep jumper from junior center KK Brodie at the third-quarter buzzer evened the game and capped an 8-2 Belmont run.
 
The Buckeyes scored the first eight points of the fourth quarter and began the final stanza on a 12-1 run, building an 11-point lead at 60-49 with six minutes remaining. A four-point possession set the tone for the last six minutes of the contest when Ohio State's Kylee Kitts grabbed an offensive rebound on a missed free throw and guard Chance Gray knocked down a three-pointer.
 
Graduate guard Tuti Jones attempted to ignite a comeback with a layup followed by a three-pointer on the Bruins' next possession, but Belmont wasn't able to hit shots down the stretch.
 
Sophomore forward Hilary Fuller got the Bruins back within five at 61-56 with 3:49 to go, capping a 7-1 run with a strong finish in the post. Belmont would then go scoreless for the remainder of the afternoon.
 
The Bruins were 3-for-17 (17.6 percent) from the field and 1-for-4 from deep in the deciding fourth. Meanwhile, the Buckeyes connected on six of their 13 shots across the last 10 minutes of action and outrebounded Belmont 16-6.
 
Ohio State outworked the Bruins 18-6 in the paint in the second half and tallied 27 second-half rebounds. The Buckeyes' Jaloni Cambridge, the younger sister of Belmont first-year assistant coach Jo Cambridge, scored 14 of her game-high 26 points in the second half on 5-for-8 shooting.
 
The Bruins scored the first four points of the game and led 18-13 after one quarter of play thanks to a three by graduate guard Avery Strickland. Belmont started the game by hitting seven of its first 14 shots.
 
A tip-in from Jones just past the midway point of the second quarter put the Bruins up 28-22 and Strickland gave Belmont a seven-point lead at 31-24 at the 3:15 mark of the half with her third three-pointer.
 
With the Bruins held scoreless for the last three minutes of the half, Ohio State's Gray knocked down a pair of triples to make it a one-point affair at the break.
 
Strickland went 3-for-4 from beyond the arc in the first half and had 11 points as Belmont was 5-for-12 (41.7 percent) from distance in the opening 20 minutes.
 
The Bruins were outscored 8-1 in the first four-and-a-half minutes of the second half as the Buckeyes went up 38-32. Back-to-back threes by senior guard Emily La Chapell kept Belmont within striking distance before the Bruins went on their late third-quarter run.
 
Belmont shot just 25.8 percent (8-of-31) in the second half and went 5-for-10 at the free-throw line.
 
Jones finished with a season-high 19 points and added six rebounds, two assists and two steals. Strickland also scored in double figures with 11 points, while Fuller collected a career-high nine boards and junior guard Jailyn Banks distributed a game-high five assists.
 
Jaloni Cambridge finished 9-for-16 from the field for Ohio State, and the Buckeyes got 17 points from Gray on 5-for-10 shooting from three-point range. Ohio State's Kitts had a double-double of 12 points and a game-high 15 rebounds.
 
Of Note

• The Bruins fall to 0-4 all-time versus the Buckeyes.
• Ohio State is receiving votes in both national polls.
• It marks the first time this season neither Banks nor Fuller have scored in double figures.
• Belmont played its first countable contest outside the United States, or a U.S. territory, since December of 2007. (the Bruins played a pair of exhibition games in Rome, Italy, in the summer of 2023 as part of their 10-day Italy tour)

Up Next
The Bruins will take on McNeese State on Wednesday in the Goombay Division consolation game of the Baha Mar Hoops Pink Flamingo Championship. Tipoff from the Baha Mar Convention, Arts & Entertainment Center is scheduled for 10 a.m. CT/11 a.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on FloCollege, a subscription is required. The Cowgirls were defeated 83-63 by top-25 ranked West Virginia Monday afternoon.
 
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.