Bruins Begin Missouri Valley Conference Play Wednesday Night with Evansville Visiting

 
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Beginning Missouri Valley Conference play, the Belmont University women's basketball team hosts the University of Evansville Wednesday night inside the Curb Event Center. Tipoff from the Music City is slated for 6:30 p.m.
 
The Valley opener will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Dr. Rich Tiner (play-by-play) and former Bruin guard Jenny Roy Bream ('19) (analyst) on the call. The conference matchup can also be heard on Belmont Bruins Radio, available online. Live stats of the game can be followed by visiting BelmontBruins.com.
 
Belmont Bruin claw foam fingers will be given away to all fans in attendance, while supplies last.
 
What's Bruin

• The Bruins (4-6, 0-0 MVC) were defeated 77-69 by 15th-ranked Kentucky this past Sunday afternoon.
• Sunday's matchup with the Wildcats was Belmont's third against a top-15 ranked Southeastern Conference opponent this season. The Bruins took on sixth-ranked Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma, in their season opener and challenged 12th-ranked Tennessee on Nov. 13 in Knoxville.
• Belmont has won nine-straight conference openers and head coach Bart Brooks is an unblemished 8-0 in league openers.
• The Bruins defeated Bradley 69-61 in their 2024-25 MVC opener last December.
• Belmont is 2-2 at home this season with an 83-61 win over Brown in its home opener on Nov. 7 and an 80-60 rout of rival Lipscomb in the 79th Battle of the Boulevard on Nov. 19.
• Five of the Bruins' six losses on the season have been against teams receiving votes in both national polls (No. 15 Kentucky, Princeton, Ohio State, No. 12 Tennessee and No. 6 Oklahoma).
• Ninth-year program leader Brooks secured his 200th career victory with Belmont's 72-66 win at Dayton on Sunday, Nov. 16. He reached the career milestone in only 270 games as a head coach.
• 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 were picked as the preseason favorites to win the MVC. 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 returned eight total letter winners and welcomed seven newcomers over the summer, 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

• Despite trailing by as much as 17, Belmont outscored the nation's now 12th-ranked team 37-36 in the second half and 23-21 in the fourth quarter.
• Behind a spirted performance from Jones, the Bruins got within five with four-and-a-half minutes remaining following a 9-2 scoring run.
• Belmont committed a season-low 10 turnovers while forcing 17 Kentucky turnovers, which resulted in 20 points.
• The Bruins tallied nine steals and were 15-for-17 (88.2 percent) at the free-throw line.
• Much of Belmont's fight was due in large part to Jones' play as she recorded her fourth career double-double.
• Scoring a season-high 24 points on 6-for-11 shooting, including 4-for-9 from beyond the arc, Jones grabbed a season-best 10 rebounds, distributed a team-high five assists and came up with a game-high three steals. She was a perfect 8-for-8 at the free-throw line.
• In her second career start, sophomore guard Sanaa Tripp scored a career-best 16 points on 2-for-4 shooting from distance.
• Sophomore forward Hilary Fuller provided 11 points for her seventh double-figure scoring game this season.
• The Wildcats, which are one of the tallest teams in the country, dominated the glass and owned the paint with a plus-20 rebounding margin (49-29) and a 30-20 advantage in the lane. On the offensive boards, Kentucky outrebounded the Bruins 19-7 and earned 16 second-chance points.

Player of the Week

• For her season-best showing to date, Jones was named both MVC and Tennessee Sports Writers Association (TSWA) Player of the Week.
• Jones' 24-point outing against the nationally-ranked Wildcats was her 80th career double-figure scoring game.
• Jones has scored in double figures in four of her last five games.

1,500 Points and All-Tournament Team Honors

• Jones reached 1,500 career points with her 19-point performance versus now 21st-ranked Ohio State on Monday, Nov. 24 in the Bahamas. She is only the 11th player in Belmont history to reach 1,500 career points.
• The Bruins' NCAA era leader in steals (380) and all-time leader in both games started (146) and games played (147), Jones is third among active career steals leaders across all divisions of college basketball. Jones needs just 24 more steals to set Belmont's all-time steals record.
• After averaging 17.5 points on 57.9 percent (11-of-19) shooting, including going 8-for-13 (61.5 percent) from distance, 4.5 rebounds, 3.0 steals and 2.5 assists in the Bruins' two games in the Bahamas, Jones was named to the 2025 Baha Mar Hoops Pink Flamingo Championship Goombay Division All-Tournament Team.

A Winning Program

• In its 58th season as a program, Belmont has claimed the 15th-most victories in NCAA Division I women's basketball (1,113).
• 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, 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.
• In nine seasons, coach Brooks has compiled a remarkable 202-74 record. His 73.2 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 in the nation and this season is no different.
• 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. 15/15 Kentucky last Sunday after traveling to both No. 6/6 Oklahoma (Nov. 3) and No. 12/12 Tennessee (Nov. 13). In addition to hosting receiving-votes Princeton (Dec. 6) and facing receiving-votes Ohio State in the Bahamas (Nov. 24), Belmont welcomes Duke, who's receiving votes in the coaches poll, to Nashville Saturday.
• With Oklahoma, Tennessee, Ohio State, Princeton, Kentucky and Duke, the Bruins face six NCAA Tournament teams from a season ago during their non-conference slate. 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.

Mid-Major Rankings

• Belmont is receiving the most votes of teams not ranked in this week's CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll.

At the Curb

• The Bruins are 116-19 (.859) at home since the start of the 2015-16 season.
• Belmont has a home winning percentage of .748 (214-72) inside the Curb since the arena opened prior to the 2003-04 season.
• Under coach Brooks, the Bruins are an exceptional 92-18 (.836) at the Curb.
• In conference play, Belmont has been even more dominant at home, going 100-14 (.877) since 2012. In his first eight seasons, coach Brooks lost only eight league games at the Curb with a 66-8 (.892) record.
• For four-straight seasons and nine of the last 10, the Bruins have won 10 or more games at the Curb.

Versus Evansville

• Wednesday night will be the ninth all-time meeting between Belmont and Evansville with the Bruins holding a 6-2 lead in the series.
• Belmont is an unblemished 6-0 versus the Purple Aces since joining the MVC.
• All six previous matchups as MVC adversaries have been decided by no fewer than 18 points.
• The Bruins defeated Evansville by 25 and 27 points last season, including 75-48 in the two teams' last meeting to wrap up the 2024-25 regular season in Indiana. The road victory secured Belmont's 10 consecutive 20-win season.
• Late last January, the Bruins topped the Purple Aces 90-65 at the Curb.
• On Feb. 10, 2023, Belmont earned a 40-point, 93-53 home victory over Evansville.
• In the late '90s, the Purple Aces got two wins against the Bruins in a home-and-home series.

About the Purple Aces

• Evansville (2-8) has lost each of its last three outings, including a 63-57 home setback to Austin Peay this past Sunday afternoon.
• The Purple Aces' only wins this season have come at home, a 75-58 triumph over Indiana University Indianapolis on Nov. 20 and a 65-52 victory over Northern Illinois on Nov. 30.
• Evansville is 0-7 on the road.
• The Purple Aces went 7-25 overall last year and finished 10th in the then 12-team Valley with a 3-17 MVC record.
• Evansville hasn't won more than six games in Valley play since the 2016-17 season.
• Sophomore 5-foot-8 guard Camryn Runner, last season's MVC Freshman of the Year, leads the Purple Aces in scoring (15.6 PPG), assists (3.8 APG) and steals (1.5 SPG).
• Sophomore 5-foot-9 guard Logan Luebbers Palmer, who was tabbed an MVC Player to Watch along with Runner and sophomore 5-foot-10 guard Kylee Norkus, is also averaging double-figure scoring (12.9 PPG).
• Sophomore 5-foot-9 guard/forward Elle Snyder leads the team in rebounding (6.9 RPG).

Up Next
Belmont closes out its four-game homestand with the Atlantic Coast Conference's Duke Saturday afternoon. Tipoff from the Curb is set for 2 p.m. The Bruins' last game before Christmas 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.