Women’s Basketball Returns to Game Action at Southern Illinois Monday Evening

 
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Returning to game action following a nine-day break for the holidays, the Belmont University women's basketball team begins Missouri Valley Conference play in earnest Monday evening at Southern Illinois. Tipoff from the Banterra Center in Carbondale, Illinois, is scheduled for 6 p.m.
 
The MVC road game will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Mike Trude and Dave McKenzie on the call. The Monday night matchup 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

• Monday's road tilt is sandwiched between two four-game homestands for the Bruins (5-7, 1-0 MVC).
• Four of Belmont's six games in December are at home, and the Bruins begin 2026 with four straight in the Music City.
• Belmont began MVC action with a 77-67 home victory over the University of Evansville on Wednesday, Dec. 17. It was the Bruins' 10th-straight conference opening win.
• Sophomore forward Hilary Fuller has scored a career-best 19 points in both of her last two outings. She leads the team with nine double-figure scoring games this season.
• Belmont faced three top-15 ranked Southeastern Conference opponents during non-conference play. The Bruins hosted 15th-ranked Kentucky on Sunday, Dec. 14 after challenging 12th-ranked Tennessee on Nov. 13 in Knoxville and sixth-ranked Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma, in their season opener.
• Ninth-year program leader Bart Brooks secured his 200th career victory with Belmont's 72-66 road 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

• Belmont suffered a 76-46 home defeat at the hands of receiving-votes Duke on Saturday, Dec. 20 before the Bruins' nine-day break from game action.
• Limited to a season-low 27 percent shooting, Belmont was held to just 17 made field goals.
• On the heels of an Elite Eight appearance last season, the Blue Devils allowed only 15 first-half points before scoring 46 second-half points on 51.5 percent shooting.
• The Bruins went a season-low 3-for-18 (16.7 percent) from three-point range and were outrebounded 48-38, conceding 21 second-chance points.
• Going 7-for-15 from the floor, Fuller notched 19 points for the second consecutive game.
• Sophomore guard Quinn Eubank pulled down a team-best nine rebounds and Jones had a team-high four assists to go along with six boards and three steals.
• The 30-point loss was Belmont's largest margin of defeat since last November's 79-47 setback at Duke.
• It marked the first time the Bruins were held below 20 points in a half since Belmont's road game against the Blue Devils last season. The Bruins scored just 17 first-half points in their loss at Duke on Nov. 21 last year.

Player of the Week

• Jones was named both MVC and Tennessee Sports Writers Association (TSWA) Player of the Week for the week of Dec. 8-14 after scoring a season-high 24 points on 6-for-11 shooting, including making 4-for-9 from outside, grabbing a season-best 10 rebounds, dishing out a team-high five assists, and coming up with a game-high three steals against top-15 ranked Kentucky on Sunday, Dec. 14. She was also a perfect 8-for-8 at the free-throw line.
• Jones' 24-point outing against the nationally-ranked Wildcats was her 80th career double-figure scoring game.

1,500 Points and All-Tournament Team Honors

• Jones reached 1,500 career points with her 19-point performance versus now 19th-ranked Ohio State on Monday, Nov. 24 in Nassau, Bahamas. She is only the 11th Belmont player to reach 1,500 career points.
• The Bruins' NCAA era leader in steals (387) and all-time leader in both games started (148) and games played (149), Jones is third among active career steals leaders across all divisions of college basketball. Jones needs just 18 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 (1,114).
• 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 190-40 (.826) record in conference play.
• Altogether, including conference tournaments, the Bruins have gone 216-47 (.821) against league opponents across the last 14 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 203-75 record. His 73.0 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 130-20 (.867) 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 147-24 (.860) 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 were 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 took on a trio of top-15 teams, including hosting No. 15/15 Kentucky on Dec. 14 after traveling to both No. 6/6 Oklahoma (Nov. 3) and No. 12/12 Tennessee (Nov. 13). In addition to hosting Duke (Dec. 20), who was receiving 13 votes in the coaches poll, and receiving-votes Princeton (Dec. 6), Belmont went up against receiving-votes Ohio State in the Bahamas (Nov. 24).
• With Oklahoma, Tennessee, Ohio State, Princeton, Kentucky and Duke, the Bruins faced 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 sixth-most votes (24) of teams not ranked in this week's CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll.

Versus Southern Illinois

• Monday will be the ninth all-time meeting between Belmont and the Salukis.
• The Bruins have won all eight previous meetings in the series.
• Coach Brooks is 7-0 versus Southern Illinois.
• Prior to Belmont joining the Valley, the two teams met on a neutral floor in Long Beach, California, on Dec. 21, 2002. The Bruins defeated the Salukis 67-57 in the non-conference affair.
• In the last matchup between the two teams, Belmont routed Southern Illinois 73-43 in Nashville on Feb. 27. Eight different Bruins scored at least five points, and Belmont held the Salukis below 30 percent shooting (16-of-54).
• In the Bruins' last trip to Carbondale on Jan. 4, Belmont came away with a 79-66 triumph. Four different Bruins scored in double figures led by Banks' 18 points, and Belmont shot 50 percent from the field.

About the Salukis

• Southern Illinois (3-7, 0-1 MVC) has just one Division I win this season, a 76-71 home victory over Southeast Missouri State on Dec. 6.
• The Salukis' other two wins came at home against Lewis University (Division II) and Judson University (NAIA).
• Prior to the Christmas break, Southern Illinois defeated Judson 85-29 on Saturday, Dec. 20.
• The Salukis began MVC play on Thursday, Dec. 18, falling 64-47 on the road at Bradley.
• Last season, Southern Illinois tied for last in the Valley with a 2-18 MVC record. The Salukis went 4-26 overall.
• Sophomore 5-foot-8 guard Alayna Kraus, a transfer from Oral Roberts and a preseason MVC Player to Watch, leads Southern Illinois in scoring (16.0 PPG).
• Graduate 5-foot-11 forward Indya Green, a Georgia Southern transfer and former MVC All-Tournament Team selection while at Missouri State, leads the Salukis in rebounding (7.7 RPG) and is averaging 9.7 points per game.
• Junior 5-foot-9 guard Kayla Cooper is also averaging double-figure scoring (10.4 PPG), while junior 5-foot-10 guard Tkiyah Nelson leads the team in assists (3.8 APG).

Up Next
The Bruins begin a four-game homestand with Bradley Friday afternoon before hosting Illinois State next Sunday afternoon. Tipoff from the Curb Friday is slated for 2 p.m. Both MVC home games next weekend 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.