Bruins Begin Four-Game Homestand with Receiving-Votes Princeton Saturday Afternoon

 
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Beginning a four-game homestand, the Belmont University women's basketball team welcomes receiving-votes Princeton University to the Curb Event Center Saturday afternoon. Tipoff from the Music City is set for 1 p.m.
 
The midday game between two of the top mid-major programs in the nation will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Dr. Rich Tiner (play-by-play) on the call. Landen Secrest will be reporting from the sideline. The contest can also be heard on Belmont Bruins Radio, available online. Live stats of the intriguing matchup can be followed by visiting BelmontBruins.com.
 
Red and blue rally wigs will be given away to all fans in attendance beginning one hour prior to tipoff, while supplies last. The Bruins will also be available for postgame autographs in the Maddox Grand Atrium of the Curb.
 
What's Bruin

• Following a weeklong break from game action after playing in the 2025 Baha Mar Hoops Pink Flamingo Championship in Nassau, Bahamas, Belmont (4-4) returned Wednesday night and earned a 71-65 victory at mid-state foe Middle Tennessee.
• Wednesday's road triumph was the Bruins' fourth-straight win against the Blue Raiders and Belmont improved to 7-1 versus Middle Tennessee since the rivalry was renewed in 2018-19.
• The Bruins face their fourth opponent this season receiving votes in both national top-25 polls.
• Two of Belmont's first three games were at top-15 ranked Southeastern Conference opponents. 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 also put receiving-votes Ohio State to the test in the Bahamas on Nov. 24.
• Heading into the fourth quarter in all three of their games against teams nationally ranked or receiving top-25 votes, the Bruins led, were tied or were within two possessions. Belmont led the Lady Vols heading into the final quarter, was tied with the Buckeyes and was within four of the Sooners after leading Oklahoma by three late in the third period.
• The Bruins are 2-0 at home this season after defeating Brown 83-61 in their home opener on Nov. 7 and routing rival Lipscomb 80-60 in the 79th Battle of the Boulevard on Nov. 19.
• Ninth-year program leader Bart 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 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 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

• Sophomore forward Hilary Fuller hit Belmont's lone field goal of the fourth quarter with 21 seconds remaining to put the Bruins up for good against the Blue Raiders in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Wednesday night.
• Junior guard Jailyn Banks went 9-for-10 at the free-throw line in the fourth stanza, scoring nine of Belmont's 13 points in the quarter and making four clutch foul shots in the final 15 seconds.
• Graduate guard Avery Strickland turned in a career-best performance, scoring a career-high 20 points, snagging a career-high tying six rebounds and tallying a career-high three steals. It marked the second consecutive game Strickland reached a career high in scoring as she poured in 19 points versus McNeese State in the Bahamas the prior Wednesday.
• Middle Tennessee tied the game twice in the last 90 seconds before Fuller's go-ahead basket.
• The Bruins led by as many as 20 late in the first half and never trailed with the score even for only 47 seconds.
• Belmont scored 30 points off 19 Blue Raider turnovers and led 41-26 at intermission after connecting on seven first-half three-pointers and shooting 53 percent in the second quarter.
• The Bruins withstood Middle Tennessee's determined comeback bid, which led to Belmont being outscored 21-4 from the 1:36 mark of the third quarter to the 1:42 mark of the fourth.
• Led by Brodie's four blocks, the Bruins came up with a season-high eight stuffs.
• Jones nearly posted a double-double with nine points, a team-best eight rebounds and a game-high four steals.
• Banks totaled 15 points and Fuller scored nine.

1,500 Points and All-Tournament Team Honors

• Jones reached 1,500 career points with her season-high 19-point performance versus now 23rd-ranked Ohio State on Monday, Nov. 24 in the Bahamas.
• Belmont's NCAA era leader in steals (372) and all-time leader in both games started (144) and games played (145), Jones is third among active career steals leaders across all divisions of college basketball.
• 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 202-72 record. His 73.7 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-25 teams, including hosting No. 17/16 Kentucky next Sunday, Dec. 14 after traveling to both No. 6/6 Oklahoma (Nov. 3) and No. 12/12 Tennessee (Nov. 13). In addition to receiving-votes Princeton, Belmont also hosts Duke (Dec. 20), who's receiving votes in the coaches poll, in two weeks after facing receiving-votes Ohio State in the Bahamas.
• 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 ranked 21st in this week's CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll and is 11th in the SB Nation Mid-Major Madness Other Top 25 rankings.

At the Curb

• The Bruins are 116-17 (.872) at home since the start of the 2015-16 season.
• Belmont has a home winning percentage of .754 (214-70) inside the Curb since the arena opened prior to the 2003-04 season.
• Under coach Brooks, the Bruins are an exceptional 92-16 (.852) 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 Princeton

• Saturday afternoon will be the first-ever meeting between Belmont and the Tigers.

Against the Ivy League

• The Bruins' only other games against Ivy League opponents were their two matchups with Brown. Belmont dropped a neutral-site game to the Bears in Bloomington, Indiana, in November of 2000 before defeating Brown in this season's home opener.

About the Tigers

• The Tigers are off to an impressive 8-1 start and are riding a six-game winning streak.
• Princeton defeated the BIG EAST Conference's Seton Hall (82-78) and DePaul (71-41) at home in its last two outings.
• The Tigers are ranked at the top of the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll after receiving 25 first-place votes this week. Princeton is also ranked second in the SB Nation Mid-Major Madness Other Top 25.
• Princeton has won three of the last four Ivy League Tournaments and four of the last six Ivy League regular season championships.
• An at-large No. 11 seed in the NCAA Tournament last March, the Tigers have been to four consecutive NCAA Tournaments and have advanced to the round of 32 two of the last four years.
• As a No. 10 seed in the 2023 NCAA Tournament, Princeton knocked off seventh-seeded NC State in the first round. In 2022 as a No. 11 seed, the Tigers dismissed sixth-seeded Kentucky in the round of 64 before coming within a point of No. 3 seed Indiana in the second round.
• Princton was selected as the preseason favorite to win the Ivy League this season, receiving 17 first-place votes. Last season, the Tigers finished second in the league with a 12-2 conference mark and a 21-8 overall record. In the First Four of the 2025 NCAA Tournament, Princeton was bounced by fellow No. 11 seed Iowa State.
• Seventh-year program leader Carla Berube is the second-fastest head coach to reach 100 victories at the Division I level (117 games) after a 17-year stint guiding NCAA Division III Tufts University in Massachusetts.
• The Tigers feature senior 5-foot-10 guard Madison St. Rose, the 2022-23 Ivy League Rookie of the Year, who is averaging a team-best 17.2 points on 47 percent shooting and 6.2 rebounds per game.
• Junior 5-foot-9 guard Skye Belker, who was a Second-Team All-Ivy pick last season, is shooting 51.5 percent from the field, including 45.9 percent from deep, and averaging 15.3 points and 3.4 assists per outing.
• Also a Second-Team All-Ivy pick last year, junior 6-foot-1 guard/forward Fadima Tall leads Princeton in both rebounding (7.8 RPG) and steals (1.9 SPG) and is averaging 14.9 points per contest.
• Junior 5-foot-8 guard Ashley Chea, an All-Ivy First Team performer in 2024-25, is averaging a team-best 3.8 assists to go along with 11.2 points and 1.7 steals per game.

Up Next
The Bruins host nationally-ranked Kentucky at the Curb next Sunday, Dec. 14. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. and the marquee matchup 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.