Bruins Get Back in Win Column, Wallop Southern Illinois 73-43 Thursday Night

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – For the second time this season, the Belmont University women's basketball team defeated its opponent by 30 points with a decisive, 73-43 victory over visiting Southern Illinois University Thursday night inside the Curb Event Center. Snapping a four-game slide, the Bruins improved to 17-11 overall and 12-5 in Missouri Valley Conference play with the lopsided win.
 
Belmont limited the Salukis (4-22, 2-15 MVC) to 29.6 percent shooting and only 16 made field goals (16-of-54) for the entire night, while coming up with a season-high tying 14 steals and forcing 22 turnovers.
 
Three Bruins scored in double figures and all 12 available Belmont players recorded a basket. Eight different Bruins tallied five or more points and Belmont scored at least 18 points in all four quarters.
 
Totaling 19 points off Southern Illinois' miscues, the Bruins dominated the paint where Belmont outscored the Salukis 42-20 and held a plus-24 advantage on the glass with a season-high 51 rebounds. Four Bruins secured six rebounds and all 12 saw no fewer than two-and-a-half minutes on the court.
 
Belmont got 32 of its points off the bench, taking its first lead two-and-a-half minutes in and leading from the 6:52 mark of the opening quarter onward.
 
The Bruins built a nine-point lead after the first five minutes of action and led by 10 through one quarter of play at 19-9. A three-pointer from graduate guard Kendall Holmes, who was honored pregame for reaching 1,000 career points at the University of Illinois Chicago earlier this month, put Belmont in front 22-11 early in the second quarter and the Bruins led by double digits the rest of the way.
 
Junior guard Emily La Chapell scored on a layup at the 6:22 mark of the second quarter to give Belmont its first 20-point lead at 31-11 and the Bruins held a 19-point, 37-18 advantage at halftime.
 
Beginning the second quarter with a 16-3 scoring run, Belmont held Southern Illinois to 25 percent (6-of-24) shooting across the first half. Holmes accounted for eight points in the second quarter and scored all of her team-high 12 points in the half.
 
After the Salukis trimmed the deficit to 16 within the first minute of the second half, the Bruins proceeded to go on an impressive 16-0 run that all but took Southern Illinois out of the game for good. Sophomore guard Kensley Feltner finished off an old-fashioned three-point play with her free throw capping Belmont's lengthy run and giving the Bruins their first 30-point lead at 53-21 with just over four minutes to go in the third quarter.
 
Belmont led 55-28 going into the fourth quarter.
 
The Salukis' Alice Curman hit a three 40 seconds into the final quarter as Southern Illinois completed a 10-2 run to get within 24 at 55-31. It would be as close as the Salukis would get for the remainder of the game as the Bruins led by 30-plus for the last 6:22.
 
Senior guard Liz Suder drew a roar from the bench when she scored her first points of the season on a jumper with 1:52 left.

??? ?????? ??????????!!!!@esuder32_2020 #ItsBruinTime | #Splashville pic.twitter.com/o55gxz6tef

— Belmont WBasketball (@BelmontWBB) February 28, 2025

Belmont shot 50 percent (8-of-16) in the fourth quarter led by six points from graduate guard Jacee Busick.
 
The Bruins connected on two of their five second-half three-point attempts and shot 44.1 percent (15-of-34) from the field in the half. Overall, Belmont shot 41.8 percent (28-of-67) and was 5-for-15 (33.3 percent) from beyond the arc.
 
Senior forward Kendal Cheesman joined Holmes in double figures with 11 points and six boards, while sophomore guard Jailyn Banks also posted double-digit scoring with 10 points, three assists and three steals.
 
Freshmen Sanaa Tripp and Hilary Fuller both grabbed a career-high six rebounds and senior forward Carmyn Harrison finished with six points and six boards as well.

Freshies doin' work! ??#ItsBruinTime | #Splashville pic.twitter.com/0weVg42nMg

— Belmont WBasketball (@BelmontWBB) February 28, 2025

Southern Illinois starting forward Gift Uchenna scored a game-high 13 points and the Salukis got 12 points from starting guard Kayla Cooper, who also claimed four steals.

?? Postgame with graduate guard @KendallHolmes9 and HC @BartABrooks following the Bruins' dominant win over Southern Illinois ????#ItsBruinTime | #Splashville pic.twitter.com/RZru9oAwJC

— Belmont WBasketball (@BelmontWBB) February 28, 2025

Of Note

• The Bruins remain undefeated against Southern Illinois, improving to 8-0 in the series.
• Belmont wins its 1,100th game as a program, the 16th-most of any NCAA Division I women's basketball team.
• The Bruins move to 9-3 at home this season.
• Cheesman has scored in double figures in 10-straight games and Banks has scored in double figures in five consecutive outings.
• Both Cheesman and Banks have reached double figures in 20 of 28 games this season.

Up Next
Belmont hosts MVC-leader Missouri State Saturday afternoon for senior day. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. from the Curb with Cheesman, Harrison, Suder, Holmes and Busick to be recognized for their contributions to the program prior to the game. The senior day matchup will be broadcast on The Valley on ESPN, available on ESPN+.
 
Ticket Info
Single-game tickets for the 2024-25 season are still available. For more information, visit BelmontBruins.com/Tickets or call 615-460-BALL.
 
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.