Women's Basketball Visits UIC Sunday Afternoon

 
CHICAGO – Following its impressive defensive performance Friday evening in northwest Indiana at Valparaiso University, the Belmont University women's basketball team takes its nine-game winning streak into the Windy City. The Bruins (15-7, 10-1 MVC) face the University of Illinois Chicago Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. inside Credit Union 1 Arena.
 
Sunday's Missouri Valley Conference road game will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Terry Bonadonna (play-by-play) and Kacy Standohar (analyst) on the call. The contest can also be heard on Belmont Bruins Radio, available online, with Dr. Rich Tiner providing live play-by-play of the action. Live stats can be followed by visiting BelmontBruins.com.
 
What's Bruin

• Belmont has put together at least a seven-game winning streak in 10-straight seasons, including a 10-game winning streak in seven of the last nine seasons.
• The Bruins have averaged 85.8 points per game across their last four wins and scored 80 or more points in four of their last six games.
• Friday evening, Belmont dimmed the Beacons of Valparaiso 69-41 behind elite defensive play and senior forward Kendal Cheesman's 21-point, 11-rebound double-double.
• Last weekend, the Bruins outpaced one of the top offensive teams in the nation in a 96-89 victory over MVC rival Murray State inside the Curb Event Center. The combined 185 points between the two teams tied for the third-highest scoring women's game in arena history.
• Five or more players have reached double figures in three different games this season.
• Belmont has been one of the most balanced scoring teams in the nation this season with at least four Bruins reaching double figures in 12 games, including six of the last nine outings. Only Kansas State (17), Virginia Tech (15) and Notre Dame (13) have also had four players score in double figures in 12 or more games this season.
• Nine of Belmont's 12 available players have scored in double figures at least once this season.
• Two Bruins are Chicago-area natives – junior guard Claire Hyde (Wheaton, Ill.) and graduate guard Kendall Holmes (Plainfield, Ill.).
• Belmont has held its opponent under 67 points in 14 of its 15 victories this season, including nine below 60 points.
• For four consecutive weeks, the Bruins have gone unbeaten in the Valley.
• Securing its first Iowa road trip sweep, Belmont earned its first-ever win in Des Moines with a dominant 80-65 victory at Drake on Jan. 16. The Bruins handed the Bulldogs their first MVC loss in nearly a year and snapped Drake's 19-game winning streak against Valley opponents. Belmont became the first MVC team to defeat the Bulldogs inside Drake's Knapp Center since Jan. 11, 2023 (Northern Iowa).
• The Bruins' strength of schedule is currently ranked as the 57th-most difficult in the country according to the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET).
• Facing four top-20 opponents and six power conference teams, Belmont went 5-6 during its strenuous non-conference schedule which ranked as the third-toughest in the nation.
• The Bruins enter Sunday 7-6 away from home this season, including 6-4 in true road games and 4-1 on the road in the Valley.
• Five players scored in double figures in Belmont's wire-to-wire battle at 16th-ranked Kentucky on Dec. 20 to close out non-conference play.
• On Nov. 17, the Bruins nearly upset top-15 ranked Ohio State inside the Curb in Nashville. Belmont was knotted up with the Buckeyes at 63 with 30 seconds remaining and held a nine-point, 59-50 lead with just over five minutes to go.
• The Bruins' season opener was at 13th-ranked Kansas State on Nov. 7.

Last Time Out

• Giving up only 41 points, which were the fewest Belmont has allowed in a game this season, the Bruins held the Beacons to 26.9 percent shooting and only 14 made field goals (14-of-52). It represented the lowest shooting percentage Belmont has limited an opponent to this season.
• The Bruins forced 21 Valparaiso turnovers, which led to 23 of Belmont's 69 points, and came up with 12 steals.
• Leading for over 38 minutes of the game, the Bruins trailed for only 17 seconds late in the opening quarter and led by double digits for all but 10 seconds of the second half.
• Belmont was plus-eight on the glass, outrebounding the Beacons 40-32, and outscored Valparaiso 30-20 in the paint.
• The Bruins got 25 points off the bench and handed out 20 assists for the fourth consecutive outing.
• In the second half Friday, Belmont shot 50 percent, outscored the Beacons 35-16 and held Valparaiso to only four made field goals on 16 percent shooting.

Player of the Week

• After recording her first double-double of the season and third of her career last weekend, graduate guard Tuti Jones was named MVC Player of the Week last Monday afternoon.
• In last Saturday's win over the Racers, Jones scored a career-high tying 29 points and brought down a season-high 10 rebounds. She went 10-for-15 from the field, including 4-for-7 from long range, was a perfect 5-for-5 at the free-throw line, came up with a pair of steals and distributed four assists.
• A native of Troy, Alabama (Charles Henderson HS), Jones nailed a deep wing three-pointer as time expired in the third quarter to get the Bruins within a point and give Belmont all the momentum heading into the pivotal fourth.

Player Notes

• Cheesman registered her 10th career and team-best fifth double-double of the season in Friday's win over the Beacons. She has scored over 20 points in consecutive games and is averaging 10.7 rebounds over her last three outings.
• In the Bruins' 88-58 home rout of Indiana State on Jan. 26, Cheesman pulled down a career-high 15 rebounds to go along with 11 points for her fourth double-double of the season. The Tampa, Florida (H.B. Plant HS), native went 8-for-12 from the floor and was 6-for-9 from outside for a season-high 24 points last weekend against Murray State.
• Earning four steals in four of the last six games, Jones has scored in double figures in 11 of the last 13 games. At Valparaiso earlier this weekend, Jones dished out a season-high tying seven assists.
• Tallying four steals in both of Belmont's victories in Iowa, Jones reached 300 career steals in the win at Drake. She is one of just 21 active players across all NCAA divisions and one of only 11 at the Division I level with 300 career steals.
• Already the Bruins' NCAA era career steals leader (316), Jones moved into second place all-time in program history with a pair of steals in the MVC-opening home win over Bradley on Dec. 29.
• Holmes has reached double figures in 15 of 22 games this season and with 11 points Friday evening versus the Beacons, she is a single point from 1,000 for her career. In last Saturday's triumph over the rival Racers, Holmes notched a season-high 21 points on 7-for-11 shooting, including going 4-for-7 from deep.
• Freshman guard Sanaa Tripp has been outstanding as of late, scoring a career-high 13 points on 5-for-9 shooting in Friday's win at Valparaiso. She hit three of her five three-point attempts and also snagged a career-high four rebounds. Last weekend, Tripp provided back-to-back three-pointers to cap a lengthy third-quarter scoring run in Belmont's win over Murray State.
• Sophomore guard Jailyn Banks was sensational in the Bruins' 74-60 win at Northern Iowa on Jan. 18, nearly recording a triple-double with her first career double-double. She scored 16 points, grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds and distributed a career-best eight assists, not to mention collecting a pair of steals.
• Reaching double figures in 15 of 22 games this season, Banks has scored in double figures in 11 of the last 13 outings.
• Banks tied her career high of 23 points in both of Belmont's last two non-conference games against Southeastern Conference opponents (No. 16/15 Kentucky and Mississippi State). In fact, all three of Banks' career-high 23-point performances have been against SEC opponents away from home. A native of Spring Hill, Tennessee (Middle Tennessee Christian School), Banks also put up 23 points in her collegiate debut at Missouri to begin the 2023-24 season.
• Junior guard Emily La Chapell led all scorers in the road win over the Panthers in Cedar Falls, Iowa, with 19 points on 7-for-14 shooting as she went 4-for-8 from downtown. In the Bruins' decisive, 65-52 victory over mid-state foe Middle Tennessee on Dec. 7, La Chapell scored a career-high 26 points on a career-best 12-for-17 shooting.
• Sophomore guard Kensley Feltner scored a career-high 11 points in back-to-back games in the home wins over Evansville and Indiana State, Jan. 24-26. In the blowout of the Sycamores, Feltner nearly tallied a double-double with a career-high eight rebounds.
• Graduate guard Jacee Busick posted a season-best 10 points on 5-for-6 shooting versus Indiana State on Jan. 26.
• After averaging 15.5 points on 76.9 percent (10-of-13) shooting, 7.0 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 1.5 steals in the Sunshine State against Davidson and receiving-votes Michigan, senior forward Carmyn Harrison was named to the Fort Myers Tip-Off Shell Division All-Tournament Team. The post player from Memphis, Tennessee (Hutchison School), scored at least 13 points in three-straight outings and reached double figures in four of five games from Nov. 14-30.

Newcomer of the Week

• Following her valiant effort against the nationally-ranked Wildcats in Lexington, Kentucky, Holmes was named MVC Newcomer of the Week on Monday, Dec. 23.
• Collecting Belmont's first weekly conference award of the season, Holmes scored 18 points at top-20 ranked Kentucky on 6-for-10 shooting, including going 4-for-6 from outside the arc.
• A native of Plainfield, Illinois (Benet Academy), Holmes sparked the Bruins' comeback attempt as she scored 11 of her 18 in the fourth quarter on a perfect 3-for-3 shooting from distance. It was her deep wing three-pointer that got Belmont within a possession in the final minute.

Nothing but NET

• With the NET rankings released on a daily basis since the beginning of December, the Bruins sit at No. 54.
• Last season, Belmont finished 71st in the NET.
• Six of the Bruins' seven losses this season have been against teams ranked in the top 35 of the NET – No. 7 Kansas State, No. 8 Duke, No. 15 Ohio State, No. 17 Kentucky, No. 26 Michigan and No. 32 Mississippi State.
• Belmont owns highest NET ranking in the 12-team MVC. Murray State at No. 63, Missouri State at No. 72, Drake at No. 80 and Northern Iowa at No. 92 are also ranked in the top 100 of the NET out of the Valley.
• UIC enters Sunday ranked 140th in the NET, which is the seventh-highest NET ranking in the MVC.

Conference Dominance

• Since the 2012-13 season, the Bruins have compiled a remarkable 184-36 (.836) record in conference play and won 12 combined championships, including regular season and tournament titles.
• Head coach Bart Brooks is a ridiculous 124-16 (.886) in conference action in eight seasons and has never lost more than three league games in a single season.
• Altogether, including conference tournaments, Belmont has gone 208-42 (.832) against league opposition across 13 seasons.

MVC Preseason Poll

• The Bruins were picked third in the MVC Preseason Poll as voted upon by the league's head coaches, media members and communications contacts but garnered three first-place votes.
• Belmont has finished first or second in its conference each of the last nine seasons.

Early Tests Against Some of the Nation's Best

• The Bruins went up against three teams who are ranked in the top 15 of both the Associated Press (AP) Top 25 and USA Today Sports/Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Coaches Poll within the first three weeks of the season. In addition to its season-opening visit to now No. 12/10 K-State, Belmont hosted now No. 8/8 Ohio State and traveled to now No. 10/12 Duke on Nov. 21.

A Winning Program

• The Bruins are the winningest program in the state of Tennessee over the previous 10 seasons, having claimed 237 victories with a winning percentage of .731 from 2014-24.
• Only nine other programs have also won 20-plus games for nine-straight seasons – UConn, Stanford, Baylor, South Carolina, Iowa, NC State, Indiana, South Dakota State and Florida Gulf Coast.
• Belmont has won the 16th-most games of any NCAA Division I women's basketball program (1,098).
• Belmont is the only school in the nation to win 20-plus games for nine consecutive seasons in both women's and men's basketball.

A Championship Program

• The Bruins (11) are one of only five teams in the nation to have won more than 10 combined conference championships, regular season and tournament, over the last eight seasons. UConn (16), Florida Gulf Coast (14), South Carolina (11) and Princeton (10) are the other four.

National Postseason Success

• Belmont has made six of the last eight NCAA Tournaments and reached the Round of 32 back-to-back years in 2022 and 2021.
• The Bruins capped their 2023-24 season by claiming their third national postseason victory in four years with a 77-59 road win at Ball State in the first-ever Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT) game.

National Recognition

• Belmont has either been ranked or received votes in at least one of the two major national polls in eight of the previous nine seasons.

Mid-Major Poll

• The Bruins moved up three spots to No. 18 in this week's CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25^® poll.

Last Season

• Belmont went 26-9 to secure its most wins in a season since 2018-19. Going 17-3 in MVC play, the Bruins finished second in their second year in the Valley.

Experience and Youth

• Returning starters Jones, Cheesman and Banks, all of whom were All-MVC Third Team selections last year and were named Preseason All-MVC Second Team, are three of eight returning letter winners for Belmont.
• The Bruins have a great mix of experience and youth in 2024-25 with fifth-year Jones, senior Cheesman and graduate transfer guards Busick (Charlotte) and Holmes (South Dakota/DePaul) providing plenty of starting knowledge. Busick and Holmes brought in a combined 1,382 points and 150 Division I starts. In her Belmont debut at top-15 ranked K-State, Holmes scored a team-high 12 points. Through 22 games, Holmes is the Bruins' second-leading scorer (11.5 PPG).
• Over the summer, Belmont also welcomed a trio of talented freshmen with guard Quinn Eubank (Union, Ky.), forward Hilary Fuller (Brisbane, Queensland, Australia) and Tripp (Covington, Ga.) arriving in the Music City.

Under Coach Brooks

• In his eighth season at the helm, 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 for the second consecutive year.
• On Nov. 29, 2023, Brooks picked up his 150th win in less than 200 career games with the Bruins' 72-68 victory at Troy. He has led Belmont to a remarkable record of 187-62 (.751) and the Bruins are an astonishing 139-19 (.880) against conference opponents, including league tournament games, under his leadership.
• In conference tournament games, Brooks has gone 15-3 and he is 4-1 in championship contests.
• In the key months of February and March under Brooks' direction, Belmont is 81-14 (.853).
• The third-fastest head coach to 100 career victories in Division I women's basketball history, Brooks ranks among the top 20 of active Division I head coaches in terms of winning percentage.

Among the Toughest Schedules in the Nation

• The Bruins annually play one of the best non-conference schedules in the country and this season was no different. Six of Belmont's 11 non-conference opponents were from power conferences. Combined with their MVC slate, the Bruins face 10 teams who won 20 or more games last season and have a date with nine programs who finished in the top 100 of the final 2023-24 NET rankings.
• Additionally, Belmont takes on 12 national postseason teams from a year ago, including six who reached the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

Bruins at Home

• The Bruins are 110-15 (.880) at home since the start of the 2015-16 season.
• Belmont has a home winning percentage of .754 (208-68) inside the Curb since the arena opened prior to the 2003-04 season.
• Under coach Brooks, the Bruins are an exceptional 86-14 (.860) inside the Curb.
• In conference play, Belmont has been even more dominant at home, going 98-12 (.891) since 2012. In eight seasons, coach Brooks has lost only six league games at the Curb with a 64-6 (.914) record.
• The Bruins went 13-2 at home last season, securing the most home wins in a single season since 2019-20.

Versus UIC

• Sunday afternoon will be only the sixth all-time meeting between Belmont and the Flames.
• The Bruins won the first five matchups, including a gritty 70-65 victory over UIC in last year's MVC Tournament quarterfinals in Moline, Illinois.
• On Jan. 10, Belmont defeated the Flames 67-52 in Nashville behind four double-figure scorers, including 17 points on 7-for-13 shooting from La Chapell. The Bruins knocked down 10 threes, assisted on 18 of 26 baskets and held a plus-17 margin on the glass (42-25). Belmont led for all but the scoreless opening 40 seconds and Cheesman posted a double-double of 14 rebounds and 10 points.
• Making their first stop in Chicago since March 2, 2023, the Bruins cruised past UIC 81-56 in Belmont's first-ever game at Credit Union 1 Arena during both team's inaugural season in the Valley.

About the Flames

• The Flames (9-11, 6-5 MVC) own the second-longest winning streak in the MVC at four games.
• Since its early January loss to the Bruins in the Music City, UIC has gone 5-2.
• On Friday night, the Flames defeated Murray State 79-70 after shooting 55.6 percent (30-of-54) from the floor and going 8-for-13 from downtown. UIC outrebounded the Racers 38-23 and outscored Murray State 40-32 in the paint.
• The Flames are 6-4 at home this season but 4-1 inside Credit Union 1 Arena in MVC play.
• Senior 6-foot guard/forward Makiya Williams, an All-MVC Third Team selection last year and member of the 2023-24 MVC All-Newcomer Team, is the only UIC player averaging double-figure scoring (11.2 PPG).
• Graduate 6-foot-3 forward Jaida McCloud leads the Flames in rebounding (5.8 RPG), while graduate 5-foot-5 guard Kristian Young (3.4 APG) and senior 5-foot-7 guard Sandra Frau-Garcia (3.3 APG) lead the team in assists.
• Graduate 5-foot-10 forward Keimari Rimmer, a Preseason All-MVC Second Team choice and returning MVC All-Newcomer Team performer, is averaging 7.5 points and 4.7 boards per game.

Up Next
Belmont returns to the Curb next week, hosting Northern Iowa Thursday evening before welcoming Drake to Nashville Saturday afternoon. Tipoff between the Bruins and the Panthers Thursday is slated for 6 p.m. The game will be broadcast on the MVC TV Network, distributed on Gray Media and also available on ESPN+.
 
Ticket Info
Flex pack plans for the 2024-25 season, along with single-game tickets, 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.