Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content
HOME OF the BELMONT BRUINS
Tuti_Jones_at_JamesMadison2025_WBIT_Quarterfinals
Sideline Media Productions - Keith Lucas
90
Winner Belmont BEL 25-12,15-5 MVC
45
James Madison JMU 30-6,18-0 Sun Belt
Winner
Belmont BEL
25-12,15-5 MVC
90
Final
45
James Madison JMU
30-6,18-0 Sun Belt
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Belmont BEL 22 18 31 19 90
James Madison JMU 11 9 11 14 45

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Bruins Double Up Dukes, 90-45, To Advance to WBIT Semifinals

Belmont Punches Ticket to Indianapolis with Road Win at James Madison Thursday Night, Will Face Villanova in National Postseason Semis Monday

HARRISONBURG, Va. – Behind a season-high 18 three-pointers and a 39-4 scoring run between the second and third quarters, the Belmont University women's basketball team routed James Madison University 90-45 on the road Thursday night in the 2025 Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT) quarterfinals. With their largest margin of victory of the season, the Bruins (25-12) advance to the WBIT semifinals in Indianapolis where Belmont will take on Villanova Monday.
 
Putting together one of their most complete performances of the year, and their best away from the Music City, the Bruins caught fire in the opening quarter inside the Atlantic Union Bank Center in Harrisonburg, Virginia, and never looked back.
 
After overcoming a 21-point deficit and winning by the smallest of margins last Sunday afternoon in the second round of the WBIT, Belmont led by double digits for the last 25:43 of the contest. Propelled by remarkable outings from graduate guards Tuti Jones and Kendall Holmes, the Bruins were equally as impressive on defense as they were on offense.
 
Belmont held the Dukes (30-6), who had lost only one home game all season, to 30.6 percent (19-of-62) shooting and outworked James Madison 48-34 on the glass. Limiting the Dukes to 3-for-13 (23.1 percent) from outside, the Bruins came up with 12 steals and scored 21 points off 18 JMU turnovers.
 
Jones and Holmes combined for over half (48) of Belmont's points and together went 13-for-20 from long range. On a career-high eight made triples (8-for-11), Jones scored a game-high 26 points while collecting a trio of steals on the defensive end. Making five threes and finishing 8-for-13 from the floor, Holmes scored a season-best 22 points, just one point off her career high.
 
The Dukes, the No. 1 seed in the upper right quadrant of the WBIT bracket, were one of the top four teams left out of the NCAA Tournament field after winning the Sun Belt Conference regular season title with an unblemished 18-0 record.
 
The No. 3 seed in the upper right quadrant of the bracket, the Bruins went 18-for-39 (46.2 percent) from beyond the arc and shot 46.3 percent (31-of-67) overall.

Holmes began the evening with a strong take to the basket, resulting in a layup plus the foul, and a basket by junior guard Emily La Chapell put Belmont up 8-2 a little over three minutes in. Five consecutive points from Holmes gave the Bruins a 17-8 lead six minutes in after Belmont started 6-for-8 from the field and 2-for-3 from distance.
 
The Bruins led 22-11 after one quarter of play with Jones and Holmes combining for 16 of Belmont's 22 points.
 
All nine of JMU's second quarter points were scored in the opening four minutes as the Bruins closed the half on a 13-0 run, holding the Dukes scoreless across the last 6:01. Triples from Jones, sophomore guard Jailyn Banks and Holmes completed the half with Belmont taking a commanding, 40-20 lead into the break. Neither team shot above 27 percent in the second quarter but all five of the Bruins' field goals in the stanza were from behind the arc. Holmes (14) and Jones (11) combined for 25 first-half points and Belmont held JMU to 23.5 percent (8-of-34) shooting in the first 20 minutes of action.

After the Dukes' Jamia Hazell scored the first bucket of the second half, the Bruins went on an inspired 18-2 run with six three-pointers. Jones accounted for five of the six threes, including splashing in the last four. Capping the remarkable stretch with her eighth trey of the game right before the midway point of the third quarter, Jones gave Belmont a 34-point advantage at 58-24. Extending their run to 26-2, the Bruins got contributions from senior forward Carmyn Harrison, graduate guard Jacee Busick and freshman guard Sanaa Tripp. It was Tripp's driving layup at the 2:38 mark of the third quarter that put Belmont up 40 at 64-24. Moments later, Banks knocked down a pair of free throws to finish the run.

Fittingly, Holmes drained a logo three as the third-quarter buzzer went off to make it 71-31 going into the fourth. Outscoring JMU 31-11 in the third quarter, the Bruins shot a blistering 64.7 percent (11-of-17) in the period and were a ridiculous 7-for-10 from deep. Jones scored 15 of her 26 in the third.

With the substantial lead, Belmont didn't just cruise in the fourth quarter but rather poured in more with strong play from its reserves. The Bruins scored 17 of their 19 points in the final quarter off the bench. Ending the game on a 12-2 run over the last four-and-a-half minutes, Belmont got a three-pointer from freshman guard Quinn Eubank before sophomore guard Kensley Feltner closed the night with five-straight points.
 
Feltner scored all seven of her points in the fourth.
 
The Bruins also doubled the Dukes in the second half, 50-25, on 53.1 percent (17-of-32) shooting. Belmont went 10-for-18 (55.6 percent) from three-point range while keeping JMU to 39.3 percent (11-of-28) shooting, including 1-for-6 from outside.

Tripp scored nine second-half points and finished with four boards. Banks also tallied nine points and dished out a game-high six assists. Senior forward Kendal Cheesman grabbed a game-best nine rebounds and Busick snagged a season-high seven caroms.

Angela Williams was the Dukes' lone double-figure scorer with 10 points and a team-high six rebounds. Of Note
  • Prior to Thursday, JMU had never given up more than 15 threes in a game in program history.
  • The 18 three-pointers are the most for the Bruins in a game since making a program-record 19 against Eastern Illinois on Feb. 21, 2019.
  • The 45-point win represents Belmont's largest margin of victory in national postseason play. It's also the Bruins' largest margin of victory since the 2022-23 season.
  • Belmont improves to 30-18 all-time against current Sun Belt Conference programs.
  • The meeting was the first between the two programs.
  • The Bruins have scored 90 points four times this season.
  • Jones is averaging a team-high 16 points and 2.7 steals in the WBIT.
Up Next
Belmont faces Villanova, the No. 4 seed in the lower right quadrant of the WBIT bracket, in the semifinals Monday afternoon in Indianapolis. Tipoff is set for 1:30 p.m. CT/2:30 p.m. ET from historic Hinkle Fieldhouse. The semifinal matchup will be broadcast on ESPNU. The WBIT championship game is next Wednesday, April 2 at 5 p.m. CT/6 p.m. ET. The title game will air on ESPN2.

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.
 
#ItsBruinTime
 
Print Friendly Version