Bruins Win Third Straight, Rout Sycamores 90-69 on the Road Thursday Night

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Behind a 57-point second half and five double-figure scorers, the Belmont University women's basketball team notched its third-straight victory Thursday night in Terre Haute, Indiana, with a 90-69 drubbing of Indiana State. Career-best performances from graduate guard Jacee Busick and sophomore guard Kensley Feltner highlighted the evening at the Hulman Center as the Bruins moved to 19-11 overall and 14-5 in Missouri Valley Conference play.
 
Sitting just one game back from MVC co-leaders Missouri State and Murray State with one regular season game to go, Belmont can ensure a top-four seed for next week's Credit Union 1 MVC Tournament with a win at the University of Evansville Saturday.
 
The Bruins hauled in a season-high tying 51 rebounds and made a season-high 36 field goals in completing the regular season sweep of the Sycamores (4-26, 2-17 MVC).
 
Reaching the 90-point mark for the third time this season, Belmont went 36-for-77 (46.8 percent) from the field, assisted on 18 of its baskets and came up with 11 steals. The Bruins outworked Indiana State 50-28 in the paint and outscored the Sycamores 16-3 in points off turnovers.
 
After trailing by as much as eight in the opening quarter and leading by only three at halftime, Belmont put up 28 and 29-point third and fourth quarters. The Bruins shot 52.5 percent (21-of-40) in the second half, including going 5-for-10 from beyond the arc.
 
Belmont got a season-high 39 points off its bench led by Busick's career-high 18 points on a career-best 8-for-11 shooting. Also coming off the bench, freshman guard Sanaa Tripp scored 12 points and snagged a career-high seven rebounds.
 
Making her first career start, Feltner tallied a career-high 17 points and pulled down six boards as she went 5-for-9 from the floor and 6-for-8 at the free-throw line.
 
Senior forward Kendal Cheesman continued her exceptional play as of late with her team-leading ninth double-double of the season and 14th of her career. She posted 10 points and collected a game-high 11 rebounds, while junior guard Emily La Chapell was the fifth Bruin in double figures with 10 points of her own on 2-for-3 shooting from outside.
 
Indiana State jumped out to an 18-11 lead in the first six minutes and the Sycamores went up 21-13 on a three-pointer from starting guard Bella Finnegan at the 3:25 mark of the first quarter. However, a short jumper by Cheesman ignited an 11-0 Belmont run to close the quarter. Busick grabbed an offensive rebound and laid it in right before the first-quarter buzzer to give the Bruins a 24-21 lead after one.
 
After Indiana State evened the score at 30 with 2:20 left in the first half, Tripp banked in a top-of-the-key three as the shot clock was winding down with just under a minute to go before halftime.
 
Belmont led 33-30 at the break.

Outscoring the Sycamores 28-13 in the third quarter on 55 percent (11-of-20) shooting, the Bruins took a nine-point, 46-37 lead three-and-a-half minutes in on a triple from Feltner. Belmont outpaced Indiana State 18-6 across the last 6:35 of the quarter with a layup from senior forward Carmyn Harrison making it 61-43 going into the fourth.
 
Free throws from Harrison early in the fourth quarter gave the Bruins their first 20-point lead of the game at 63-43 and Belmont was firmly in control the rest of the way. Consecutive layups by Feltner sparked an 11-3 Bruin run around the midway point of the quarter and Belmont extended its lead to 86-57 on a layup from freshman guard Quinn Eubank with 2:31 remaining.
 
The Sycamores ended the game on a 12-4 run and shot 57.1 percent (8-of-14) in the fourth.
 
Senior guard Liz Suder made her first career three-pointer with 1:42 left.
 
Feltner tallied 12 points in the fourth quarter and scored all of her 17 in the second half.
 
The Bruins finished 10-for-12 at the foul line.
 
Sophomore guard Jailyn Banks distributed a team-high six assists and earned eight points.
 
Indiana State starting guard Keslyn Secrist led all scorers with 22 points on 9-for-14 shooting and the Sycamores got 13 points and seven rebounds from starting forward Savannah White. Starting guard Deja Jones and Finnegan both finished with 11 points as Jones dished out eight of Indiana State's 17 assists.

Of Note

• Belmont has had five players reach double figures in five different games this season.
• Four or more Bruins have scored in double figures in 14 games.
• Belmont is 2-0 in March.
• The Bruins improve to 9-2 all-time versus the Sycamores and 6-0 since joining the MVC prior to the 2022-23 season.
• Cheesman has recorded a double-double in four of her last six outings.
• Along with Banks, Cheesman has scored in double figures in a team-best 21 of 30 games this season.

Up Next
Belmont wraps up the regular season Saturday afternoon against the Purple Aces in Evansville, Indiana. Tipoff from Meeks Family Fieldhouse is set for 2 p.m. and the regular season finale will be broadcast on ESPN+. Next week, the Bruins will head back to Evansville for the 2025 Credit Union 1 MVC Tournament, which will be held at the Ford Center downtown Thursday-Sunday, March 13-16.

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.