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Sanaa_Tripp_vs_NorthernIowa2026
Parker Phegley
62
UNI UNI 8-8,4-2 MVC
81
Winner Belmont BEL 10-7,6-0 MVC
UNI UNI
8-8,4-2 MVC
62
Final
81
Belmont BEL
10-7,6-0 MVC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
UNI UNI 12 22 14 14 62
Belmont BEL 26 14 25 16 81

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Bruins Win Fifth Straight, Rout Northern Iowa 81-62 Sunday Afternoon

Belmont Stays Perfect in MVC Play Behind Sanaa Tripp’s Career-Best 25-Point Performance

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Making her sixth career start, sophomore guard Sanaa Tripp poured in a career-high 25 points to lead the Belmont University women's basketball team to an impressive, 81-62 victory over Northern Iowa Sunday afternoon inside the Curb Event Center. Remaining perfect in Missouri Valley Conference play (6-0), the Bruins (10-7) won their fifth in a row with a season-best 12-for-24 shooting performance from beyond the arc.
 
Putting together arguably their best offensive game of the season thus far, Belmont distributed a season-high 22 assists on 27 made field goals. Shooting 46.6 percent (27-of-58) overall, the Bruins committed just 10 turnovers to tie their season low.
 
Defensively, Belmont scored 14 points off 12 Panther turnovers and held Northern Iowa (8-8, 4-2 MVC) to 33.9 percent (20-of-59) shooting.
 
The Bruins outscored the Panthers 41-28 in the second half in the Music City, limiting Northern Iowa to 27.6 percent shooting and only eight made field goals. After the Panthers went 5-for-11 from distance in the first half, Belmont allowed just three second-half three-pointers on 21.4 percent (3-of-14) outside shooting.
 
Leading from the 7:29 mark of the first quarter onward, the Bruins used a 25-14 third quarter to distance themselves for good after Northern Iowa climbed back within a point in the first three-and-a-half minutes of the second half.
 
Belmont held a plus-three advantage on the boards (37-34) and knocked down 15 of its 18 free throws.
 
Sophomore guard Quinn Eubank registered her second career double-double with career bests in both rebounding (14) and scoring (13). Tripp and Eubank were two of four Bruins who reached double figures as graduate guard Avery Strickland tallied 16 points on 3-for-5 shooting from long range and junior center KK Brodie notched 11 points.
 
Graduate guard Tuti Jones, who dished out a season-high tying seven assists and came up with a game-high four steals, recorded her 400th career steal with 44 seconds left in the third quarter. The Troy, Alabama (Charles Henderson HS), native is only four steals away from breaking Belmont's all-time steals record (404). Hitting four of their first five three-pointers, the Bruins jumped out to a 12-3 lead on a Eubank triple a little over four minutes in. Moments later, Belmont took its first 10-point lead at 16-6 on Tripp's first three. Tripp's second trey put the Bruins up 21-9 and fittingly, Tripp closed out the opening quarter with a conventional three-point play following a Eubank steal. Belmont led 26-12 after the first 10 minutes of play with nine points from Tripp.
 
Just over 90 seconds into the second quarter, Strickland connected from distance to make it a 15-point game at 29-14. The Bruins led by double digits for most of the period, but the Panthers ended the first half on a 13-6 run. Northern Iowa's Kaylynn Janes made it 40-34 at the break with a last-second three-pointer. The Panthers outpaced Belmont 22-14 in the second quarter.
 
The Bruins went 7-for-14 from deep in the first half and Tripp had 15 at halftime.
 
A 9-4 start to the second half for Northern Iowa got the Panthers within a point at 44-43. However, Tripp highlighted a 7-0 Belmont response. Five-straight points from Tripp put the Bruins up eight at 51-43 just past the midway point of the third quarter. Northern Iowa remained within five following a three by Taryn Wharton, but it would be as close as the Panthers would get the rest of the way. Brodie began a 14-2 Belmont run to close the third with a layup, and a pair of Strickland free throws in the last five seconds of the quarter gave the Bruins a commanding 65-48 lead heading into the final stanza.
 
Belmont shot 53.3 percent (8-of-15) in the third quarter and was 7-for-7 at the foul line. Tripp scored her final 10 points in the third.
 
After Northern Iowa scored the first four points of the fourth and held the Bruins scoreless through the opening 3:13, Brodie made a jumper with 6:47 left. Belmont outscored the Panthers 16-10 over the last seven minutes.
 
Consecutive threes from Strickland and Eubank gave the Bruins their first 20-point advantage at 75-54 with 4:40 to go. Brodie's second career three-pointer with 3:34 remaining pushed Belmont's lead out to 22 at 78-56, its largest of the afternoon. The Bruins sunk three of their five fourth-quarter three-point attempts and limited Northern Iowa to 23.1 percent (3-of-13) shooting in the final quarter. The Panthers were 0-for-6 from three-point range in the fourth but were 8-for-8 at the free-throw line.
 
Eubank scored seven of her 13 points in the fourth.
 
Tripp made a career-high nine field goals (9-for-11) and was 5-for-6 from outside the arc. She also added a career-best five assists.
 
Starting guard Jenna Twedt led Northern Iowa with 15 points and the Panthers got 14 points from starting forward Ryley Goebel and 13 rebounds from fellow starting forward Elise Jaeger. Of Note
  • Belmont moves to 8-1 all-time versus Northern Iowa.
  • The 19-point margin is the largest in any game in the series.
  • The Bruins' 6-0 start in MVC play is their best since joining the Valley four seasons ago.
  • Belmont is 7-3 at home this season.
  • Jones, who is the nation's current leader in games played (154), is third among active career steals leaders across all levels of NCAA women's basketball. Her 401 steals are the most in the Bruins' NCAA era.
Up Next
Belmont hits the road next week, traveling to Indiana State Thursday evening before heading to rival Murray State next Sunday. Tipoff Thursday from the Hulman Center in Terre Haute, Indiana, is slated for 6 p.m. CT/7 p.m. ET. Both MVC road games will be broadcast on ESPN+.
 
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 and single-game tickets for the 2025-26 season are also on sale.
 
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
 
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