Bruins Take on Indiana State on the Road Thursday Evening

 
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Hitting the road for the first time in 2026, the Belmont University women's basketball team travels to Indiana State Thursday evening for a 6 p.m. CT/7 p.m. ET tipoff from the Hulman Center in Terre Haute, Indiana.
 
The Missouri Valley Conference matchup in the Hoosier State will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Chris Machado (play-by-play) and Nyah Wilson (analyst) on the call. Dr. Rich Tiner will also provide live play-by-play of the road game on Belmont Bruins Radio, available online. Live stats of the contest can be followed by visiting BelmontBruins.com.
 
What's Bruin

• The Bruins (10-7) are off to a 6-0 start in MVC play for the first time since joining the Valley four seasons ago.
• Belmont won its fifth in a row last Sunday afternoon with an 81-62 blowout of visiting Northern Iowa in the Curb Event Center in Nashville.
• The Bruins are 4-0 in the new year with home wins over the Panthers, Drake (78-69), Illinois State (75-68) and Bradley (78-57). Belmont also owns an MVC road triumph at Southern Illinois (68-56) and began conference play with a 77-67 home victory over the University of Evansville on Dec. 17. It was the Bruins' 10th-straight conference opening win.
• Belmont played eight of its last nine games at home with two four-game homestands. The Bruins played four of their six December games in the Curb and Belmont's first four games of the new year were in the Music City.
• Belmont is 7-3 at home this season and 3-2 in true road games.
• Graduate guard Tuti Jones recorded her 400th career steal late in the third quarter in the Bruins' win over Northern Iowa last weekend. With 401 career steals, she is only four steals away from breaking Belmont's all-time steals record (404).
• Sophomore forward Hilary Fuller leads the Bruins with 13 double-figure scoring games on the season. She has reached at least 17 points in six of her last nine outings.
• Junior guard Jailyn Banks has scored in double figures in all but one game she has played this season (10-of-11). She is only 26 points away from becoming Belmont's 37th 1,000-point scorer.
• Junior center KK Brodie has scored in double figures in three of the last four games on 71 percent shooting.
• The Bruins faced three top-15 ranked Southeastern Conference opponents during non-conference play. Belmont hosted 15th-ranked Kentucky on Dec. 14 after challenging 12th-ranked Tennessee on Nov. 13 in Knoxville and sixth-ranked Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma, in its season opener.
• Ninth-year program leader Bart Brooks secured his 200th career victory with the Bruins' 72-66 road win at Dayton on Nov. 16. He reached the career milestone in only 270 games as a head coach.
• Belmont went on a historic national postseason run in the 2025 Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT), where it reached the championship game. It was the Bruins' deepest national postseason run in any sport.
• For the second time in four seasons, Belmont was picked as the preseason favorite to win the MVC. The Bruins captured a regular season championship in their first season in the Valley in 2022-23.
• Including last season, Belmont has reached the MVC Tournament championship game two of the last three years.
• The Bruins went 26-13 last season and 15-5 in the MVC, tying for third in the final league standings.
• Belmont's three returning starters – Jones, Banks and senior guard Emily La Chapell – in addition to graduate transfer guard Avery Strickland (Tennessee/Pittsburgh), were named players to watch by the MVC.
• Jones, Banks and La Chapell were the only three players to start all 39 games for the Bruins last season.
• Belmont returned eight total letter winners and welcomed seven newcomers over the summer, including five freshmen – guard Rylie Beers (Littleton, Colo.), guard Kate McGinnis (Kimberly, Wis.), forward Dacarra Ward (Memphis, Tenn.), forward Leah West (Greensburg, Ind.) and guard Tatum Woodson (Minnetonka, Minn.) – and two transfers – Strickland and Brodie (Pepperdine).

Last Time Out

• Behind a career-best performance from sophomore guard Sanaa Tripp and 12-for-24 shooting from beyond the arc, the Bruins dismantled the Panthers.
• In just her sixth career start, Tripp scored a career-high 25 points and distributed a career-high five assists. The Covington, Georgia (Newton HS), native went a career-best 9-for-11 from the field and was 5-for-6 from deep.
• Belmont had four players reach double figures as sophomore guard Quinn Eubank registered her second career double-double with career highs in both rebounding (14) and scoring (13).
• Strickland tallied 16 points on 3-for-5 shooting from long range and Brodie notched 11 points.
• The Bruins dished out a season-high 22 assists on 27 made field goals and committed only 10 turnovers, tying a season low.
• Belmont held Northern Iowa to 33.9 percent (20-of-59) shooting and outscored the Panthers 41-28 in the second half. The Bruins limited Northern Iowa to 27.6 percent shooting and only eight made field goals across the second 20 minutes of play.
• Leading from the 7:29 mark of the opening quarter onward, Belmont used a 25-14 third quarter to distance itself for good after the Panthers clawed their way back within a point in the first three-and-a-half minutes of the second half.
• The Bruins posted a plus-three advantage on the boards (37-34) and knocked down 15 of their 18 free throws.
• Jones provided a season-high tying seven assists and came up with a game-high four steals.
• The 19-point win was the largest margin in any game in the series with Northern Iowa.

Hoosier State Native

• Freshman forward Leah West is a native of Greensburg, Indiana, which is about two hours from Terre Haute.
• Staring at Greensburg Community High School, West was an Indiana Basketball Coaches Association (IBCA) All-State selection and claimed the 2024-25 Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) Class 3A Patricia L. Roy Mental Attitude Award for her excellence in mental attitude, scholarship, leadership and athletic ability.
• Following her senior year, West was selected to play in the prestigious Hoosier Gym All-Star Classic.

Player of the Week

• Jones was named both MVC and Tennessee Sports Writers Association (TSWA) Player of the Week for the week of Dec. 8-14 after scoring a season-high 24 points on 6-for-11 shooting, including making 4-for-9 from outside, grabbing a season-best 10 rebounds, dishing out a team-high five assists, and coming up with a game-high three steals against top-15 ranked Kentucky on Dec. 14. She was also a perfect 8-for-8 at the free-throw line.
• Jones' 24-point outing against the nationally-ranked Wildcats was her 80th career double-figure scoring game and she registered her fourth career double-double.

1,500 Points and All-Tournament Team Honors

• Jones reached 1,500 career points with her 19-point performance versus now 14th-ranked Ohio State on Nov. 24 in Nassau, Bahamas. She is only the 11th Belmont player to reach 1,500 career points.
• The Bruins' NCAA era leader in steals (401) and all-time leader in both games started (153) and games played (154), Jones needs only four more steals to set Belmont's all-time steals record.
• Across all divisions of NCAA basketball, Jones is the nation's current leader in games played and is third among active career steals leaders.
• After averaging 17.5 points on 57.9 percent (11-of-19) shooting, including going 8-for-13 (61.5 percent) from distance, 4.5 rebounds, 3.0 steals and 2.5 assists in the Bruins' two games in the Bahamas, Jones was named to the 2025 Baha Mar Hoops Pink Flamingo Championship Goombay Division All-Tournament Team.

A Winning Program

• In its 58th season as a program, Belmont has claimed the 15th-most victories in NCAA Division I women's basketball (1,119).
• The Bruins entered 2025-26 with the 30th-best all-time winning percentage (.658).
• Belmont is one of only nine teams in the nation to have won 20-plus games for 10-straight seasons. UConn, South Carolina, Baylor, Iowa, NC State, Indiana, South Dakota State and Florida Gulf Coast are the others.
• The Bruins' 73.1 winning percentage (226-83) over the previous 10 seasons is the highest of any Division I women's basketball program in the state of Tennessee.
• Belmont is the only school in the nation to win 20-plus games for 10 consecutive seasons in both women's and men's basketball.

A Championship Program

• The Bruins (11) are one of only six programs in the country to have won 10 or more combined conference championships, regular season and tournament, over the last nine seasons. UConn (18), Florida Gulf Coast (16), South Carolina (13), South Dakota State (11) and Princeton (10) are the others.
• Since the 2012-13 season, Belmont has won 12 combined conference championships, including regular season and tournament titles.
• The Bruins have won 16 total conference championships – nine regular season and seven tournament titles – in Belmont's NCAA era.

National Postseason Success

• The Bruins have claimed seven national postseason wins in the last five years, including back-to-back trips to the NCAA Tournament round of 32 in 2021 and 2022.
• Belmont has earned a national postseason bid in 12 of the last 13 seasons, including six trips to the NCAA Tournament (2022, 2021, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016).
• The Bruins also reached the Big Dance in 2007 after winning the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament.
• Belmont has participated in the last two WBITs and the 2023 WNIT.
• Playing into April for the first time in school history, the Bruins rattled off four wins in the 2025 WBIT. After taking out nearby Middle Tennessee in the opening round, Belmont overcame a 21-point deficit against Northern Arizona in the second round. The Bruins then doubled up top-seeded James Madison, who was an NCAA Tournament bubble team and receiving votes in both national polls, by 45 points on the road in the quarterfinals. In the WBIT semifinals inside historic Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Belmont ousted BIG EAST Conference mainstay Villanova.
• The Bruins' comeback against the Lumberjacks of Northern Arizona in the WBIT second round last March tied for the largest deficit overcome to win any NCAA postseason game in Division I women's basketball history.

Conference Dominance

• Belmont has finished in the top three of its conference in 13 of the last 14 seasons, including each of the last 10.
• The Bruins have played in a conference tournament championship game eight of the last 10 years.
• Since the 2012-13 season, Belmont has compiled a remarkable 195-40 (.830) record in conference play.
• Altogether, including conference tournaments, the Bruins have gone 221-47 (.825) against league opponents across the last 14 seasons.

Head Coach Bart Brooks

• For the third-straight year, 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.
• In nine seasons, coach Brooks has compiled a remarkable 208-75 record. His 73.5 winning percentage ranks among the top 20 of active head coaches in Division I women's basketball.
• No other current Division I head coach with eight seasons or fewer under their belt has won more games than coach Brooks.
• Coach Brooks is a ridiculous 135-20 (.871) in conference action with nine combined conference championships, including regular season and tournament titles. He has never lost more than five league games in any given season and has finished no worse than third across two different conferences.
• Including conference tournament games, coach Brooks is an astonishing 152-24 (.864) against conference opponents.
• Over the last eight postseasons, coach Brooks has gone 24-11 (.686).
• In the key months of February and March under coach Brooks' direction, Belmont is 92-19 (.829).
• Coach Brooks was the third-fastest head coach to 100 career victories in Division I women's basketball history (Leon Barmore, Louisiana Tech and Karl Smesko, Florida Gulf Coast).

Challenging the Nation's Best

• Coach Brooks and the Bruins annually play one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the nation and this season was no different.
• Six of Belmont's 11 non-conference opponents were receiving votes in either or both the Associated Press (AP) Top 25 and USA TODAY Sports/Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Coaches Poll. The Bruins took on a trio of top-15 teams, including hosting No. 15/15 Kentucky on Dec. 14 after traveling to both No. 6/7 Oklahoma (Nov. 3) and No. 12/12 Tennessee (Nov. 13). In addition to hosting Duke (Dec. 20), who was receiving 13 votes in the coaches poll, and receiving-votes Princeton (Dec. 6), Belmont went up against receiving-votes Ohio State in the Bahamas (Nov. 24).
• With Oklahoma, Tennessee, Ohio State, Princeton, Kentucky and Duke, the Bruins faced six NCAA Tournament teams from a season ago during their non-conference slate. Of those, five reached at least the second round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament and three made it to the Sweet 16 with the Blue Devils continuing on to the Elite Eight.

Mid-Major Rankings

• Belmont moved up two spots in the mid-major rankings and checks in at No. 21 in this week's CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll.

 Versus Indiana State

• Thursday evening will be the 12th all-time meeting between Belmont and the Sycamores with the Bruins holding a 9-2 lead in the series.
• Since Belmont joined the MVC prior to the 2022-23 season, the Bruins have gone 6-0 versus Indiana State.
• Last season, Belmont defeated the Sycamores by a combined 51 points, including a 90-69 victory at the Hulman Center last March in the second-to-last game of the regular season. Late last January, the Bruins routed Indiana State 88-58 in the Curb. Five Belmont players scored in double figures in both of last year's wins.
• Two years ago, the Bruins escaped Terre Haute with a 61-56 triumph thanks to the heroics of then freshman Banks. Trailing by a point with 13 seconds left and the Sycamores inbounding the ball, Banks came up with a steal and score.
• In its first game at Indiana State as an MVC member in 2023, Belmont came away with a 65-51 victory.
• The two teams met five times prior to the Bruins joining the Valley, splitting a home-and-home series during the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons.
• Belmont went 2-1 against the Sycamores in the mid-to-late 1970s.

About the Sycamores

• Indiana State (5-10, 1-4 MVC) has just one MVC win thus far, an 88-78 home triumph over Valparaiso on New Year's Day.
• The Sycamores have suffered MVC losses to Drake (97-77) at home and Illinois State (105-64), the University of Illinois Chicago (70-57) and Bradley (79-74) on the road.
• Indiana State also lost its last three non-conference games.
• Prior to their New Year's Day win, the Sycamores' last victory was on Dec. 3 against Northern Illinois (69-61) at home.
• Indiana State is 4-1 at the Hulman Center this season.
• The Sycamores went 4-28 overall in 2024-25, going 2-18 in the Valley and tying for last in the league with Southern Illinois.
• Indiana State did not return a single player from last season's roster.
• Featuring 14 newcomers, the Sycamores are led by second-year head coach Marc Mitchell.
• Sophomore 5-foot-6 guard Tierney Kelsey, a Jackson State transfer, leads Indiana State in scoring (15.5 PPG).
• Redshirt junior 5-foot-10 guard/forward Jayci Allen, a University of Northwestern Ohio transfer, and senior 5-foot-8 guard Samiyah Briggs, a Livingstone College transfer, are both averaging just over 10 points per outing.
• Junior 6-foot-1 forward Clemisha Prackett, a Mississippi Valley State transfer, leads the Sycamores in rebounding (7.9 RPG) and is averaging 8.9 points per game.
• Senior 5-foot-6 guard Kennedy Claybrooks, a Southeast Missouri State transfer, leads Indiana State in assists (4.5 APG) and steals (1.5 SPG).

Up Next
The Bruins travel to conference rival Murray State Sunday afternoon for a matchup of the top two teams in the Valley. Tipoff from the CFSB Center in Murray, Kentucky, is scheduled for 2 p.m. The marquee MVC game of the week will be broadcast on the MVC TV Network, distributed by Gray Media and available on linear television in select markets throughout the Midwest and South, in addition to 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.