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Belmont Athletics
85
Winner Belmont BEL 11-7,7-0 MVC
77
Indiana St. INS 5-11,1-5 MVC
Winner
Belmont BEL
11-7,7-0 MVC
85
Final
77
Indiana St. INS
5-11,1-5 MVC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Belmont BEL 23 17 21 24 85
Indiana St. INS 27 13 12 25 77

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Bruins Top Indiana State 85-77 in MVC Road Action Thursday Night

Belmont Moves to 7-0 in Valley Play as Tuti Jones Breaks All-Time Steals Record

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Behind 20-point games from graduate guards Tuti Jones and Avery Strickland, the Belmont University women's basketball team won its sixth straight with a gritty, 85-77 victory at Indiana State Thursday night in Terre Haute, Indiana. Remaining unblemished in Missouri Valley Conference play, the Bruins (11-7, 7-0 MVC) put together a strong third quarter to build a 17-point lead after trialing by as much as seven in the opening frame.
 
Belmont withstood 27 and 25-point first and fourth quarters by the host Sycamores (5-11, 1-5 MVC) with key baskets from Jones and junior center KK Brodie late.
 
Overcoming 37.3 percent (28-of-75) shooting inside the Hulman Center, the Bruins knocked down 11 three-pointers as all eight Belmont players made at least one three. For the second consecutive outing, the Bruins kept their turnovers to a season-low 10 while forcing 22 Indiana State offensive miscues, which led to 20 points. For the 10th time this season, Belmont came up with at least 10 steals, compiling 13 takeaways.
 
Jones led the way with one of her best games of the season, scoring 22 points on 7-for-14 shooting, distributing a season-high seven assists for the second-straight game and registering a season-high tying six steals. With 2:38 remaining in the third quarter, the Troy, Alabama (Charles Henderson HS), native broke the Bruins' all-time steals record with her 405th career steal. Third among active career steals leaders across all divisions of NCAA women's basketball, Jones has earned 407 career steals. She broke the previous record of 404 steals, set by Daree Pilkinton Merritt (1988-91).
 
Strickland also turned in her third 20-point game of the season, totaling 20 points and snagging five rebounds.
 
Belmont scored 21 points on 19 offensive boards despite being outrebounded 50-42. The Bruins outscored the Sycamores 32-24 in the paint.
 
After Strickland began the evening with a triple, Belmont found itself in a six-point hole a little over four minutes in. A layup by Indiana State's Clemisha Prackett gave the home team a 21-14 lead with 3:11 left in the first quarter.
 
Indiana native Leah West capped a 9-2 Bruin run to even the score at 23 in the final minute of the inaugural quarter. However, the Sycamores scored the last four points in the period to take a 27-23 lead after the first 10 minutes of action. Indiana State shot 63.2 percent (12-of-19) in the first stanza and went 2-for-2 from outside. Strickland had nine points through the opening quarter.
 
Freshman guard Kate McGinnis made it a one-point affair early in the second quarter with a three, but the Sycamores responded and took a 32-26 advantage with eight minutes to go before the break. Triples from Jones and freshman forward West squared up the score at 37 with a minute remaining in the half. After Indiana State's Kennedy Claybrooks put the Sycamores back up with a three, Jones evened things at 40 in the last 30 seconds of the half with her second trey of the quarter.
 
The two teams went into the locker room tied.
 
Belmont limited Indiana State to 4-for-15 (26.7 percent) shooting in the second quarter.
 
The Bruins shot 40 percent (16-of-40) across the first half and were 7-for-21 (33.3 percent) from distance.
 
The Sycamores connected on five of their 10 first-half three-point attempts and shot 47.1 percent (16-of-34) from the field in the first 20 minutes of play.
 
Strickland scored the first bucket of the second half to give Belmont its first lead since the opening minute, but Indiana State took a 44-42 lead two minutes into the third quarter. From there, the Bruins went on an 11-3 run. A pair of free throws from sophomore forward Hilary Fuller put Belmont up 53-47 just past the midway point of the third.
 
Jumpers from the Sycamores' Da'Naria Washington and Tierney Kelsey got Indiana State back within two and a free throw by Kelsey kept the hosts within a pair at 54-52 with 3:29 to go in the third period. It would be as close as the Sycamores would get the rest of the way.
 
A three-pointer by Fuller and Jones' record-breaking steal, which led to an easy layup for Strickland, quickly ignited a 12-0 Bruin scoring run, which stretched into the fourth quarter. Jones scored on a layup before the end of the third, putting Belmont up 61-52 heading into the final segment. The Bruins outpaced Indiana State 21-12 in the third and were 8-for-10 at the free-throw line in the period.
 
Five-straight points from Jones to start the fourth gave Belmont a promising 14-point lead. A three from sophomore guard Quinn Eubank secured the Bruins' largest lead of the night at 73-56 with 7:28 to go. Eubank's five consecutive points completed an impressive 19-4 stretch over six minutes of action for Belmont.
 
The Sycamores were not done, though, going on an 11-0 run that was bookended by threes from Kelsey. In desperate need of a score and the lead trimmed to six at 73-67 with under three minutes left, Jones came up with her sixth steal and laid it in to make it an eight-point game. Moments later, Eubank stretched it back out to 10 at 77-67 with 2:27 remaining. Following five-straight points from Kelsey, Indiana State was back within five at 77-72 with two minutes to go. Brodie gathered a key offensive rebound and then ended up providing a three-point dagger to put the Bruins back up eight with only 1:16 left. On the Sycamores' ensuing inbound, Jones forced an Indiana State turnover.   Free throws from Strickland and Jones closed out the road win, Belmont's fourth of the season.
 
The Bruins went 9-for-11 at the foul line in the fourth quarter and were 17-for-21 (81 percent) at the charity stripe in the second half, outscoring the Sycamores 45-37.
 
Indiana State went 3-for-5 from three-point range in the fourth.
 
Sophomore guard Sanaa Tripp brought down a career-high eight rebounds and Brodie made a game-high four blocks to go along with a season-high six boards. West tallied a career-high eight points and claimed a career-best five rebounds in her return to her home state.
 
Five Sycamores scored in double figures led by Kelsey's 18 points on 5-for-10 shooting. Indiana State also got a double-double from Prackett, who had a game-best 13 rebounds and 10 points.
 
Of Note
  • Belmont is 7-0 in conference play for the first time since 2017-18 when the Bruins went undefeated in the Ohio Valley Conference for the second consecutive season.
  • The Bruins have won seven straight against the Sycamores.
  • Jones and Strickland both reaching 20 points marks the first time Belmont has had two 20-point scorers in the same game since the Bruins' 90-45 win at James Madison last March in the WBIT quarterfinals. In that national postseason road win, Jones had 26 and fellow graduate guard Kendall Holmes had 22.
Up Next
Belmont travels to MVC 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.
 
#ItsBruinTime
 
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