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Jailyn_Banks_vs_Bradley2026
Zachary Timmerman
57
Bradley BRAD 8-5,1-1 MVC
78
Winner Belmont BEL 7-7,3-0 MVC
Bradley BRAD
8-5,1-1 MVC
57
Final
78
Belmont BEL
7-7,3-0 MVC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Bradley BRAD 11 16 19 11 57
Belmont BEL 17 21 20 20 78

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Bruins Stifle Bradley 78-57 at the Curb Friday Afternoon

Belmont Moves to 3-0 in the Valley with Complete Game Performance

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Getting All-Missouri Valley Conference guard Jailyn Banks back, the Belmont University women's basketball team defeated visiting Bradley University 78-57 Friday afternoon in the Curb Event Center. The Bruins (7-7, 3-0 MVC) put together their most complete performance thus far in MVC play, holding the Braves (8-5, 1-1 MVC) to 31.7 percent (20-of-63) shooting while going 28-for-59 (47.5 percent) from the field and posting a plus-13 advantage on the boards (45-32).
 
Led by four double-figure scorers, Belmont outscored Bradley 38-18 in the paint and got 22 points off its bench. The Bruins turned 13 turnovers by the Braves into 18 points.
 
Sophomore forward Hilary Fuller amassed a career-high 20 points and distributed a career-best four assists in only 21 minutes on the floor. In her first game in nearly a month, junior Banks poured in 17 points on 5-for-10 shooting, grabbed a season-high eight rebounds and dished out four assists.
 
Belmont's 45 rebounds are the most in a game this season.
 
The Bruins assisted on 16 of their baskets and made five blocks, four of which came from junior center KK Brodie.
 
Bradley entered the weekend averaging over 71 points per game and ranked second in the Valley in scoring defense (63.3 PPG).
 
Keeping the Braves scoreless for the first two-plus minutes of the contest, Belmont built a quick 4-0 lead before a three-pointer from Fuller put the Bruins up 9-3. Holding Bradley to only one made field goal in the opening seven-and-a-half minutes of play, Belmont took an 11-3 lead on a deep Banks jumper late in the first quarter. The Bruins led 17-11 after one quarter, limiting the Braves to 26.7 percent (4-of-15) shooting, including 1-for-5 from distance.
 
Redshirt junior guard Claire Hyde gave Belmont its first double-digit lead of the afternoon at 22-11 with a three-pointer nearly 90 seconds into the second quarter. Back-to-back Bradley threes quickly got the visitors back within five but a fastbreak layup by Banks kept the Bruins in control at 30-20. After the Braves trimmed the deficit back down to six at 31-25 with 4:30 left in the half, Belmont outscored Bradley 7-2 to end the quarter. A triple from graduate guard Avery Strickland gave the Bruins a promising 38-27 lead with 1:39 to go in the half. Belmont's 11-point lead held for the remainder of the half as the Bruins shot 53.8 percent (7-of-13) in the second quarter and went 3-for-6 from outside.
 
Fuller (11) and Banks (10) combined for 21 of Belmont's 38 first-half points and the Bruins held the Braves to 30.3 percent (10-of-33) shooting across the first half.
 
Belmont began the second half on a 10-3 run with five consecutive points from Fuller increasing the Bruins' lead to 18 at 48-30 within the first two minutes. A steal by sophomore guard Quinn Eubank and a finish at the rim by graduate guard Tuti Jones made it 52-34 a little over three minutes into the second half. Threes by Bradley's Maya Foz and Micah Cooper sparked an 11-3 run for the Braves midway through the third quarter. Bradley's Tamia Perryman capped the run with a third three in the stretch, getting the Braves within 10 at 55-45 with 2:46 left in the third.
 
A conventional three-point play from Banks fueled Belmont in the last two minutes of the third and the Bruins took a 58-46 lead into the final quarter. Belmont shot 57.1 percent (8-of-14) in the third stanza.
 
Bradley's Foz made a pair of free throws within the first 10 seconds of the fourth quarter to keep the Braves within 10. However, it would be as close as Bradley would get the rest of the way.
 
Brodie scored the Bruins' first field goal of the fourth on a layup with 7:26 to go before igniting a game-clinching 15-4 scoring run with 5:16 left. Banks splashed in a three to complete a 9-0 run and make it 70-50 with just 3:58 remaining. Six-straight points from Brodie capped Belmont's 15-4 run as she connected on her first career three-pointer to give the Bruins their largest lead of the game at 76-54 with only 1:52 to go. Free throws from sophomore guard Sanaa Tripp and freshman guard Kate McGinnis closed things out. Brodie scored half of Belmont's fourth-quarter points, tallying 10 of her season-high 12 in the period on 4-for-4 shooting.
 
The Bruins outpaced the Braves 20-11 in the last quarter, limiting Bradley to 25 percent (3-of-12) shooting, including 0-for-5 from long range.
 
Scoring 40 second-half points, Belmont shot 51.9 percent (14-of-27) in the second 20 minutes of action.
 
Strickland finished with 11 points and accounted for three of the Bruins' eight triples. Brodie also collected a season-high five rebounds, while Jones registered a game-high five assists. Eubank snagged a career and game-best 13 boards and added a pair of steals.
 
Four Braves reached double figures led by starting guard Kaylen Nelson's 17 points. Bradley's Amy O'Hara scored 13 points off the bench, and the Braves got 11 points and a team-high six rebounds from Foz and 10 points from Perryman. Of Note
  • Belmont improves to 5-0 all-time versus Bradley.
  • The Bruins are off to a 3-0 start in MVC play for just the second time (2023-24) since joining the Valley four seasons ago.
  • Fuller has reached at least 17 points in five of her last six outings, including each of her last four. She leads Belmont with 11 double-figure scoring games this season.
Up Next
The Bruins continue their four-game homestand Sunday afternoon with Illinois State visiting the Curb for a matinee 1 p.m. tipoff. The MVC matchup will be broadcast on ESPN+. Next weekend, Belmont hosts Drake on Friday and Northern Iowa on Sunday, Jan. 11.
 
Season 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 for the 2025-26 season are also on sale and can be purchased here.
 
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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