Women’s Basketball Welcomes Illinois State to the Curb Sunday Afternoon

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Seeking an undefeated first full week of Missouri Valley Conference play, the Belmont University women's basketball team hosts Illinois State Sunday afternoon in a 1 p.m. tipoff from the Curb Event Center in the Music City. The Bruins cruised to a 78-57 victory over Bradley Friday afternoon in the Curb after earning a 68-56 road win at Southern Illinois Monday evening.
 
The Valley home game will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Dr. Rich Tiner on the call. The matinee matchup can also be heard on Belmont Bruins Radio, available online. Live stats of the contest can be followed by visiting BelmontBruins.com.
 
Belmont Bruins t-shirts, courtesy of the BruinShop, will be given away to all fans in attendance beginning one hour prior to tipoff while supplies last.
 
What's Bruin

• Belmont (7-7, 3-0 MVC) is off to a 3-0 start in MVC play for just the second time (2023-24) since joining the Valley four seasons ago.
• The Bruins topped the University of Evansville 77-67 on Wednesday, Dec. 17 at home in their MVC opener. It was Belmont's 10th-straight conference opening win.
• This past Monday evening's triumph was the Bruins' third consecutive true road win (Southern Illinois, Middle Tennessee and Dayton).
• Belmont is in the midst of its second four-game homestand in nine games.
• Four of the Bruins' six December games were at home and Belmont's first four games of the new year are in Nashville.
• The Bruins are 4-3 at home this season.
• Sophomore forward Hilary Fuller has reached at least 17 points in five of her last six outings, including each of her last four. She leads the team with 11 double-figure scoring games this season.
• Graduate guard Avery Strickland and junior guard Jailyn Banks have both registered a pair of 20-point games this season.
• Belmont faced three top-15 ranked Southeastern Conference opponents during non-conference play. The Bruins hosted 15th-ranked Kentucky on Sunday, Dec. 14 after challenging 12th-ranked Tennessee on Nov. 13 in Knoxville and sixth-ranked Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma, in their season opener.
• Ninth-year program leader Bart Brooks secured his 200th career victory with Belmont's 72-66 road win at Dayton on Sunday, Nov. 16. He reached the career milestone in only 270 games as a head coach.
• The Bruins went on a historic national postseason run in the 2025 Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT), where they reached the championship game. It was Belmont's deepest national postseason run in any sport.
• For the second time in four seasons, the Bruins were picked as the preseason favorites to win the MVC. Belmont captured a regular season championship in its first season in the Valley in 2022-23.
• Including last season, the Bruins have reached the MVC Tournament championship game two of the last three years.
• Belmont went 26-13 last season and 15-5 in the MVC, tying for third in the final league standings.
• The Bruins' three returning starters – graduate guard Tuti Jones, Banks and senior guard Emily La Chapell – in addition to graduate transfer 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 Belmont last season.
• The Bruins 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 junior center KK Brodie (Pepperdine).

Last Time Out

• Putting together another stingy defensive performance, Belmont held the visiting Braves to just 57 points on 31.7 percent (20-of-63) shooting. Bradley entered the weekend averaging over 71 points per game and ranked second in the Valley in scoring defense (63.3 PPG).
• The Bruins went 28-for-59 (47.5 percent) from the field in scoring nearly 80 points and posted a plus-13 (45-32) margin on the glass.
• Belmont's 45 rebounds were a season high.
• Led by four double-figure scorers, the Bruins outscored the Braves 38-18 in the paint and got 22 points off the bench. Belmont also turned 13 Bradley turnovers into 18 points.
• Returning to game action after nearly a month sidelined due to injury, Banks poured in 17 points on 5-for-10 shooting, grabbed a season-high eight rebounds and dished out four assists.
• Fuller amassed a career-high 20 points and distributed a career-best four assists in only 21 minutes on the floor.
• Brodie played a key role in the win, scoring a season-high 12 points and igniting a game-clinching 15-4 scoring run midway through the all-important fourth quarter.
• Strickland finished with 11 points and accounted for three of the Bruins' eight three-pointers.
• Sophomore guard Quinn Eubank grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds and added a pair of steals.

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 Sunday, 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.

1,500 Points and All-Tournament Team Honors

• Jones reached 1,500 career points with her 19-point performance versus now 19th-ranked Ohio State on Monday, 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 (393) and all-time leader in both games started (150) and games played (151), Jones is third among active career steals leaders across all divisions of college basketball. Jones needs just 12 more steals to set Belmont's all-time steals record.
• 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 (1,116).
• 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 192-40 (.828) record in conference play.
• Altogether, including conference tournaments, the Bruins have gone 218-47 (.823) 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 205-75 record. His 73.2 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 132-20 (.868) 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 149-24 (.861) 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 is 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. 6/6 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 is receiving the fourth-most votes (26) of teams not ranked in this week's CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll.

At the Curb

• The Bruins are 118-20 (.855) at home since the start of the 2015-16 season.
• Belmont has a home winning percentage of .747 (216-73) inside the Curb since the arena opened prior to the 2003-04 season.
• Under coach Brooks, the Bruins are an exceptional 94-19 (.832) at the Curb.
• In conference play, Belmont has been even more dominant at home, going 102-14 (.879) since 2012. In his first nine seasons, coach Brooks has lost only eight league games at the Curb with a 68-8 (.895) record.
• For four-straight seasons and nine of the last 10, the Bruins have won 10 or more games at the Curb.

Versus Illinois State

• Sunday afternoon will be just the fifth all-time meeting between Belmont and the Redbirds.
• The two teams have split the first four matchups.
• Each of the last two meetings have been decided by only three points.
• Last February, the Bruins were edged 66-63 by Illinois State in Normal, Illinois. After facing a 12-point deficit in the third quarter, Belmont outscored the Redbirds 22-16 in the fourth but couldn't get a tying or go-ahead bucket in the closing seconds.
• The Bruins closed their 2023-24 regular season at Illinois State, securing the No. 2 seed for the 2024 MVC Tournament with a 72-69 victory on Jones' last-second wing three-pointer. Jones was a perfect 7-for-7 from beyond the arc in the impressive road win.
• Belmont is 1-1 versus the Redbirds at the Curb with a 64-52 win exactly two years ago Sunday and a 70-56 loss in January of 2023 in the first game of the series.

About the Redbirds

• Illinois State (7-7, 1-2 MVC) dropped a 101-93 double overtime thriller at Murray State Friday night.
• This past Monday, the Redbirds routed Indiana State 105-64 at home.
• Illinois State began MVC play on Wednesday, Dec. 3 with a 68-54 road loss at Northern Iowa.
• The Redbirds enter Sunday averaging 73.1 points per game, the third-most in the Valley.
• Prior to its loss against the Racers Friday, Illinois State had won three of four.
• The Redbirds were picked to finish third in the MVC according to a preseason vote by the Valley's head coaches, media members and communications directors. Illinois State earned two first-place votes.
• Last season, the Redbirds went 24-13 overall and 14-6 in MVC play, finishing fifth in the final league standings before reaching the WNIT semifinals. Like the Bruins, Illinois State played into April with its deep WNIT run.
• Four Redbirds are averaging double-digit scoring led by redshirt senior 6-foot-1 forward Addison Martin (14.1 PPG), who is also averaging 6.6 rebounds per outing.
• Sophomore 6-foot-1 forward Doneelah Washington is averaging 13.6 points and leads Illinois State in rebounding (8.6 RPG), steals (2.3 SPG) and blocks (1.6 BPG).
• Sophomore 5-foot-8 guard Trista Fayta leads the Valley in assists (5.3 APG) and is averaging 11.1 points per contest.
• Freshman 5-foot-8 guard Kya Hurt is averaging 10.8 points per game.
• The Redbirds are without the services of junior 6-foot-1 forward Nevaeh Thomas, a preseason MVC Player to Watch who was averaging 11.5 points and 6.0 rebounds through the first four games of the season.

Up Next
Belmont continues its four-game homestand next weekend, hosting Drake Friday night before welcoming Northern Iowa to the Curb next Sunday, Jan. 11. Tipoff Friday versus the Bulldogs is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Both home games will be broadcast on ESPN+.
 
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.