NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Suffering only its second Missouri Valley Conference loss of the season, the Belmont University women's basketball team was defeated 78-71 by visiting Murray State University late Saturday afternoon inside the Curb Event Center. The Racers (19-3, 10-1 MVC) outscored the Bruins (12-9, 8-2 MVC) 47-38 in the second half, including 23-16 in the deciding fourth quarter.
Belmont was hampered by 10-for-18 (55.6 percent) free-throw shooting and went 6-for-12 at the foul line in the pivotal fourth.
The Bruins led by six early in the third quarter but a 9-0 Murray State scoring run over a two-and-a-half minute stretch near the midway point of the final quarter completely shifted the momentum of the game. Belmont got back within two points with three-and-a-half minutes to go but was unable to get a stop on the Racers' ensuing possession.
A minus-12 rebounding margin (43-31) didn't help the Bruins' cause and Belmont conceded 16 second-chance points on 13 Murray State offensive boards.
Belmont led 33-31 at halftime and the score was knotted at 55 through three quarters of play.
Graduate guard
Avery Strickland gave the Bruins a 13-10 lead at the 3:10 mark of the opening quarter with a layup before the Racers scored five consecutive points. Murray State led 20-18 following the first quarter as Keslyn Secrist hit a three in the closing seconds.
Belmont went 2-for-3 from beyond the arc in the first stanza, while the Racers were 4-for-7 from outside.
Murray State went up 24-21 a little over three-and-a-half minutes into the second quarter but a three-pointer from Strickland evened the score and ignited an 8-1 spark. Another triple from Strickland made it 29-25 Bruins with just under three minutes left in the half.
Sophomore guard
Sanaa Tripp came up with a steal right before the end of the half and knocked down a short jumper as the halftime buzzer sounded, giving Belmont a slight 33-31 edge heading into the locker room.
The Bruins held the Racers to 11 points and just 18.8 percent (3-of-16) shooting in the second quarter. Strickland scored eight of Belmont's 15 second-quarter points and had 14 at the break.
Going 4-for-7 from deep in the first half, the Bruins tallied nine points on eight Murray State first-half turnovers. Belmont kept the Racers to 31.3 percent (10-of-32) shooting, including 26.7 percent (4-of-15) from distance, in the first half.
A corner three from sophomore guard
Quinn Eubank put the Bruins up five within the first 20 seconds of the second half and a Strickland layup gave Belmont its largest lead of the day at 40-34 a little under two minutes in. Junior center
KK Brodie kept the Bruins in front by five at 46-41 with her fourth career three-pointer, but Murray State proceeded to go on a 12-5 run.
The Racers' Sharnecce Currie-Jelks put the Racers back in front 53-51 with just under two minutes to go in the third quarter. Strickland scored on a layup in the final 10 seconds of the quarter to make it a tie game at 55 heading into the deciding period.
Belmont was 3-for-5 from three-point range in the third, while Murray State shot 62.5 percent (10-of-16) in the quarter and went 4-for-7 from outside the arc.
The Racers took a three-point, 60-57 lead within the first two minutes of the fourth, but four-straight points from junior guard
Jailyn Banks and Brodie gave the Bruins their last lead of the contest. A Brodie layup put Belmont ahead 61-60 with 7:23 remaining before Murray State went on its game-altering 9-0 run.
Currie-Jelks scored seven of the nine points during the Racers' run with her pair of free throws making it 69-61 with five minutes to go. Two Banks free throws and layups from Eubank and sophomore forward
Hilary Fuller got the Bruins within a basket at 69-67 with three-and-a-half minutes left.
Murray State and Currie-Jelks responded with a layup and Belmont missed three of its next four free throws. With just over a minute to go, the Racers took a five-point lead at 74-69 on a layup by Destiny Thomas.
The Bruins were unable to get shots to fall in the final minute and Murray State starting guard Halli Poock made four game-sealing free throws in the last 45 seconds.
The Racers went 9-for-12 at the foul line in the fourth quarter and Currie-Jelks accounted for 11 of Murray State's 23 points in the frame.
Belmont was 7-for-14 at the charity stripe in the second half as the Racers shot 53.1 percent (17-of-32) from the field.
Banks and Fuller combined for 24 of the Bruins' 38 second-half points.
Belmont committed a season-low eight turnovers and had only two in the second half.
Fuller led the Bruins with 20 points, her fourth 20-point game of the season. Strickland poured in 18 points, grabbed a team-high seven rebounds, dished out a trio of assists and collected a pair of steals. Both Eubank and Banks finished with 12 points. Banks scored all 12 of her points in the second half. Graduate guard
Tuti Jones distributed a game-best and season-high tying seven assists.
Poock led Murray State with 23 points and five assists, and the Racers got a pair of double-doubles from guard Haven Ford (17 points, 14 rebounds) and Currie-Jelks (17 points, 12 rebounds), who leads the nation in double-doubles. Secrist also scored in double figures for Murray State with 13 points.
Of Note
- Although Belmont leads the series 24-8, the Racers have won each of the last four matchups.
- The loss is only head coach Bart Brooks' ninth in conference play at the Curb in nine seasons.
- Including Saturday, the Bruins have lost only 15 conference games at home since 2012.
- With a free throw at the four-minute mark of the third quarter, Banks reached her 1,000th career point. She becomes Belmont's 37th 1,000-point scorer.
Up Next
The Bruins make the trek to Iowa next week, taking on Drake Thursday evening at 6 p.m. inside the Knapp Center in Des Moines before visiting Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls next Saturday. Both games will be broadcast on
ESPN+.
Tickets
Single-game tickets for the 2025-26 season are on sale and can be purchased by visiting
BelmontBruins.com/Tickets or calling 615-460-BALL.
Credit Union 1 MVC Tournament
The 2026 Credit Union 1 MVC Tournament will be held Thursday-Sunday, March 12-15 in Coralville, Iowa, at Xtream Arena. All-session tournament passes are on sale now and can be purchased
here. Rooms are also available for booking at the official Belmont fan hotel –
Drury Inn & Suites.
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.
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