NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Behind terrific play from post players
Hilary Fuller and
KK Brodie and a 15-point second-half from junior guard
Jailyn Banks, the Belmont University women's basketball team won its third straight with a 75-68 home victory over Illinois State Sunday afternoon in the Curb Event Center. Completing an undefeated 3-0 week in the Missouri Valley Conference, the Bruins (8-7, 4-0 MVC) overcame an eight-point halftime deficit with a 45-point second half.
Sophomore forward Fuller and junior center Brodie combined for 23 of Belmont's first 24 points, before Banks came up with a clutch deep three-pointer late.
The Bruins overcame a Redbirds squad who knocked down 10 triples and shot 46.4 percent (26-of-56) from the field. Shooting 47.5 percent (29-of-61), Belmont committed just 11 turnovers, a near season low, and scored 25 points off 21 Illinois State offensive miscues.
For the eighth time this season, the Bruins recorded double-digit steals with 13 takeaways.
Belmont outworked the Redbirds (7-8, 1-3 MVC) 40-30 in the paint and overcame a minus-13 rebounding deficit (42-29). Illinois State tallied 16 points on 12 offensive boards and got 31 points off its bench.
Fuller continued her impressive play as of late with a career-high 27 points, 17 of which came in the first half, and a career-high tying nine rebounds. She also added a pair of blocks, a steal and an assist.
Scoring 10 points in the pivotal fourth quarter on 3-for-5 shooting, including going 2-for-2 from deep, Banks finished with 18 points, seven boards, four assists and three steals. Brodie scored a career-high 12 points for the second consecutive game going 6-for-6 from the floor, while graduate guard
Avery Strickland notched nine points and dished out a career-best five assists.
With the score knotted up at 65 with two-and-a-half minutes to go, Banks drilled a three from the right wing. After getting a defensive stop on the Redbirds' next possession, the Bruins fed Fuller in the post to take a 70-65 lead with 1:18 left. Following two Illinois State missed free throws, Fuller broke free in the post once again and put Belmont up 72-65 with only 44 seconds remaining.
Firmly in control, the Bruins got free throws from Banks and sophomore guard
Sanaa Tripp to close out the win.
Belmont held the Redbirds to only one made field goal in the final four minutes.
A 9-3 Illinois State run in the fourth quarter sparked by a three from Grace Nelson got the Redbirds back into the game after the Bruins had taken a 62-56 advantage on a
Quinn Eubank layup with 7:31 left. Illinois State's Doneelah Washington evened the score on a layup with four minutes to go.
The Redbirds were 2-of-8 at the free-throw line across the last five minutes of play.
Belmont shot a blistering 63 percent (17-of-27) in the second half and went 3-for-5 from outside after shooting just 35.3 percent (12-of-34), including going 2-for-16 (12.5 percent) from beyond the arc, in the first half.
After trailing 38-30 at halftime, the Bruins used a 10-0 run to start the second half. A Strickland layup just over three minutes into the third quarter put Belmont back in front 40-38.
After Illinois State scored five-straight points, the Bruins went on a 13-4 run highlighted by a pair of deep jumpers from Brodie. Tripp put Belmont up 53-47 on a layup in the final minute of the third quarter and the Bruins led 53-49 heading into the final stanza.
Belmont outpaced the Redbirds 23-11 in the third frame on 10-for-15 (66.7 percent) shooting.
A Fuller layup in the opening minute of the fourth quarter gave the Bruins their largest lead of the afternoon at 57-49, before Illinois State responded with five consecutive points from Nelson.
Fuller scored 13 of Belmont's 19 first-quarter points as the Bruins led 19-17 after 10 minutes of action.
The Bruins were outscored 21-11 in the second quarter, going 0-for-8 from long range and shooting 26.7 percent (4-of-15) overall. The Redbirds hit five of their eight second-quarter three-point attempts and outscored Belmont 13-6 in the closing five-and-a-half minutes of the half.
The Bruins outscored Illinois State 45-30 in the second half.
Tripp earned a game-high four steals.
Washington paced the Redbirds with 23 points and a game-best 16 rebounds. Illinois State also got 20 points on 7-for-11 shooting from Nelson and a game-high nine assists from starting guard Trista Fayta.
Of Note
- Belmont breaks the tie in the series with the Redbirds, improving to 3-2 versus Illinois State.
- The Bruins own their first three-game winning streak of the season.
- Belmont moves to 5-3 at home this season.
- The Bruins are off to a 4-0 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 six of her last seven outings, including each of her last five. She leads Belmont with 12 double-figure scoring games on the season.
- Banks has scored in double figures in all but one game she has played this season (9-of-10).
- Banks is only 39 points away from becoming the Bruins' 37th 1,000-point scorer.
- Brodie has missed just one shot over the last two games (11-for-12).
Up Next
Belmont wraps up its second four-game homestand next weekend, hosting Drake Friday night before welcoming Northern Iowa to the Curb next Sunday. Tipoff Friday versus the Bulldogs is at 6:30 p.m. Both MVC home matchups 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.
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