Women’s Basketball Begins Opening Statement with South Florida at the Curb Friday Night

 
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Nashville edition of the 2026 Opening Statement tips off Friday in Music City as the Belmont University women's basketball team hosts South Florida for its home opener. Tipoff from the Curb Event Center is set for 7:30 p.m.
 
Columbia will take on Rhode Island in game one of the Nashville Opening Statement Friday at 5 p.m.
 
The home opener will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Dr. Rich Tiner (play-by-play) and Kevin Maggard (analyst) on the call. Jill Jelnick will be reporting from the sideline. The game can also be heard on Belmont All-Access, available online, and live stats of the contest can be followed by visiting BelmontBruins.com.
 
Squishy cubes will be given away to all fans in attendance beginning one hour prior to tipoff, while supplies last.
 
Opening Statement

• The Opening Statement is a new cross-conference event featuring the top teams from the Missouri Valley Conference, American Conference, Atlantic 10 Conference and Ivy League.
• The Atlantic 10's Rhode Island will also be in action at the Curb Event Center for the Opening Statement this weekend but will not play the Bruins.
• Both Friday and Sunday feature two games each day.
• South Florida takes on Rhode Island Sunday at 12 p.m. prior to Belmont hosting Columbia at 2:30 p.m.
• Nashville is one of two Opening Statement sites with the A-10's Richmond serving as the other host over the weekend. Fellow MVC member Murray State will participate in the Spiders' four-team event in Richmond, Virginia.

What's Bruin

• The Bruins (0-1) began their 59th season as a program and 10th under head coach Bart Brooks Monday night at receiving-votes Princeton. The Tigers defeated Belmont 63-52 inside Jadwin Gymnasium in Princeton, New Jersey.
• Despite trailing for 26 minutes of the game, the Bruins came back from a seven-point deficit and took a 44-43 lead with seven-and-a-half minutes to go on a Kate McGinnis 3-pointer. However, Princeton closed the game on a 20-8 run.
• The Tigers' Fadima Tall scored 29 points and grabbed 22 rebounds against Belmont, accounting for 16 of Princeton's 24 points in the pivotal fourth quarter.
• The Bruins held the Tigers to 34.5 percent (20-of-58) shooting and outscored Princeton 21-14 in the third quarter by going 9-for-13 from the field (69.2 percent).
• In her Belmont debut Monday, graduate guard Kenley McCarn scored a team-high 15 points on 7-for-12 shooting.
• In her collegiate debut in New Jersey, freshman guard Chelby Jordan filled the stat sheet with 13 points, 11 of which came in the second half, four assists, four rebounds, four steals, and a block.
• Junior guard Quinn Eubank nearly posted a double-double against the Tigers, finishing with a team-high nine rebounds and eight points.
• The Bruins won 20 games for the 11th-straight season last year, going 20-12 overall and 16-4 in the MVC.
• Belmont finished second in the MVC in 2025-26, marking the 10th time in 11 seasons the Bruins finished first or second in its conference.
• Belmont was picked third in the MVC Preseason Poll behind two-time defending regular season and tournament champion Murray State (first) and Illinois State (second).
• The Bruins lost four of their five starters from last season and returned only four letter winners — starter Eubank, fifth-year center KK Brodie, sophomore forward Leah West and sophomore guard McGinnis.
• Belmont returned only 19.8 percent of its scoring, 32.9 percent of its rebounding and 18.2 percent of its assists from last season.
• However, the Bruins feature five newcomers — graduate transfer guard Katie Criswell (North Alabama), freshman forward Samiya Jones (Memphis, Tenn.), Jordan (Trenton, Tenn.), McCarn (UT Martin) and senior transfer forward Lauren Rust (Pittsburgh).

Home Openers

• Belmont has won 10-straight home openers.
• The Bruins are a perfect 9-0 in home openers under coach Brooks.
• Last November, Belmont defeated Brown 83-61 in its 2025-26 home opener.

Preseason Honors

• Eubank, Brodie, McCarn and Rust were all named to the 2026-27 MVC Players to Watch List.
• McCarn was also tabbed Preseason All-MVC by Basket Under Review.
• A native of Union, Kentucky (Ryle HS), Eubank led the Bruins in rebounding last year (6.8 RPG) and reached double-figure boards eight times. She also led Belmont in double-doubles (4), averaged 6.9 points per game and shot a team-best 41.4 percent (29-of-70) from beyond the arc.
• After transferring to the Music City from Pepperdine last year, Brodie averaged 5.2 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.8 blocks and 1.2 assists in her first season as a Bruin. The Columbia, Missouri (Rock Bridge HS), native ranked 27th nationally in blocks per game and was 34th in the nation in total blocks (58) in 2025-26. Brodie scored in double figures on six occasions, including two of the last three games of the season.
• A three-time All-Ohio Valley Conference selection, McCarn spent the last four years at the University of Tennessee at Martin where she eclipsed 1,500 points. A two-time All-OVC First Team performer, McCarn totaled 1,516 points in just over three seasons of action, collected 447 rebounds, distributed 228 assists and earned 140 steals. A native of Melbourne, Arkansas (Melbourne HS), McCarn has averaged 15.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.4 steals per game for her career. She is an 85.7 percent (233-of-272) career free-throw shooter.
• McCarn's 1,531 career points are the 19th-most among active NCAA Division I players.
• Rust spent her first three seasons in the Atlantic Coast Conference at the University of Pittsburgh where she played in 47 games and made 23 starts for the Panthers. The Victoria, British Columbia, Canada (The Webb School), native averaged 5.1 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 29 games and 19 starts at Pitt last season. She posted double-figure rebounds in five games and scored in double figures four times last year.

A Winning Program

• In 59 seasons, Belmont has claimed the 15th-most victories (1,129) among all NCAA Division I women's basketball programs.
• The Bruins entered 2026-27 tied for 29th in all-time winning percentage (.658).
• Belmont is one of only seven teams in the nation to have won 20-plus games for 11-straight seasons. UConn, South Carolina, Baylor, Iowa, NC State and South Dakota State are the only others.
• The Bruins' 72.1 winning percentage (222-86) 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 11 consecutive seasons in both women's and men's basketball.

A Championship Program

• The Bruins (11) are one of only seven programs in the country to have won 10 or more conference championships, regular season and tournament combined, over the previous 10 seasons. UConn (20), Florida Gulf Coast (16), South Carolina (14), Princeton (12), South Dakota State (12) and Green Bay (10) are the only others.
• Since the 2015-16 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 over the last six seasons, 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 14 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 earned an at-large bid to the 2025 and 2024 Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT) and the 2023 WNIT.
• Playing into April for the first time in school history, the Bruins rattled off four wins in the 2025 WBIT. Hosting in the first two rounds, Belmont took out nearby Middle Tennessee in the opening round before overcoming 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 in March of 2025 tied for the largest deficit overcome to win any NCAA postseason game in Division I women's basketball history.

Conference Dominance

• Including last season, Belmont has finished first or second in its conference in 10 of the last 11 seasons.
• The Bruins have finished in the top three of their conference in 14 of the last 15 seasons, including each of the last 11.
• Belmont has played in a conference tournament championship game in eight of the last 11 years.
• Since the 2012-13 season, the Bruins have compiled a remarkable 205-44 (.823) record in conference play.
• Altogether, including conference tournaments, Belmont has gone 231-51 (.819) against league opponents across the last 14 seasons.

Head Coach Bart Brooks

• In 10 seasons, coach Brooks has compiled a remarkable 218-81 record. His 72.9 winning percentage ranks among the top 30 of active head coaches in Division I women's basketball.
• Coach Brooks is the only active Division I head coach to have won a conference championship, either regular season or tournament, in each of his first six seasons as a head coach.
• No other current Division I head coach with nine seasons or fewer under their belt has won more games than coach Brooks.
• On Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, coach Brooks earned his 200th career win with the Bruins' 72-66 road victory at Dayton. He reached the career milestone in just 270 games as a head coach.
• Coach Brooks is a ridiculous 145-24 (.858) in conference action with nine combined 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 162-29 (.848) against conference opponents.
• Over the last nine postseasons, coach Brooks has gone 24-12 (.667).
• In the key months of February and March under coach Brooks' direction, Belmont is 100-22 (.820).
• Coach Brooks was the third-fastest head coach to reach 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

• The Bruins annually play one of the most impressive non-conference schedules in the nation.
• Belmont will see eight teams who reached national postseason play last March, including five 2026 NCAA Tournament Teams (Princeton, Tennessee, LSU, Iowa State, Vanderbilt) and 2026 WBIT champion Columbia, during its non-conference slate.
• Nine of the Bruins' 12 non-conference opponents were ranked in the top 100 of last year's NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings, including six who were in the top 50 — LUS (No. 3), Vanderbilt (No. 7), Tennessee (No. 25), Iowa State (No. 33), Princeton (No. 37) and Columbia (No. 45).
• Additionally, 11 of Belmont's 12 non-conference opponents had a winning record in 2025-26 and seven reached at least 20 wins.
• The Bruins' non-conference schedule also includes a prestigious MTE (multi-team event) in the Bahamas for a second-straight year as Belmont will take part in the 2026 Baha Mar Hoops Nassau Championship over Thanksgiving weekend. Held at the beautiful Grand Hyatt Baha Mar resort in Nassau, Bahamas, the Bruins will face Iowa State (Nov. 27) and Marquette (Nov. 29) in the island MTE.

Mid-Major Rankings

• Belmont is ranked 20th in the preseason CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll.

At the Curb

• The Bruins are 125-21 (.856) at home since the start of the 2015-16 season.
• Belmont has a home winning percentage of .751 (223-74) inside the Curb since the arena opened prior to the 2003-04 season.
• Under coach Brooks, the Bruins are an exceptional 101-20 (.835) at the Curb.
• In conference play, Belmont has been even more dominant at home, going 109-15 (.879) since 2012. In his first nine seasons, coach Brooks has lost only nine league games at the Curb with a 75-9 (.893) record.
• For five-straight seasons and 10 of the last 11, the Bruins have won 10 or more games at the Curb.

Versus South Florida

• Friday night will be just the third meeting between Belmont and South Florida.
• The Bulls won each of the first two matchups — 77-67 on Dec. 5, 1998, in the championship game of the Four Queens Shootout hosted by UNLV in Las Vegas and 74-55 on Dec. 19, 2007, at the Caribbean Classic in Cancún, Mexico.

Against the American

• The Bruins are 17-14 all-time versus current American programs.
• Belmont last faced a team from the American early in the 2024-25 season when the Bruins visited Wichita State for a 75-55 win.

About the Bulls

• South Florida (1-0) trounced Furman 80-54 in its season opener Monday.
• The Bulls shot 51.6 percent (32-of-62) in their season-opening triumph and had six double-figure scorers.
• South Florida, under the direction of first-year leader Kristy Curry, was picked to finish third in the American, but received a first-place vote in the conference's preseason predicted order of finish.
• Last year, the Bulls went 20-12 overall and 13-5 in American play, falling in the American Tournament quarterfinals to sixth-seeded UTSA as the No. 3 seed.
• South Florida is only one season removed from winning the 2025 American Tournament and reaching the 2025 NCAA Tournament as a No. 12 seed.
• The Bulls were a No. 8 seed in both the 2023 and 2021 NCAA Tournaments where they reached the second round.
• Fifth-year 5-foot-8 guard Stefanie Ingram, a returning American All-Conference Third Team selection, was tabbed Preseason American All-Conference First Team. Last year, she averaged 9.9 points and 5.7 assists per game.
• South Florida also features three-time all-conference performer Kate Novik, a 6-foot senior guard who was an All-BIG EAST Second Team honoree last season at DePaul and two-time All-OVC Second Team choice at Morehead State. In 2025-26, Novik averaged 12.2 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.5 assists for the Blue Demons.

Up Next
Belmont continues its five-game homestand Sunday afternoon against Columbia. Tipoff of the Bruins' second Opening Statement game is slated for 2:30 p.m. from the Curb. All Opening Statement games are being broadcast on ESPN+.
 
Season Tickets
Basketball season tickets, which include all Belmont women's and men's home games, are on sale now and can be purchased by visiting BelmontBruins.com/Tickets. Belmont Bruin Club memberships are also available.
 
How to Follow
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