Women’s Basketball Hosts Valparaiso for Annual Play4Kay Game Sunday Afternoon

 
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Winners of three straight, the Belmont University women's basketball team is back in action Sunday afternoon at the Curb Event Center as the Bruins host Valparaiso for their annual Play4Kay game benefiting the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. Tipoff from the Music City is set for 2 p.m.
 
The Missouri Valley Conference home matchup will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Dr. Rich Tiner (play-by-play) and former Belmont forward Ellie Harmeyer Strutz ('20) (analyst) on the call. The game can also be heard on Belmont Bruins Radio, available online. Live stats of the contest can be followed by visiting BelmontBruins.com.
 
Play4Kay
The Bruins annually host a Play4Kay game to benefit the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. Play4Kay games unite coaches, players, officials and fans in the fight against all cancers affecting women. Fans are encouraged to show their support by donating to the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. To learn more about Play4Kay, visit KayYow.com/Play4Kay.
 
Pink "Play for a Cure" t-shirts will be given away to all fans in attendance beginning one hour prior to tipoff, while supplies last.
 
Following the game, Belmont players will be available for signing autographs in the Maddox Grand Atrium of the Curb.
 
What's Bruin

• The Bruins (15-9, 11-2 MVC) won their third consecutive game Friday night with a 71-56 triumph over visiting University of Illinois Chicago.
• Last weekend in Iowa, Belmont completed its first regular season sweep of Drake before remaining undefeated at Northern Iowa's McLeod Center in Cedar Falls.
• The Bruins are 8-4 at home this season and have won seven of their last eight true road games.
• Belmont had its season-best six-game winning streak snapped at Murray State on Jan. 18. The Racers are the only team to defeat the Bruins in the Valley this season, also getting past Belmont 78-71 at the Curb on Jan. 31.
• The Bruins began MVC play 7-0, their best conference start since 2017-18 when Belmont completed its second consecutive undefeated season in the Ohio Valley Conference.
• The Bruins are 9-2 in 2026.
• With its 77-67 home win over Evansville on Dec. 17, Belmont secured its 10th-straight conference opening triumph.
• The Bruins played eight of nine games at home with two four-game homestands in December and January. Belmont had four of its six December games in the Curb and the Bruins' first four games of the new year were in the Music City.
• Junior guard Jailyn Banks has scored in double figures in all but one game she has played in this season (15-of-16). With a free throw at the four-minute mark of the third quarter against Murray State on Jan. 31, Banks reached her 1,000th career point to become Belmont's 37th 1,000-point scorer. Last Thursday in the win at Drake, Banks scored a career-high 26 points, including tallying 22 in the second half on 7-for-12 shooting.
• Graduate guard Tuti Jones broke the Bruins' all-time steals record late in the third quarter in Belmont's win at Indiana State on Jan. 15. She recorded her 405th career steal to surpass Daree Pilkinton Merritt, who had compiled 404 steals from 1988-91.
• Sophomore forward Hilary Fuller leads the Bruins with 17 double-figure scoring games on the season and has posted at least 20 points four times in MVC play.
• Graduate guard Avery Strickland was named MVC Newcomer of the Week on Monday, Feb. 2 after scoring a career-high 23 points and snagging a career-best eight rebounds in Belmont's overtime road win over the Purple Aces on Jan. 29. Her four 20-point performances this season are tied with Fuller and Banks for the most of any Bruin.
• Belmont faced three top-15 ranked Southeastern Conference opponents during non-conference play. The Bruins hosted 15th-ranked Kentucky on 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 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 – 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

• Behind a season-best 55 percent (11-of-20) shooting performance from beyond the arc, Belmont extinguished the Flames inside the Curb Friday night.
• The Bruins scored 40 second-half points on 6-for-11 (54.5 percent) shooting from outside and led by as much as 18 late in the third quarter.
• Belmont put together its highest scoring quarter of the season with a 28-point third stanza, shooting 64.7 percent (11-of-17) from the field and going 4-for-4 from downtown in the period.
• After UIC climbed back within eight with eight-and-a-half minutes to go, the Bruins got a key three-pointer from Jones before keeping the Flames without a field goal for the last 4:55 of the game. Belmont didn't allow UIC to score in the closing two minutes.
• The Bruins held the Flames to 38.1 percent (24-of-63) shooting, including 16.7 percent (2-of-12) from distance. UIC's only two made threes came in the third quarter.
• Belmont totaled 22 points off 12 Flame turnovers and outscored UIC 26-22 in the paint.
• The Bruins led for over 36 minutes of the contest and got 19 points on 5-for-5 shooting from deep from Fuller, who returned following a two-game absence due to illness.
• Strickland and Banks poured in 15 points each, while Jones scored nine points on 3-for-4 shooting from three-point range.
• Fuller scored 16 of her 19 in the second half on 6-for-9 shooting and Strickland tallied 13 of her 15 across the second 20 minutes of action on 6-for-7 shooting.
• Banks distributed a game-high tying five assists and Strickland added six rebounds.
• Sophomore guard Quinn Eubank grabbed a team-high seven boards.

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 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 eighth-ranked Ohio State on Nov. 24 in Nassau, Bahamas. She is only the 11th Belmont player to reach 1,500 career points and is second in scoring in the Bruins' NCAA era (1,696 points).
• Belmont's all-time steals leader (417), Jones is also the Bruins' all-time leader in both games started (160) and games played (161).
• Across all divisions of NCAA basketball, Jones is the nation's current leader in games played and is third among active career steals leaders.
• 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 Belmont's 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 their 58th season as a program, the Bruins have claimed the 15th-most victories in NCAA Division I women's basketball (1,124).
• Belmont entered 2025-26 with the 30th-best all-time winning percentage (.658).
• The Bruins are 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.
• Belmont's 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 200-42 (.826) record in conference play.
• Altogether, including conference tournaments, the Bruins have gone 226-49 (.822) 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 213-77 record. His 73.4 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 140-22 (.864) 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 157-26 (.858) 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 95-19 (.833).
• 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 was 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. 6/7 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 most votes (75) of teams not ranked in this week's CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll.

At the Curb

• The Bruins are 122-21 (.853) at home since the start of the 2015-16 season.
• Belmont has a home winning percentage of .748 (220-74) inside the Curb since the arena opened prior to the 2003-04 season.
• Under coach Brooks, the Bruins are an exceptional 98-20 (.831) at the Curb.
• In conference play, Belmont has been even more dominant at home, going 106-15 (.876) since 2012. In his first nine seasons, coach Brooks has lost only nine league games at the Curb with a 72-9 (.889) record.
• For four-straight seasons and nine of the last 10, the Bruins have won 10 or more games at the Curb.

Versus Valparaiso

• Sunday afternoon will be only the sixth all-time meeting between Belmont and the Beacons. The Bruins have won all five previous matchups by at least 13 points.
• Belmont is 2-0 versus Valparaiso at the Curb, including a 67-53 victory over the Beacons in Nashville last January.
• In the two team's last meeting on Feb. 7 last year, the Bruins routed Valparaiso 69-41 in Valparaiso, Indiana. It was the largest margin of victory in series. Then a freshman, sophomore guard Sanaa Tripp scored 13 points off the bench on 3-for-5 shooting from outside.

About the Beacons

• Valparaiso (0-25, 0-14 MVC) owns the nation's longest losing streak.
• The Beacons have lost 27 straight dating back to March 6, 2025, when Valparaiso edged Drake 66-65 at home on a pair of last-second free throws. It was the Beacons' largest comeback in program history as Valparaiso trailed by 20 approaching the midway point of the third quarter.
• The Beacons fell 95-69 at Murray State Friday evening.
• Valparaiso went 13-19 overall and 9-11 in MVC play last season, finishing eighth in the final league standings.
• Freshman 5-foot-5 guard Allia von Schlegell leads the Beacons in scoring (11.7 PPG).
• Senior 5-foot-8 guard Fiona Connolly is also averaging double-figure scoring (11.5 PPG).
• Redshirt junior 6-foot-3 center Kamryn Winch, a NCAA Division II Maryville University transfer, leads Valparaiso in rebounding (5.5 RPG), while senior 5-foot-4 guard Mikayla Huffine, a Division II Quincy University transfer, leads the team in assists (2.6 APG).

Up Next
Belmont visits the Land of Lincoln next weekend, traveling to Illinois State Friday before heading to Bradley Sunday. Tipoff Friday night at CEFCU Arena in Normal, Illinois, is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. The MVC road tilt will be broadcast on The Valley on ESPN, available 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.