NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Behind balanced scoring and a season-high 14 made three-pointers, the Belmont University women's basketball team dismantled Valparaiso 77-37 Sunday afternoon inside the Curb Event Center in the Music City. The Bruins (16-9, 12-2 MVC) put together another stifling defensive performance as they held the visiting Beacons (0-26, 0-15 MVC) to only 14 made field goals on 19.4 percent shooting (14-of-72).
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Collecting 14 steals, Belmont's 10th game this season with at least 12 takeaways, the Bruins held Valparaiso to 6-for-33 (18.2 percent) shooting from outside.
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Belmont went 14-for-40 (35 percent) from beyond the arc and got 28 of its 77 points off the bench. For the first time since Jan. 30, 2016 – a double overtime win at Tennessee Tech, the Bruins brought down over 60 rebounds. Belmont outrebounded the Beacons 61-48 and outscored Valparaiso 24-12 in the paint.
Sophomore guard
Sanaa Tripp, one of four Bruins to score in double figures, recorded her first career double-double with a career-high 15 rebounds and 10 points, while junior guard
Jailyn Banks paced Belmont with 19 points on 8-for-15 shooting, six boards, three assists and three steals.
Graduate guard
Avery Strickland nearly posted her first career double-double as well, finishing with 11 points on 3-for-4 shooting from distance and a career-best nine rebounds.
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Sophomore guard
Quinn Eubank also tallied 11 points and snagged seven boards.
Belmont jumped out to a 7-0 lead and never looked back. A Tripp jumper completed a 12-0 run and put the Bruins up 19-2 seven minutes in.
The Beacons ended the first quarter on an 8-2 run, but Belmont led 21-10 through the opening 10 minutes.
Valparaiso's Allia von Schlegell hit a three in the first minute of the second quarter to get the Beacons back within eight, however, the visitors would be no closer for the remainder of the afternoon. Von Schlegell scored on a driving layup to keep Valparaiso within eight before the Bruins went on a 10-0 run to mount an 18-point, 33-15 lead.
Free throws from Banks late in the second frame gave Belmont its first 20-point advantage of the day and the Bruins led 39-18 at halftime after ending the first half on a 16-3 run.
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Banks had 12 points at the break and Belmont limited the Beacons to 18.9 percent (7-of-37) first-half shooting, including 18.8 percent (3-of-16) from three-point range.
Strickland collected an offensive board and laid it in within the first 20 seconds of the second half before the Bruins took a 28-point lead at 54-26 midway through the third quarter on a Banks fast-break layup. Back-to-back triples from redshirt junior guard
Claire Hyde gave Belmont its first 30-point lead of the game at 60-28 with just over two-and-a-half minutes left in the third.
The Bruins ended the third quarter on a lengthy 18-6 run and were firmly in control at 62-32 going into the fourth. Outscoring Valparaiso 23-14 in the third, Belmont went 5-for-9 (55.6 percent) from deep.
Junior center
KK Brodie connected on a three-pointer a little over 90 seconds into the fourth stanza to make it 70-35 and the Bruins didn't allow a Beacon field goal in the last nine-and-a-half minutes. Freshman guard
Kate McGinnis scored Belmont's last five points, her three with 4:39 to go putting an exclamation point on the afternoon.
Neither team scored in the closing four-and-a-half minutes of play.
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The Bruins outscored Valparaiso 15-5 in the final quarter and 38-19 in the second half. Belmont made eight second-half treys.
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The Bruins assisted on 17 of their 27 baskets.
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Hyde finished with a career-high nine points on 3-for-5 shooting from downtown. Brodie and sophomore forward
Hilary Fuller both distributed a career-high tying four assists.
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Starting guard Fiona Connolly led the Beacons with 11 points, 10 of which she scored in the second half, and nine rebounds. Valparaiso also got nine points and nine boards from starting forward Milana Nenadic.
Of Note
- Prior to tipoff, Banks was honored at midcourt for reaching 1,000 career points in the home matchup with Murray State on Jan. 31. She was presented with a commemorative 1,000-point basketball.
- Sunday afternoon was Belmont's annual Play4Kay game benefiting the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. Joining in the fight against all cancers affecting women, both the Bruin and Beacon coaching staffs wore pink "Play for a Cure" t-shirts. Belmont and Valparaiso players also wore pink Play4Kay t-shirts during pregame warmups.
- The Bruins move to 6-0 all-time versus the Beacons.
- The 40-point win is Belmont's largest margin of victory this season.
- Banks has scored in double figures in 16 of the 17 games she has played in this season.
- Strickland has reached double figures in all but four Missouri Valley Conference matchups this season.
Up Next
The Bruins visit 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+.
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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.
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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.
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How to Follow
Follow Belmont women's basketball on social media -Â
@BelmontWBBÂ on X, formerly Twitter,Â
@belmontwbb on Instagram andÂ
Belmont Women's Basketball on Facebook - for complete coverage of the Bruins. Stay up to date with all of Belmont's athletic programs via theÂ
official app of the Belmont Bruins, available both in the Apple App Store and on Google Play.
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#ItsBruinTime
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