NORMAL, Ill. – Despite a 12-point first-half lead and an eight-point advantage at halftime, the Belmont University women's basketball team was defeated 83-78 in overtime Friday night at Illinois State. The host Redbirds (16-10, 10-5 MVC) outscored the Bruins (16-10, 12-3 MVC) 43-35 in the second half behind 61 percent (14-of-23) shooting, before holding Belmont to 3-for-9 from the field in overtime.
The Bruins had possession with the score knotted at 68 with 16.5 seconds remaining in regulation, but a three-pointer by junior guard
Jailyn Banks went wide right.
With under 20 seconds to go in overtime and Belmont trailing 79-76, threes from Banks and sophomore guard
Sanaa Tripp were just off before Illinois State's Addison Martin secured a defensive board. Fellow sophomore guard
Quinn Eubank scored on a wide-open layup as head coach
Bart Brooks drew up a beautiful inbounds play, however, it only got the Bruins within three at 81-78 with just two seconds remaining.
The Redbirds were able to successfully inbound the ball on their ensuing possession and reserve guard Grace Nelson sunk both free throws to seal the game.
Illinois State went 8-for-10 at the free-throw line in the extra period and was 3-for-3 from the floor, including 1-for-1 from outside.
Banks scored a career-high tying 26 points and made a career-high six three-pointers.
Belmont's all-time steals leader, graduate guard
Tuti Jones, snatched a career-best eight steals as the Bruins came up with 13 takeaways. It marks the 11th time this season Belmont has recorded at least 12 steals.
The Bruins committed a season-low six turnovers and assisted on 16 of their 25 made baskets.
The Redbirds outrebounded Belmont 45-35 and outscored the Bruins 34-28 in the paint.
Belmont scored 15 points off 18 Illinois State turnovers but got only eight points from its bench. The Redbirds also outscored the Bruins 19-7 in fastbreak points.
Illinois State led for just over 11-and-a-half minutes of the contest.
Belmont kept the Redbirds scoreless for the first three-and-a-half minutes of the game, taking a 6-0 lead on a Banks triple a little over three minutes in. A Tripp layup gave the Bruins a 15-8 lead following one quarter of play.
Banks hit another three to expand Belmont's lead to double digits within the first minute of the second quarter. After Illinois State got back within five at 19-14, graduate guard
Avery Strickland scored seven consecutive points. Her three-pointer with just over five minutes left in the first half put the Bruins up by a dozen at 26-12.
Sophomore guard
Quinn Eubank kept Belmont in front by double digits with a three with three-and-a-half minutes to go in the half, and the Bruins took a 33-25 lead into the break thanks to a layup from sophomore forward
Hilary Fuller.
Belmont limited the Redbirds to 31 percent (9-of-29) shooting in the first half, including 28.6 percent (2-of-7) from beyond the arc. In the opening quarter, the Bruins held Illinois State to 3-for-14 (21.4 percent) from the field.
Twice in the third quarter Belmont owned a 10-point lead as Banks put the Bruins up 40-30 with yet another three a little over two-and-a-half minutes into the second half. The Redbirds outscored Belmont 10-6 over the next three-and-a-half minutes of action before Banks kept the Bruins in front by nine at 49-40 with her fourth trey.
Illinois State ended the last three-and-a-half minutes of the third quarter on a 12-4 scoring run. A fastbreak layup by Redbird starting guard Trista Fayta evened the score at 52 with 36 seconds remaining in the quarter. Jones converted a free throw to put Belmont back in front 53-52 heading into the pivotal fourth.
Illinois State went 10-for-12 (83.3 percent) from the floor, including 3-for-3 from distance, in the third stanza.
The Redbirds scored the first five points of the fourth quarter, mounting a four-point lead before triples from Strickland and Banks made it 59-57 Bruins with 6:42 left in regulation. Illinois State responded with five-straight points and led 64-61 with 4:45 to go.
A pair of free throws and a layup, all by Banks, gave Belmont a 65-64 lead with just under two minutes remaining in regulation. The Redbirds then went in front by a point with two foul shots with 39 seconds left. On the Bruins' next possession, Banks was fouled on a three-point attempt with 21 seconds to go. She calmly sank all three free throws to give Belmont a promising 68-66 advantage.
However, Illinois State was once more able to draw a foul and the Redbirds' Martin tied the game at 68 with her two free throws.
The Bruins shot just 26.7 percent (4-of-15) in the fourth quarter and were 2-for-9 (22.2 percent) from outside the arc. Banks scored 10 of Belmont's 15 fourth-quarter points.
Illinois State went 4-for-6 from deep in the second half and was 11-for-11 at the foul line. Starting forward Doneelah Washington accounted for 21 of the Redbirds' 43 second-half points.
The Bruins shot 31 percent (9-of-29) in the second half and were 4-for-17 (23.5 percent) from long range.
Belmont and Illinois State exchanged three-pointers within the first 40 seconds of overtime before consecutive layups by the Redbirds' Martin and Washington put the home team up 75-71 with a little less than three-and-a-half minutes remaining. Strickland responded with a corner three to make it a one-point game with just under three minutes to go.
Illinois State worked the shot clock down to 1.5 seconds on its next possession and drew a foul on a baseline drive by Fayta, who converted both free throws to make it 77-74 with 2:26 left. After the Bruins came up empty on their next possession, the Redbirds missed two foul shots to keep the door open. Strickland was then fouled on a drive to the rim and made both of her free throws to get Belmont back within a point with 1:43 remaining.
Banks came up with a steal on Illinois State's next possession, but the Bruins couldn't cash in, and the Redbirds' Washington pushed the deficit back out to three at 79-76 with 55 seconds to go. After a Banks missed three, Jones grabbed her eighth steal with 25 seconds on the clock to give Belmont its final chance.
The Bruins finished 11-for-41 (26.8 percent) from deep and 34.7 percent (25-of-72) overall from the field.
Illinois State shot 47.3 percent (26-of-55) for the game and was 7-for-14 from three-point range.
Strickland (17) and Fuller (14) also scored in double figures, while junior center
KK Brodie distributed a career-high five assists. Jones dished out five assists as well.
Washington led the Redbirds with a game-best 31 points on 10-for-14 shooting and game-high 12 rebounds. Illinois State also got 24 points on 8-for-14 shooting from Martin, a game-best 11 assists from Fayta and another 11 points from Nelson.
Of Note
- The loss is Belmont's first in overtime since Dec. 3, 2019, at Toledo (53-48).
- The Bruins had won four consecutive overtime games prior to Friday night.
- Belmont has played multiple overtime games in the same season for the first time since 2019-20.
- With a 79-73 overtime win at Evansville on Jan. 29, the Bruins have played multiple overtime games in conference play for the first time since the 2010-11 season.
- In his ninth season, coach Brooks is 5-3 in overtime games.
- Belmont drops to 3-3 all-time versus the Redbirds.
- The Bruins registered at least 10 steals for the 14th time this season.
- The loss is only coach Brooks' 23rd in league play.
- Fuller has scored in double figures in a team-best 18 games this season.
- Banks has scored in double figures in 17 of the 18 games she's played in this season.
Up Next
Belmont makes the short trip to Bradley for a Sunday afternoon showdown. Tipoff from Renaissance Coliseum in Peoria, Illinois, is scheduled for 2 p.m. The Missouri Valley Conference road matchup 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
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@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
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