NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Scoring a season-high 88 points, the Belmont University women's basketball team defeated visiting Indiana State 88-79 late Saturday afternoon inside the Curb Event Center on senior day. Celebrating their four seniors –
Tuti Jones,
Emily La Chapell,
Claire Hyde and
Avery Strickland – the Bruins (17-11, 13-4 MVC) had five players reach double-figures as Belmont scored over 20 points in each of the last three quarters.
The Bruins shot 47 percent from the field and made a season-high 31 baskets.
Half of Belmont's points came in the paint, a season-high 44, and the Bruins shot a near season-best 83.3 percent (20-of-24) at the free-throw line.
With her fifth 20-point performance in Missouri Valley Conference play, sophomore forward
Hilary Fuller led Belmont with 22 points, seven rebounds and a career-high tying three blocks.
Fellow sophomore
Sanaa Tripp scored 17 points off the bench while going a perfect 8-for-8 at the foul line and also secured seven boards.
Graduate guard Jones, as she has done time and time again throughout her illustrious career, put together the most impressive stat line of the day with 16 points on 8-for-15 shooting, six assists, five rebounds and a game-high five steals.
Fellow graduate guard Strickland notched 13 points on 5-for-9 shooting and junior guard
Jailyn Banks totaled 11 points, six of which came in the second quarter.
The Bruins led by as much as 22 in the fourth quarter after the Sycamores (9-20, 5-14 MVC) were up by three twice in the first half.
A sluggish start saw Indiana State take an 11-8 lead just over six minutes in before Belmont scored seven-straight points. The Sycamores closed the first quarter on an 8-4 run, and the teams were knotted up at 19 following the inaugural 10 minutes of action.
A steal by Jones, a three-pointer by Strickland and an and-one layup by Banks highlighted a 9-2 Bruin run that put Belmont in front 34-28 with just under six minutes to go in the half. However, Indiana State proceeded to go an 11-2 scoring run, retaking a three-point lead at 39-36 on a pair of free throws from starting guard Kennedy Claybrooks.
Undeterred, the Bruins went on a 9-0 run in the final minute of the first half. In the last 10 seconds of the half, a free throw by redshirt junior guard Hyde on an upgraded flagrant foul and a conventional three-point play from Tripp gave Belmont a 45-39 lead going into halftime.
The Bruins scored 26 points in the second quarter led by Strickland's eight, despite going 1-for-6 from beyond the arc.
Belmont went 13-for-16 at the free-throw line across the first half.
Sophomore guard
Quinn Eubank scored on a driving layup and Jones came up with a steal and finished at the rim to make it a 10-point game at 49-39 within the first minute of the second half. After the Sycamores went on an 11-4 run to get back within three twice, Jones scored on consecutive possessions to push the Bruins in front 57-50 at the midway point of the third quarter.
Belmont outscored Indiana State 9-3 across the last 3:40 of the third as back-to-back buckets from Fuller put the Bruins back up by double digits. Through three quarters of play, Belmont led 66-56.
Jones and Fuller combined to score 15 of the Bruins' 21 third-quarter points, and Belmont shot 53.3 percent (8-of-15) in the stanza while holding the Sycamores to 37.5 percent (6-of-16) shooting.
Tripp set the tone early in the fourth with a finish through contact and a sunk free throw as part of a 6-0 start to the quarter for the Bruins. Just two-and-a-half minutes into the period, Fuller and Tripp nailed consecutive threes to make it 78-60 before baskets from Fuller and Jones extended Belmont's lead to its largest of the day at 82-60 with 6:19 left.
After capping the Bruins' 16-4 run to begin the final quarter, Jones kept Belmont up by 20 with her layup making it 84-64 with 4:30 remaining. Once again, Jones hit a jumper and Strickland made a tough layup to hold the lead at 18 with under two minutes to go.
Indiana State scored the last nine points of the contest and finished the game on a 19-6 run.
Fuller (8), Jones (6) and Tripp (6) combined for 20 of the Bruins' 22 fourth-quarter points. Belmont went 9-for-17 from the floor in the last quarter en route to shooting 53.1 percent (17-of-32) in the second half.
Fuller (15) and Jones (14) accounted for 29 of the Bruins' 43 second-half points.
Belmont held the Sycamores to 38.2 percent (13-of-34) shooting in the second half.
Clemisha Prackett paced Indiana State with 22 points on 8-for-12 shooting and eight rebounds. The Sycamores also got a near double-double from Claybrooks, who finished with 12 points and a game-high nine assists, while fellow starting guard Da'Naria Washington claimed 11 points and seven boards.
Of Note
- The Bruins improve to 8-0 versus Indiana State since joining the Valley.
- With the victory, Belmont clinches a top-four seed for the upcoming Credit Union 1 MVC Tournament. The Bruins can secure a No. 2 seed for the conference tournament with two more wins.
- Ninth-year head coach Bart Brooks picked up his 100th win inside the Curb. He is 100-20 (.833) at home since taking over the program prior to the 2017-18 season.
- Belmont has won 10 or more games at the Curb for five-straight seasons and 10 of the last 11. The Bruins are 10-4 at home this season.
- Banks has scored in double figures in 19 of the 20 games she has played in this season.
Up Next
Belmont closes out the home portion of the regular season Monday night with Southern Illinois visiting the Curb. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. and the MVC home 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
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.
#ItsBruinTime
