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Jailyn_Banks_at_UIC2026
Belmont Athletics
78
Winner Belmont BEL 20-11,16-4 MVC
70
UIC UIC 14-17,9-11 MVC
Winner
Belmont BEL
20-11,16-4 MVC
78
Final
70
UIC UIC
14-17,9-11 MVC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 OT 1 F
Belmont BEL 15 22 16 15 10 78
UIC UIC 15 18 13 22 2 70

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Bruins Close Out Regular Season with 78-70 Overtime Road Victory at UIC Saturday

Belmont Wins Fourth Straight Behind 46 Combined Points from Avery Strickland and Jailyn Banks

CHICAGO – Behind 46 combined points from graduate guard Avery Strickland and junior guard Jailyn Banks, the Belmont University women's basketball team completed the 2025-26 regular season with a 78-70 overtime victory at the University of Illinois Chicago Saturday afternoon. Winning their fourth straight, the Bruins (20-11, 16-4 MVC) shot 51 percent (32-of-63) from the field and assisted on 21 of their 32 made field goals, the second-most in a game this season.
 
Graduate guard Tuti Jones sunk a free throw with 22.6 seconds remaining in regulation to tie the score at 68 before Belmont outscored UIC 10-2 in overtime.
 
Junior center KK Brodie (6) and Banks (4) accounted for all 10 of the Bruins' points in overtime on 4-for-6 shooting.
 
Belmont overcame a 45-30 rebounding deficit and a 22-15 fourth quarter by the host Flames (14-17, 9-11 MVC).
 
With the road triumph, the Bruins secure their 11th-straight 20-win season. Only UConn, South Carolina, Baylor, Iowa, NC State, and South Dakota State have also won 20-plus games for 11 consecutive seasons.

Belmont limited UIC to 3-for-14 (21.4 percent) shooting from behind the arc and led for nearly 27-and-a-half minutes of the contest. The Bruins led by as much as nine late in the third quarter before the Flames took a three-point lead a trio of times in the last five minutes of regulation.
 
Trailing 68-65 in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter, Brodie trimmed the deficit to a point with a layup before Jones' tying free throw. Belmont had a chance to take the lead with 3.4 seconds left in regulation after Strickland drew a charge in the middle of the lane. However, Strickland was subsequently called for a charge. A shot at the buzzer by UIC's Julia Coleman fell off, sending the game to overtime inside Credit Union 1 Arena.
 
Strickland scored 24 points on a career-high 11 made baskets, while Banks poured in 22 points on 7-for-11 shooting, including going 3-for-5 from deep.
 
Brodie finished with a season-high 12 points for the second consecutive game and added a season-best eight rebounds and game-high four blocks. Jones dished out a season-high eight assists and came up with a game-best four steals.
 
The two teams were knotted up at 15 after the opening quarter of play.
 
The Flames went up by four at 24-20 a little over three-and-a-half minutes into the second quarter, giving UIC its largest lead of the afternoon. A four-point play by Banks quickly tied up the score before the Bruins closed the half on an 11-5 run. Sophomore guard Quinn Eubank hit a three-pointer to give Belmont a 35-31 lead and Strickland made it 37-33 before the break with a floater. The Bruins tallied 22 points in the second frame on 56.3 percent (9-of-16) shooting led by nine points from Strickland.
 
Banks (9) and Strickland (11) combined for 20 of Belmont's 37 first-half points as the Flames shot 45.2 percent (14-of-31) across the first 20 minutes of action.

A driving layup by Strickland made it 41-37 Bruins four minutes into the second half, and Strickland finished her own 7-1 run with a triple to push Belmont out to a six-point lead at 44-38. Banks capped the Bruins' best run of the day in Chicago, going coast-to-coast and finishing at the rim through contact. Knocking down her and-one foul shot, Banks gave Belmont a promising nine-point, 49-40 lead with 3:30 to go in the third quarter. Six-straight points by UIC got the hosts back within three before the Bruins scored the last four points of the quarter. Brodie connected on a turnaround jumper on Belmont's last possession of the third, giving the Bruins a 53-46 lead heading into the fourth.  Banks and Strickland scored all but two of Belmont's 16 third-quarter points. The Bruins limited the Flames to 4-for-19 (21.1 percent) shooting in the third quarter.

Sophomore guard Sanaa Tripp came up with a steal and laid it in to make it a nine-point Belmont lead once again less than a minute into the fourth. However, UIC would not be deterred and stayed in the game with a three-pointer from Crystal Ortiz. Moments later, another three from Ortiz got the Flames back within three at 57-54 with 7:26 left in regulation.
 
Layups by Strickland and Jones kept the Bruins in front by five, but UIC continued with its 13-4 scoring run. A jumper by the Flames' Jessica Carrothers and a quick steal and layup by TuTu Clayton finished off an 8-0 UIC run, putting the home team up 64-61 with 4:43 to go in regulation. Clayton's basket closed out an 18-6 run by the Flames over a four-and-a-half minute stretch.

Coleman kept UIC in front by three with 4:12 to go and Carrothers made it 68-65 Flames with 1:48 left.
 
Jones made two huge plays that led to her game-tying free throw after Brodie's clutch layup at the 1:17 mark. After poking the ball away inside the final minute of regulation and Belmont down 68-67, Jones corralled an offensive rebound and drew a shooting foul down low.
 
The Bruins shot 53.8 percent (7-of-13) in the fourth, but UIC was a blistering 64.3 percent (9-of-14) from the field in the quarter.
 
The Flames outscored Belmont 35-31 in the second half, despite the Bruins going 13-for-26 from the floor.
 
Belmont was 1-for-7 from outside in the second half.
 
Brodie set the tone within the first 30 seconds of overtime, hitting a turnaround jumper. Keeping UIC scoreless for nearly the first four minutes of the extra period, the Bruins took a five-point, 73-68 lead only a minute in on Banks' third and final three-pointer. Another Brodie jumper and a Brodie layup gave Belmont a nine-point lead once again at 77-68 with less than 90 seconds remaining in overtime. Coleman scored the Flames' lone basket with 1:17 left and a Banks free throw closed things out in the last 30 seconds.

UIC got a double-double from Coleman, who had a game-best 28 points on 14-for-26 shooting and game-high 15 rebounds. Carrothers provided the Flames with 14 points and a team-best six assists, while Ortiz finished with 11 points.
 
Of Note
  • The overtime game is the Bruins' third on the road in Missouri Valley Conference play this season.
  • Belmont is 2-1 in overtime games this year, including a 79-73 triumph at Evansville on Jan. 29 and an 83-78 loss at Illinois State on Feb. 20.
  • Ninth-year head coach Bart Brooks is 6-3 in overtime games.
  • The Bruins improve to 8-0 all-time versus UIC.
  • Two Bruins scored at least 20 points for the first time since Belmont's overtime road win over the Purple Aces – Strickland (23) and Banks (20).
  • The Bruins have put together three four-game winning streaks this season.
Up Next
Belmont begins postseason play next Friday in the quarterfinals of the Credit Union 1 MVC Tournament in Coralville, Iowa. As the No. 2 seed, the Bruins will take on either the seventh-seeded Flames or the No. 10 seed, which will be either Indiana State or Evansville, at 6 p.m. from Xtream Arena. The quarterfinal matchup will be broadcast on ESPN+.
 
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
 
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