A Season for the Books – Belmont Women’s Basketball’s Deepest Postseason Run Ever

Belmont's Women's Basketball Team celebrates a three-pointer from the bench, courtesy of Belmont Athletics

The Murray State Racers were the last team standing in the way of Belmont’s women’s basketball team’s first MVC championship. 

The Bruins and the Racers split their regular season series 1-1, so it seemed like anyone's game. 

But just as quickly as hopes got built up, they deflated after 40 minutes of play. 

The Bruins lost the game and their chance to punch a ticket to the NCAA tournament. 

As the players got on the bus and returned to Nashville, it was quiet. 

Nobody said a word until senior forward Kendal Cheesman finally broke the silence. 

“I love you guys. No matter what just happened. You guys worked your butts off, and I literally couldn't ask for a better group of people.” 

One by one players poked their heads up to share similar sentiments, teammates hugged, cried and laughed on the bus ride home in what they thought was the end of their season. 

The bus rides, the team dinners, the 10-game win streak in the MVC and all of the tough practices were now just memories. 

But, then the news came in. 

The Bruins were selected for the Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament. 

For some each game towed the line between advancing in the tournament or ending their college careers.  

For others it meant creating a legacy early in their Belmont careers. 

But for every player the WBIT served as a last chance for this team to play together. With a team stacked with seniors and graduate transfers the Bruins core would never be the same again. 

“I think more than anything, they wanted to keep playing,” said head coach Bart Brooks. “They wanted to keep this thing going as long as possible.” 

And the Bruins did just that by taking their season all the way to the WBIT Championship in April, the team’s deepest run ever. 

All the pieces fell into place this year for this team. 

Belmont boasted: 

• Tuti Jones, the team’s veteran presence. She led Belmont’s offense while being a defensive pest against opposing guards. 

• Cheesman, a double-double machine with a hot-hand from beyond the arc and a first team All-Missouri Valley Conference forward. 

• Jailyn Banks, a combo-guard who brought intensity to both ends of the court and a fear to opposing team’s post defenses.  

• Kendall Holmes, a graduate transfer from the University of South Dakota, who opened up the offense by stretching the floor. 

• Emily La Chapell, a 39-game starter who acted as a consistent presence on offense and defense in the starting lineup. 

• A bench unit of quality players who were always ready to check in to a game to round out the roster. 

“I knew right away we had the talent to be really good, but it also was going to be a process,” said Brooks. “I knew it was going to be some time to get that all gelling and moving in the same direction.” 

Coming into the season Belmont rebounded from losses in the transfer portal with the addition of seasoned veterans including graduate guard Holmes. 

Holmes driving towards the post against JMU guard Peyton McDaniel, photo courtesy of Belmont Athletics

Holmes opened the season with 49 points in her first four games with the Bruins, including 19 against The Ohio State University. 

Holmes showcased her shooting ability and the impact her presence made on the court. 

Against the Buckeyes who played stifling defense all season, Holmes was able to sink 60% of her shots and a number of key three pointers to keep the Bruins in the game.  

“She was instant offense. She could go on huge runs,” said Brooks. “She had to be counted for her spacing on the floor. Everyone that we played against was very aware of her.” 

Holmes’ journey to Belmont was certainly not a straight shot.   

After playing at DePaul for three seasons, Holmes transferred to South Dakota University her senior year before using her final year of eligibility to join Belmont’s crew this season. 

“I think anytime you go to a new place and start somewhere brand new, it can be scary and it can be difficult. But I will say that all of the returners just right from the start were just awesome and so welcoming,” said Holmes. “It felt like home and like people who I've known for my whole life.” 

Holmes’ 19 points were her highest of the season until she tied her career-high of 22 points during Belmont’s blowout win against James Madison University in the quarterfinals of the WBIT. 

“The Ohio State game was just a super fun game to be a part of, and I feel like the atmosphere of that game was so heightened,” she said. “My teammates were able to get me the ball more often than not. And I think anybody on our team could have had those nights throughout the season. So, when it was my night to shine then I went for it.” 

But Ohio State was just one of the Top 25 teams the Bruins faced to start the season. 

A Tough Start to the Season – The onslaught of Top 25 Opponents 

The Bruins also faced towering opponents Kansas State, Duke and Kentucky universities. 

All four were in the NCAA tournament this year. 

“The purpose of that schedule is twofold. One is so that we are going to be prepared for everything that comes our way down the home stretch,” said Brooks. “And No. 2 , we are always trying to position ourselves to be an at-large NCAA tournament team, and in order to be an at large team, you have to beat at large teams in your non-conference.” 

It certainly didn’t help that the team was also on the road for all these contests except for the Nov. 17 game against the Buckeyes, which ended up coming down to the final minutes of play. 

 “Our players understand going into these seasons that it is going to be an extremely challenging non-conference, but it's never going to be enough to break us,” said Brooks. “Whatever happens, we're going to learn from the experience, we're going to get better.” 

Belmont opened with the toughest out-of-conference schedule in the MVC and the 72nd strongest schedule in the entire country, according to WarrenNolan.com. 

This opening schedule was also where Brooks would experiment the most with his starting lineup. 

Cheesman found herself in and out of the starting lineup throughout this stretch as the Bruins attempted to find a rhythm against Top 25 opponents.  

Coming off her junior season where Cheesman averaged 27 minutes a game and started all but one game, it was an adjustment, but one she took in stride. 

“I feel like there's people that embrace both roles, and I tried to do that as best as I could. He was just trying to work with the players that we had,” she said. 

Cheesman, who started her career at Vanderbilt University before transferring to Belmont her sophomore year, certainly wasn’t new to the ebbs and flows of college basketball. 

Though it took some time, Cheesman found consistent success which eventually led to her dominance in the MVC and in postseason play. 

Kendal Cheesman going up for a shot against Murray State in the team's Feb. 23 matchup, courtesy of Belmont Athletics

“This past year, she showed that she was one of the best players in our conference, and she was an impact night in and night out on both ends of the floor,” said Brooks. “The growth and the maturity and the confidence that she played with, that is the magic of what I get to do because I got to see that process.” 

Cheesman was named to the All-MVC first team after averaging career highs in points, rebounds, assists and steals. 

“Every year they kind of gave me more of a platform and obviously basketball is all about trust and I gained a lot of trust with the coaches, just by being in the gym and asking them what they saw for me in the future, and they always had a vision,” said Cheesman. “I'm just grateful that this final year I was able to execute that vision.” 

While Belmont didn’t win any of these closely contested games against ranked opponents, half of them were decided by less than six points. 

 It gave the Bruins optimism and a foundation as a team to compete against in-conference opponents. 

Going Back Home – Competing in the MVC 

Entering MVC play, the 5-6 Bruins looked to turn their fortunes around against conference opponents. 

Belmont was certainly respected coming into the season, but it wasn’t necessarily seen as a powerhouse. 

The MVC preseason poll had Belmont finishing third in the MVC behind Drake University and the University of Northern Iowa. The Mid-Major Top 25 Poll had the Bruins around the middle of the pack at 15th in the country. 

At this point, the Bruins established the starting lineup they would stick with for the rest of the season and racked up 10 wins in a row. 

From January to February, Belmont beat a number of the MVC’s heavy hitters. 

“I feel like in that stretch we just kind of put the pieces together at the right time and I feel like we were working really hard in practice and Coach Bart was implementing a couple of new things offensively and defensively for the kind of style that we wanted to play,” said Cheesman. 

But even the best teams eventually come back to earth. 

The Bruins lost the next four games of the season and had one of their first real tests as a team. 

“We kind of ran into a stretch in our season where we weren't playing great and we were playing teams that were maybe a little hungrier than we were on the floor when we competed,” said Brooks. 

The Bruins lost against teams they had handedly beaten earlier in the season. 

“The nights that we weren't quite as good, we played against teams that were really good in that stretch, and so that was a good lesson for us as coaches and as players,” said Brooks. 

Following some adjustments and a return to the Curb, Belmont closed out its regular season on a four-game winning streak to solidify the third seed in the MVC Tournament. 

The Historic Postseason – Belmont’s Deepest Run Ever 

After cruising to a victory against Middle Tennessee State University, Belmont faced perhaps its biggest challenge of the season against the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks. 

For about three quarters, the Bruins did not play well and were down by as much as 21 points, and the Lumberjacks looked ready to capitalize on their lead and move on to the WBIT quarterfinals. 

But the Bruins never gave up. 

They kept bringing the energy on defense and making plays happen on offense. 

They worked their way back from down 12 points with two and a half minutes left to down one point with 2.5 seconds. 

The ball found its way to Banks who made a clutch reverse layup to close out the Bruins on a 12-point run and get the win. 

Banks sinking the reverse layup to take the lead against the Lumberjacks on March 23, courtesy of Belmont Athletics

“It was an emotional game... I didn't want to go out the way we started, and we dug ourselves in a deep hole. But we never give up and I knew that I just was waiting for it to kick in,” Banks said. “It was a pivotal moment for us.” 

Following a freshman season where she was named the MVC Freshman of the Year, Banks continued to be a key contributor all season. 

“Freshman year was new. Even though it was the same game, it was a different stage and different style of play,” said Banks. “This year with freshman coming in, even though I'm still learning, I had to hopefully lead a little bit because I had been here a year before.” 

Banks was someone Belmont had scouted and been looking to recruit since eighth grade and following her senior season she committed to the Bruins.  

She was the leading scorer for Belmont this season and a team touchstone for their historic run in the WBIT and was recognized for this by making the WBIT All-Tournament Team. 

“She created so much for us offensively, but probably the biggest thing she did that I don't know that she got enough credit for was her defense,” said Brooks. “She guarded some of the best point guards in the country and held them below their normal numbers.” 

Following this near win, Belmont rode its momentum into its quarterfinal matchup against James Madison University. 

Belmont fired on all cylinders against the Dukes and solidified a 90-45 victory and its largest win margin of the season.  

The Bruins never trailed due to a barrage of three pointers from Holmes and Jones. 

Jones, in her fifth season with the Bruins, notched career statistical bests across the board in different games this season. 

“Belmont has been great to me for so long. That's why I love it here,” said Jones. “I know we had a lot of transfers coming in. But we grew close really fast. I don't know if it was the dinners that we went to or what. I loved this group.” 

Jones attacking the paint against the Drake defender in the team's Feb. 15 matchup, Greer Patten

In the era of constant movement in the transfer portal, Jones is seemingly an anomaly. 

Spending one year with a program is becoming rarer and rarer, let alone five with the same team.  

“She's completely invested her career in this program... I think she's got a chance to leave the legacy to be the winningest player in the history of our program. And that is an unbelievable mark to leave,” said Brooks. “I think everyone has dreams of that like, ‘I'm going to be this and that and the other,’ and that rarely happens.” 

Following Jones’ career night from beyond the arc and staggering defense from the Bruins, they made history with their deepest postseason run.  

After traveling to Indianapolis, the Bruins had two of the most important games in program history. 

They faced the Villanova Wildcats in the semifinals and the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the championship game. 

La Chapell at free-throw line against Missouri State in the team's final regular season home game, Jolie Walker

During this stretch, La Chapell, one of Belmont’s starting guards, continued to play through an unrecognized broken hand.  

“I didn't know it at the time because we hadn't gotten the x-rays, but just with everything on the line... I feel like it's just sacrificing a lot because I wanted to find success with this team and give the seniors what they deserved,” she said. 

La Chapell, still brought the same intensity on defense even with her wrapped hand wrapped for the WBIT run. 

“I played this sport for a reason and I'm around these people for a reason. I'm humble enough to know that if I couldn't contribute and I'd be hurting the team more than helping it, that I would have stepped out and done that, but I knew that I could find the strength somewhere to keep playing and just play for those people and play for that group because you're never going to get the same group back,” she said. 

La Chapell transferred to Belmont during her sophomore year from Marquette and knew that she wanted to keep playing for this team. 

“This season as a whole, I faced the most adversity I've ever faced in my life, basketball and non-basketball, but I’ve also been surrounded by the best people possible to go through that,” she said. “I always have been thankful for Belmont because I was going to quit my freshman year, honestly, from the experience that I had, but I gave Belmont a try and I've never looked back.” 

Even though her offense wasn’t quite as potent during this run, her defense remained steady because she knew it was what the team needed. 

“I feel like defense is something you have to take pride in,” said La Chappell. “I feel like the more I focus on that, the more it kind of does show like started to shine through.” 

In the championship game against Minnesota, the Bruins didn’t open well, but with about minute left in the game Belmont had cut what was a 24-point lead to eight. 

“Before every game in the WBIT we felt that this could be the last,” said Cheesman. “It wasn't even a sad thing. It was more just like the most motivated that we've been all year to continue playing.” 

They were looking to do what they had proved they could do earlier in the tournament and mount a seemingly impossible comeback. 

But the Bruins ran out of magic. 

They fell eight points shy of history. 

Even though it wasn’t the outcome the team had hoped for, it is a season to be remembered. 

“Basketball is about wins and losses and we would have loved to take Belmont to March madness, but we all were just proud of ourselves,” said Cheesman. 

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This article was written by Braden Simmons