Belmont women’s basketball lost Thursday night 79-47 to the No. 15 Duke Blue Devils.
Belmont fell short in its second straight game against a top-15 opponent.
The Bruins opened the game with a 9-5 lead against the Blue Devils.
This wouldn’t last long though. Duke battled back with four straight points from freshman forward Toby Fournier that the rest of the Blue Devils would build on to give the team a 9-16 lead going into the second quarter.
The Bruins continued to try to fight to stay in the game as sophomore guard Jailyn Banks answered an early Duke bucket with a pair of threes to bring the game within six.
However, the Blue Devils showcased why Cameron Indoor Stadium can be one of the most difficult places for opposing teams to play in by going on a 19-0 run.
This was primarily led by Fournier who had eight of those points and ended as the Blue Devils leading scorer with 25 points on the night.
The drought for the Bruins would only be stopped by a Junior guard Emily La Chapell jump shot in the last minute to give the Bruins 17 at the end of the half.
The Bruins tried to emulate their home effort against Ohio State and find some way to battle back into this game, but the Blue Devils would simply not allow an upset.
Senior forward Carmyn Harrison got a couple of layups to fall early in the third which was followed by a couple of Bruins threes to give the Bruins a 10-2 run early in the third.
Harrison was the Bruins leading scorer on the night finishing with 13 points.
Duke's defense continued bringing the intensity and only allowed the Bruins eight points the rest of the quarter.
Duke held the Bruins to a 33% shooting day from the field as a team while it would boast an impressive 55% shooting percentage.
The Blue Devils coasted through the final quarter scoring 22 points while the Bruins were only able to find the bottom of the net six times.
The Bruins head to Florida to play the Michigan Wolverines in the opening round of the 2024 Elevance Health Fort Myers Tip-Off on Nov. 29.
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This article was written by Braden Simmons
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