Tied at 55 with less than a minute to go in the game, the Belmont Bruins women’s basketball team had little time to work.
Redshirt junior Katie Brooks only needed one possession for the Bruins, hitting a jump shot with twenty seconds remaining. The shot made all the difference for the Bruins in their 57-55 win versus the Kennesaw State Lady Owls Thursday night.
The win, the second of the year and second in a row at home for the Bruins, was not an easy victory for head coach Brittany Ezell’s team.
It was a story of two halves for both Belmont and Kennesaw State in their first conference game of the season.
After a slow start for the Bruins led to a Kennesaw State seven-point lead, Belmont opened the half on an 14-2 run, taking the lead twice from the Lady Owls after two quick threes from Alyssa Visbeen and a jumper from senior Haley Nelson, who led the team with 14 points and nine rebounds.
Kennesaw State was 1-for-14 to start the second half, but was able to catch up midway through the half and kept their deficit close for the remainder of the game.
The Bruins started the first half without scoring for five minutes after an early Haley Nelson jump shot thirty seconds into the game. By then, Belmont was down 10-3, but eventually cut the lead to 2 points after a 12-6 Bruins run, led by Nelson and Brooks.
The Lady Owls eventually stretched their lead to 30-23 at the half, led early by redshirt freshman guard Taylor Mills. Listed at 5-foot-3, Mills led all players with fifteen points, including three first-half three-pointers.
Mills was unable to produce for the Lady Owls late in the game however, missing two three-pointers and a free throw in the final minute of the game.