Fresh off an opening win, Belmont women’s basketball showed no signs of slowing Thursday night, defeating the University of Mississippi Rebels 62-50.
A high-profile opponent, Ole Miss belongs to the Power Five Southeastern Conference and reached the postseason Women’s National Invitational Tournament championship final at the end of the 2020-21 season.
With a decisive 2-0 record already on the books this season, the Bruins are off to a strong start for 2021-22.
For Mississippi native Conley Chinn, the game against Ole Miss marked a successful homecoming night, and the fifth-year forward scored 11 points and collected 5 rebounds
Sophomore guard Destinee Wells shined with an impressive 21 points and 6 assists in her 37 minutes on the floor.
Wells got the ball rolling early in the game with two free throws to put the Bruins ahead 2-0. From there, Belmont did not trail for the remainder of the game, and Bruins caught fire in the first quarter with a commanding 16-3 lead.
To start the second quarter, the team picked up right where it left off when sophomore guard Blair Schoenwald delivered two back-to-back 3-pointers to extend the Belmont lead 22-7.
Senior guard Jamilyn Kinney got her first and only basket of the night in quarter two with a wheeling-and-dealing play between her and freshman forward Tessa Miller.
Coming out of halftime, Ole Miss managed to narrow the margin to 7 points, but after layups from Miller and Wells, Belmont was back in business.
The next Belmont baskets would come from sophomore Tuti Jones, a 3-point downer off her own defensive steal and another hoop assisted by Kinney.
Along with Wells and Chinn, Jones also had a double-figure night, scoring 10 points in her 29 minutes of play.
To bring the Bruins to a comfortable 16-point lead at the end of quarter three, Chinn downed a three to bring the score up to 52-36.
After two layups from Wells and another from sophomore forward Madison Bartley, the fourth quarter was chopp as the remaining points were obtained by free throws from Wells, Chinn and Jones.
The early success also comes with the news of 2022 squad signees: Caroline Bachus in the forward position along with guards Brooke Highmark and Kate Hollifield.
The Bruins look to wrap up their three-game road trip Sunday against No. 17 ranked Georgia Tech, and the team will welcome Alabama A&M to the Curb Event Center on Nov. 18. for its first home game.
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PHOTO: No. 11 Destinee Wells on the floor in the 2020-21 season. Belmont Athletics / Tyra Finkeldey.
This story was written by A.J. Wuest.