The Belmont women’s basketball team extended its winning streak to seven straight games in a nail-biting 68-52 win against Tennessee Tech Thursday night at the Curb Event Center.
Seniors Ellie Harmeyer, Maura Muensterman and Maddie Wright combined for 39 points to lead their team to a final win at home in the Curb Event Center.
“There’s nowhere else we’d rather be,” said Harmeyer. “We feel so blessed to have been able to play for these great coaches with these amazing players, we couldn’t have asked for a better team.”
Wright kicked off her last home game with going 2-2 in the first few minutes, bringing the lead to 4-0 early.
The Golden Eagles, however, caught on to their low post plans sending them into a short scoring drought. Sophomore Jamelyn Kinney quickly showed the Bruins to have range behind the arc with a three that sent the Bruins on an 8-0 run, extending the lead to 12-5.
The Bruins continued to pick it up on the other end of the floor and forced the Golden Eagles to shoot one of their last 11 in the last three minutes. They were able to hold the Golden Eagles to just five points in the first quarter, giving them a lead of 14-5 going into the second.
The Golden Eagles open the second quarter with a 10-3 run that brings their deficit to a close 17-13. As both teams competed with high intensity on both ends of the floor, the score remained at a close 26-21 to end the first half.
None of the Bruins were able to reach double figures in the first half, but eight different players contributed to the collective score. They finished the half shooting almost 34 percent from the field and 31 behind the arc.
The Bruins were able to keep an acceptable lead for a majority of the third quarter until the Golden Eagles held them to a two minute scoring drought with four minutes left that allowed them to score six straight and bring their deficit to just one at 34-33.
By improving their defense tremendously in the third quarter, they kept themselves right on Belmont’s heels. They were not, however, able to contain Harmeyer as she put up 12 points in the quarter. Despite her efforts, the score remained close at 42-41 heading into the final quarter.
As the game remained neck-and-neck in the fourth quarter, Kinney was able to create more space with two back-to-back threes, causing Tennessee Tech to take a timeout. The Bruins continued to go on a 13-2 run over the next five minutes to separate the score further at 60-49.
The Bruins continued to maintain the lead until the final buzzer, the score being 68-52.
The Bruins have one final game of the regular season against Tennessee State on Saturday. The team will then head to Evansville, Indiana for the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament and attempt to win their fourth straight conference championship.
After Thursday’s hard-fought win, Coach Bart Brooks is fully confident in their team’s ability to come together and finish games.
“The depth of our team has improved tremendously,” said Brooks. “Our senior leadership has paved the way for our team as a whole to be confident in our ability to produce and finish.”
—
Article written by Julieann Challacombe. Photos by Bronte Lebo.
Comments