Tripp's Career Day Leads Bruins to Fifth Consecutive Win

Sanaa Tripp guards UNI's Taryn Wharton. Photo taken by Ava Gorney.

Belmont’s women’s basketball team beat the University of Northern Iowa Panthers 81-62 for its fifth straight win in Missouri Valley Conference play.   

Sophomore Sanaa Tripp, starting in place of the injured Jailyn Banks, channeled Rip Hamilton and wore a facemask due to an injury sustained in the previous game.   

“My dad sent me a GIF of every single player who played in a mask before the game,” said Tripp.  

Undisturbed by the visual obstruction, she went a career-high 9 for 11 from the floor and 5 for 6 from three, while also setting career-highs with 38 minutes played, 25 points and five assists.   

“She’s started against some of the best teams in the country and performed very well. So, I wasn’t concerned about her readiness to step into that role,” said head coach Bart Brooks. “It’s not easy to play in those dang masks, but I didn’t expect anything else. That’s who she is, and that’s what we expected from her.” 

Fueled by a 12-1 run and nine first-quarter points from Tripp, the Bruins raced out to an early 26-12 lead against the MVC’s top-ranked defense in points allowed per game and opponent shooting percentage.  

However, the sailing would not be as smooth in the second quarter for the Bruins, as they had more turnovers than made shots in the first six minutes.   

Meanwhile, a Panthers offense that turned the ball over four times and mustered only 12 points on four of 14 shooting in the first quarter erupted for 22 second-quarter points on eight of 17 shooting with only one turnover.  

UNI cut its deficit, which had been as high as 15 points, to just six heading into halftime down 40-34. 

The second half did not start much better, as UNI dwindled the lead down to one point after a three-pointer from sophomore Elise Jaegar made it 44-43.   

“We didn’t start the third quarter well. I thought we lacked a little juice and a little energy. Especially with the energy that we spent in the first half, I was disappointed with how we came out in the third,” Brooks said.  

Just as the Panthers were looking to pounce, Tripp stepped up again.   

After a pair of free throws from sophomore Hilary Fuller brought the lead back out to three, Tripp connected on a three-pointer to make it 49-43 with 6:08 to play in the quarter.  

From Tripp’s triple until the end of the third quarter, the Bruins outscored the Panthers 19-5. Tripp scored or assisted on 15 of those points.  

“I know that we needed another energy boost coming out of halftime because it wasn’t our best start. So, I just decided to keep doing what I was doing, and it worked,” Tripp said.   

The Bruins headed into the fourth quarter up 65-48, and despite not scoring for the first three minutes of the quarter, outscored UNI 16-14 to capture the 81-62 win.   

Despite the injury to Banks, Belmont’s leading scorer, the 81 points were the second-most for the Bruins this season.   

In addition, the team’s 12 made three-pointers and 50% shooting from deep were season-highs, as well as its 22 assists.   

“I think we’ve always been more than a one-player program. Jailyn is a huge part of what we do, and she’s extremely important and talented, and we miss her. We miss all our guys when they’re out, but I think there’s also extreme confidence in the people that are in,” Brooks said. 

Tripp was one of four Bruins in double figures, along with graduate student Avery Strickland’s 16 points, sophomore Quinn Eubank’s 13 points, and junior KK Brodie’s 11 points.  

Graduate student Tuti Jones’s impact may not have been felt much in the scorer’s column with seven points, but she added a game-high seven assists and four steals.   

Jones also tied with Brodie for the best plus-minus on the Bruins with 22, meaning when they were on the court, Belmont outscored UNI by 22 points in 34 and 21 minutes, respectively.   

Now 6-0 in MVC play and still atop the conference standings, Belmont has outscored teams in MVC play by 78 points for an average margin of victory of 13 points.  

The Bruins have back-to-back road games this week, first against the Indiana State Sycamores on Thursday, before a matchup against fellow unbeaten Murray State Sunday.

This article was written by Sam Dicus