Women's Basketball Falls to 4-5 After Loss to Princeton

Photo taken by Rachel Suggs

Belmont women's basketball's tough non-conference schedule has resulted in another loss.

The Princeton Tigers, who have received top-25 votes and now boast a 9-1 record, defeated the Bruins 70-58 Saturday. They scored in the first 30 seconds and never surrendered that lead.

The Bruins struggled offensively with just three players scoring more than five points: Hilary Fuller with 17, Tuti Jones with 13 and Sanaa Tripp, playing in her first career start, with 12.

Even the highest scorers struggled to shoot efficiently. The team shot just 35% from the field, 28% from three and 69% from the free throw line.

"I think the opponent is ourselves right now," said head coach Bart Brooks. "I think we have a lot to fix internally with how we execute."

Princeton's success was led by junior guard Olivia Hutcherson. She finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds: both team highs.

The Bruins were without three key contributors: Kensley Feltner, Emily La Chapell and Jailyn Banks, the team's points-per-game leader.

Belmont's eight first quarter point tied the team-low for a single quarter this season.

The tough stretch of the schedule is not over, the Bruins play No. 17 Kentucky at home on Dec. 14.

"We're going to give them some time away, and hopefully get a good reset and come back and have some good work here this next week," said Brooks.

This article was written by Nick Rampe