Belmont extended its win streak on Saturday with a 65-52 win against Middle Tennessee State University.
In their first game in the Curb since Nov. 17, the Bruins had some early trouble with the Blue Raiders.
It was a largely back-and-forth affair early with MTSU winning the tip-off and getting an early layup from senior guard Courtney Blakely.
But senior forward Kendal Cheesman answered by hitting a top-of-the-key three to give the Bruins the lead.
The Belmont student section came to life after the first play and stayed on its feet, chanting and screaming the rest of the half.
The Bruins pushed the pace as junior Emily La Chapell hit a euro-step layup to give the Bruins a three-point lead.
But both teams had a tough time getting any offense going with both teams playing tough defense.
A tough bank shot from junior guard Ta’Mia Scott and a layup from senior guard Jalynn Gregory brought the Blue Raiders within one.
But La Chapell extended her first-quarter offensive onslaught with another tough layup that gave her a perfect 4-4 first quarter and eight of Belmont’s first 11 points.
“I thought Emily did a great job of finding easy ones that weren't easy to find against that defense,” said head coach Bart Brooks.
La Chapell finished with a career-high and team-high 26 points.
“We talk about it all the time. We don't really care who scores what amount of points. It's our shot. It's our points, and at the end of the day, we came out on top. And that's what we're all focusing on,” said La Chapell.
Coming into the second quarter the Bruins pushed the pace early with another Cheesman three, who finished with a double-double behind six 3-pointers for 18 points and 10 rebounds.
The Bruins played great defense to maintain a double-digit lead for most of the quarter.
But a late three from Scott and free throws from senior center Anastasiia Boldyreva would bring the Blue Raiders within five at halftime.
Coming out of the half, the Bruins turned up the offense again with another tough jump shot from La Chapell extending the lead to seven and another Cheesman three getting the Bruins to a double-digit lead once again.
MTSU tried to get its offense together, but the Bruins stifling defense held it to 11 total third-quarter points on 25% from the field.
“I thought every time they made a run, our kids did a good job of responding, and we made some big shots,” said Brooks.
In the fourth quarter, the Blue Raiders tried to play themselves back into the game through their defensive pressure.
And it worked as the Bruins’ lead was cut to only one.
But then La Chapell and Cheesman put the game away, scoring 13 of the Bruins' last 16 points.
“We're getting better every game, and I think today showed that that we're improving, and we've got a long way to go, but I'm really happy with where we are, and hopefully we can build on this going into next week,” said Brooks.
The Bruins now head on the road to take on Mississippi State University on Dec. 14.
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This article was written by Braden Simmons
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