NASHVILLE, Tenn. – In the second consecutive Sunday afternoon matchup between the Belmont University women's basketball team and Georgia Tech, the Yellow Jackets (7-2) prevailed in, yet another tightly-contested 59-55 affair inside the Curb Event Center. The Bruins (2-6) led just once after overcoming a 13-point deficit before Georgia Tech outscored Belmont 7-2 in the final four minutes.
Junior forward
Madison Bartley rattled in a three-pointer with just over four minutes remaining to give the Bruins their only lead of the afternoon at 53-52, but the Yellow Jackets made timely baskets down the stretch. Belmont had multiple opportunities to tie or take the lead in the closing two-and-a-half minutes but couldn't capitalize.
Hindered by a sluggish start and a minus-12 rebounding margin (49-37), the Bruins didn't score for the first three-and-a-half minutes of the game. Despite playing back in the Music City for the first time since Dec. 13 following a strenuous five-game road stretch, Belmont found itself trailing by 12 late in the opening quarter.
A three by sophomore guard
Kilyn McGuff made it 16-7 in favor of Georgia Tech after one quarter of play as the visitors got 10 of their first 16 points from graduate transfer guard Cameron Swartz.
Trailing by 13 at 24-11 with three-and-a-half minutes to go in the first half, the Bruins put together a 10-2 run to get within five on a layup from sophomore forward
Tessa Miller. However, the Yellow Jackets scored five-straight points courtesy of Swartz to take a 10-point 31-21 lead at halftime.
Georgia Tech held a 31-15 advantage on the glass at the break and limited Belmont to 28.6 percent (8-of-28) first-half shooting. The Bruins were 3-for-13 (23.1 percent) from beyond the arc in the first half as Swartz had 19 points on 7-for-13 shooting for the Yellow Jackets.
Belmont clawed its way back in the third quarter, outscoring Georgia Tech 17-10 in the period. Although both squads made just three field goals each in the quarter, the Bruins converted 11 of 12 free throws (91.7 percent). Junior guard
Destinee Wells scored eight points in six-and-a-half minutes of action in the quarter and fellow junior guard
Tuti Jones capped a 6-0 run with a pair of made foul shots to cut the deficit to three at 41-38 with just over a minute left.
Wells quickly knotted things up early in the fourth quarter, finishing off a traditional three-point play 31 seconds in to even the score at 41 apiece. Yellow Jacket starting guard Tonie Morgan put Georgia Tech up by four at 50-46 with just under seven minutes to play, before Miller made back-to-back layups. Crashing the offensive glass, Miller grabbed a Wells miss and laid it up to tie the score once again at 50 with just under six minutes to go.
Bartley's three capped a 7-2 Belmont run to put the Bruins in front but the Yellow Jackets' Morgan evened the score at 53 with a free throw. Following a Belmont shot clock violation, Georgia Tech's Kayla Blackshear connected on a layup to give the Yellow Jackets a 55-53 lead with just under three minutes left. After two empty Bruin possessions, Georgia Tech's Morgan made it a five-point game at 58-53 on a layup plus the foul with 1:12 showing. Jones got a layup to go with 53 seconds remaining, but Belmont wasn't able to score following a Yellow Jacket turnover. Forced to foul, Georgia Tech's Bianca Jackson went 1-for-2 at the free-throw line with 13 seconds to go and graduate guard
Sydni Harvey's two three-point attempts in the final seconds both rimmed off.
The two teams combined to go 1-for-14 from distance in the second half as the Bruins outscored the Yellow Jackets 34-28 behind 37 percent (10-of-27) shooting. Belmont limited Georgia Tech to 30 percent (9-of-30) second-half shooting and held Swartz scoreless in the half.
Both the Bruins and the Yellow Jackets shot just under 33 percent for the afternoon with Belmont going 18-for-55 from the field and Georgia Tech 22-for-67. Finishing 4-for-20 from deep, the Bruins were 15-of-18 (83.3 percent) at the free-throw line.
The Yellow Jackets scored 13 points off 21 offensive rebounds and got 14 points off eight Belmont turnovers.
Wells paced the Bruins with 15 points and a game-best five assists, while Jones added 10 points and Miller eight points and seven rebounds. Bartley finished with nine points and senior guard
Nikki Baird collected a season-high seven boards.
Swartz's 19 led all scorers and Morgan had 15 points and five rebounds for Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets' Blackshear tallied a game-high 10 boards.
Of Note
Belmont drops to 0-4 against Georgia Tech and 5-14 all-time against current Atlantic Coast Conference members. The Bruins' last three losses have been by two possessions or less. Since the start of the 2012-13 season, Belmont is 103-24 (.811) inside the Curb and head coach
Bart Brooks is 55-10 (.846) at home since taking over the reins of the program in April of 2017.
Up Next
The Bruins head down the boulevard Tuesday evening for the 76th Battle of the Boulevard versus rival Lipscomb. Tipoff from Allen Arena on the opposite end of the boulevard is set for 6 p.m. The non-conference road tilt will be broadcast on
ESPN+.
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