Belmont Closes Out Home Slate with 83-77 Win Over Drake

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Fueled by junior guard Destinee Wells' game-high 27 points, the Belmont University women's basketball team closed out the home portion of its regular season schedule with a thrilling 83-77 victory over Drake Saturday inside the Curb Event Center in Nashville. Extending their Missouri Valley Conference-best winning streak to 12 to remain tied atop the league standings, the Bruins (19-10, 15-3 MVC) once again relied on their late-game experience to finish the triumph.
 
Belmont showed tremendous toughness down the stretch, weathering a lengthy Bulldog run and making winning plays in the final minute. A Wells' conventional three-point play and a charge drawn by graduate guard Sydni Harvey on Drake's ensuing possession completely shifted the momentum of the game after the visiting Bulldogs (17-9, 12-6) were within a point of the Bruins at 74-73.

In a contest Belmont controlled for all but 90 seconds, Drake kept within striking distance and made several runs to cause a sense of urgency. The Bruins led by as much as 17 early in the third quarter and were on fire in the first half, shooting 57.6 percent (19-of-33) from the floor and going 7-for-12 (58.3 percent) from beyond the arc.

Outstanding bench contributions from sophomore forward Kendal Cheesman and junior guard Blair Schoenwald provided Belmont a huge lift. The two combined for 21 of the Bruins' 30 points off the bench and went a combined 5-for-10 from long range.

Belmont scored 34 points in the paint, assisted on 18 of its 30 made field goals and went 14-for-16 (87.5 percent) at the free-throw line.

Limiting the Bulldogs' high-octane offense to 37.3 percent (25-of-67) shooting, the Bruins made a near season-high eight blocks courtesy of a trio of blocks from both sophomore forward Tessa Miller and senior guard Nikki Baird.

Drake was relentless on the glass, owning a plus-13 rebound margin (44-31) and turning 19 offensive boards into 31 points. The Bulldogs also scored 21 points off 12 Belmont turnovers.

After going scoreless for the first 90 seconds of the game, the Bruins put together a 12-0 run to take a 12-3 lead at the 4:33 mark of the opening quarter. Junior forward Madison Bartley scored Belmont's first six points of the day and Cheesman had 10 in the first quarter alone.
 
A Cheesman three-pointer stretched the Bruins' first-quarter run to 19-3 and gave Belmont a 13-point lead. The Bruins led 25-14 after one quarter of action.
 
Another Cheesman triple pushed Belmont's lead out to 15 at 34-19 just over two minutes into the second quarter before Drake made its first run. Seven-straight points by the Bulldogs got the visitors back within eight at 34-26 midway through the second quarter.
 
Back-to-back treys from Schoenwald capped a 9-2 Bruin run that stretched the lead back out to 15 at 43-28 with just under two-and-a-half minutes to go in the first half. A Wells jumper, followed by a Kilyn McGuff steal and a Bartley layup ended the half with Belmont up 49-35.

The Bruins shot a blistering 60 percent (9-of-15) in the second quarter and went 4-for-6 from outside. Cheesman scored all 13 of her points in the first half and Bartley had 12 at the break on 6-for-8 shooting.

Scoring seven of the first 11 points of the second half, Belmont took a 17-point lead at 56-39 two-and-a-half minutes into the third quarter on a Wells jumper. From there, Drake put together a 13-2 run to climb within six at 58-52 with just under four minutes remaining in the third.

After an over four-and-a-half minute scoring drought, Wells splashed in a three to halt the Bulldogs' run. Wells got a deep two-point jumper to go, and Bartley ended the quarter with a layup and the foul following a Schoenwald offensive rebound on a tie-up. Bartley's old-fashioned three-point play completed an 8-2 run and put the Bruins up 66-54 heading into the final stanza.
 
Drake outscored Belmont 19-17 in the third quarter as the Bruins cooled down significantly, shooting 41.2 percent (7-of-17) and going 2-for-7 from distance in the period.

A Bartley second-chance layup gave Belmont a 16-point lead at 70-54 early in the fourth quarter and the Bruins remained firmly ahead at 74-59 with six minutes to go. However, Belmont would endure a scoreless five minutes of play as the Bulldogs put together a 14-0 scoring run.

Drake's starting point guard, Katie Dinnebier, scored eight of the Bulldogs' 14 points during the comeback attempt and made it a one-point game at 74-73 with a layup and a converted free throw. With under a minute left, the Bruins got an offensive rebound and Wells scored on a layup through contact. She knocked down the foul shot to put Belmont up 77-73 with 42 seconds remaining.

The Bruins' most important defensive play of the game came moments later when Harvey made the most of her senior day by drawing an offensive foul and forcing a Drake turnover. Wells drew a foul on Belmont's subsequent possession and hit both free throws to give the Bruins a 79-73 lead with 26 seconds left.

The Bulldogs wouldn't score another basket the rest of the way and would get no closer than four as Bartley and Wells made clutch free throws in the last 20 seconds.
 
Both teams shot under 30 percent in the fourth quarter with Drake outscoring Belmont 23-17.

Wells scored 18 of her 27 points in the second half and the Bruins went 10-for-10 at the free-throw line in the second 20 minutes of action. The Bulldogs were 13-for-13 at the charity stripe in the second half and finished the game a perfect 18-for-18.
 
Belmont was 2-for-9 (22 percent) from three-point range in the second half and Drake 3-for-14 (21.4 percent).

The Bruins shot 46.2 percent (30-of-65) for the contest and finished 9-for-21 (42.9 percent) from outside.

Wells went 9-for-18 from the field and dished out a game-high seven assists. Bartley tallied 19 points on 8-for-15 shooting and grabbed five rebounds, while Schoenwald scored a season-high eight points and pulled down a career-high tying six boards. Sophomore guard McGuff had nine points and five rebounds.

Dinnebier led the Bulldogs with 24 points, five boards, four assists and four steals. Drake got 15 points on 3-for-5 three-point shooting and seven rebounds from starting forward Maggie Bair. Both forward Grace Berg and guard Sarah Beth Gueldner notched 11 points for the Bulldogs.

Of Note
Belmont avenges its 31-point, 94-63 loss at Drake on Jan. 6 – the Bruins' worst conference loss in well over a decade. Belmont completes the month of February an unblemished 8-0. The Bruins make it six consecutive undefeated weeks. After a 3-7 start, Belmont has won 16 of its last 19 games. The Bruins' average margin of victory during their 12-game win streak is 17 points. Belmont completes its first MVC home schedule a league-best 9-1. The Bruins finish 11-3 at the Curb during the regular season. Belmont improves to 83-11 (.883) at home in conference play since 2012. Head Coach Bart Brooks moves to 49-5 (.907) in home league games. The Bruins improve to 85-11 (.885) in February and March since 2016 and coach Brooks moves to 65-8 (.890) in the two key months since his arrival in Nashville. Both Baird and Harvey were recognized on the court pregame for senior day. Harvey won her 100th career game. Wells has scored in double figures for 13-straight games. Bartley has reached double figures in 12 of her last 13 outings. Cheesman is averaging 10.5 points over the last six games with four double-figure scoring performances.
 
Up Next
Belmont concludes the regular season next week on the road, traveling to the University of Illinois Chicago Thursday and Valparaiso Saturday. Tipoff of Thursday night's game in Chicago is slated for 7 p.m. from Credit Union 1 Arena. The MVC road matchup with be broadcast on ESPN+.

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