NASHVILLE, Tenn. – In its first-ever national postseason game at the Curb Event Center, the Belmont University women's basketball team delivered another inspiring performance with national interest as the Bruins (23-12) toppled familiar mid-state foe Middle Tennessee 64-51 Thursday night in the opening round of the 2025 Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT).
Belmont took control in the second quarter and led by double digits nearly the entirety of the second half. Relying on their defense and rebounding, the Bruins completely shut down the Blue Raiders' offense following a hot Middle Tennessee start. Belmont held the Blue Raiders (26-9) to 32.3 percent (21-of-65) shooting for the night, including 23.8 percent (5-of-21) from beyond the arc.
Outworking Middle Tennessee 41-37 on the boards, the Bruins once again had a well-balanced offensive output with six players scoring at least eight points. Belmont nailed nine three-pointers and committed just 10 turnovers while connecting on 13 of its 17 free throws. The victory is the Bruins' fourth national postseason win in five years.
Belmont joins only UConn and Villanova as programs outside the autonomous four conferences who have recorded national postseason victories in four of the last five seasons with multiple NCAA Tournament wins. The Bruins won NCAA Tournament games in both 2022 and 2021. Creighton in this year's NCAA Tournament has a chance to become the fourth team who has accomplished the feat.
Limiting the Blue Raiders to only eight points in both the second and third quarters, Belmont outpaced Middle Tennessee 36-18 across the middle two frames. Despite trailing by six in the first quarter at 15-9, the Bruins ended the opening stanza on a 7-2 spurt. Graduate guard Tuti Jones hit a corner three before the end of the quarter to get Belmont within a point at 17-16.
Ending the first half on an impressive 15-5 scoring run, the Bruins outscored the Blue Raiders 17-8 in the second quarter. A layup from graduate guard Kendall Holmes gave Belmont its first 10-point lead at 33-23 and the Bruins took a commanding, 33-25 advantage into the locker room.
Belmont was 7-for-14 from the floor and 3-for-5 from deep in the second quarter, while Middle Tennessee was limited to two three-pointers on 12.5 percent (2-of-16) shooting. Both teams were scoreless for nearly the first two-and-a-half minutes of the second half and the Bruins kept the Blue Raiders without a point for the first 3:47 of the third quarter. Graduate guard Jacee Busick's jumper with just under a minute left in the third capped an 18-6 stretch and put Belmont up by 20 at 51-31.
After a 19-8 quarter, the Bruins comfortably led 52-33 heading into the final period. A Holmes trey a little over four minutes into the fourth pushed Belmont's lead out to its largest of the contest at 59-37. From there, Middle Tennessee made one final push with a 14-1 run over the next 5:17 of action. The Blue Raiders' Ta'Mia Scott trimmed the deficit down to single digits at 60-51 with a pair of foul shots, but with only 34 seconds remaining, the Bruins were able to close it out at the charity stripe. Sophomore guard Jailyn Banks and Holmes sunk four free throws in the last 30 seconds.
Neither team shot better than 34 percent in the second half, but Belmont was 11-for-14 at the free-throw line. Middle Tennessee outscored the Bruins 30-20 in the paint. Holmes paced Belmont with 12 points and Jones finished with 11 points, four assists, a trio of rebounds and a pair of steals. Banks had 10 points and snagged six boards. Senior forward Kendal Cheesman nearly notched another double-double with a game-best 12 rebounds, nine points and two blocks. Fellow senior forward Carmyn Harrison collected seven boards.
Scott led the Blue Raiders with 16 points and Middle Tennessee got another 12 points from starting guard Courtney Blakely. Starting center Anastasiia Boldyreva recorded a double-double for the Blue Raiders with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Of Note - The Bruins improve to 2-1 in WBIT games. Belmont defeated Ball State 77-59 on the road last March in the first-ever WBIT game. - The Bruins have won three in a row and six of the last seven versus Middle Tennessee. - With a third-quarter three, Cheesman became Belmont's 36th 1,000-point scorer. She reached 1,000 career points in last Sunday's Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championship game. - The Bruins are 11-3 at home this season.
Up Next Belmont's postseason journey continues Sunday afternoon with Northern Arizona visiting the Curb for the WBIT second round. Tipoff from the Music City is slated for 2 p.m. The national postseason matchup will be broadcast on ESPN+.
Follow Belmont women's basketball on social media - @BelmontWBB on X, formerly Twitter, @belmontwbb on Instagram and Belmont Women's Basketball on Facebook - for complete coverage of the Bruins. Stay up to date with all of Belmont's athletic programs via the official app of the Belmont Bruins, available both in the Apple App Store and on Google Play. #ItsBruinTime
