Heading into the 2025 Missouri Valley Conference Women’s Basketball Championship, Belmont women’s basketball only had a championship and an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament on its mind.
With a nonconference schedule featuring numerous Power 5 opponents, head coach Bart Brooks prepared his team for the competition in the MVC.
The No. 3 seed Bruins played No. 6 Northern Iowa in an 18-point win.
What started off as a back-and-forth affair through the first half was followed by a UNI seven minute scoring drought.
Senior forward Kendal Cheesman dominated the Panthers with 11 points and 18 rebounds.
But Saturday’s semifinal matchup against No. 2 Missouri State proved to be more intense.
At halftime, the Bears had the 42-41 lead off strong play from both Lacy Stokes and Kyrah Daniels.
Then the dreaded cold streak hit the Bears.
As Missouri State failed to score for seven minutes, the Bruins unleashed an onslaught of scoring to take the 51-42 lead.
The Bears fought back to make it close, but the Bruins would never surrender the lead, always having an answer with a quick basket.
The Bruins were able to close it out with free throws for a 76-67 win to advance to the championship on Sunday against heated rival Murray State University.
Both teams split the regular season 1-1 with both teams barely squeaking out wins on their home courts.
In Evansville, Indiana, it seemed anything could happen.
The first quarter fit that mindset.
Anytime the Racers scored, the Bruins would score a basket, making it a 15-15 ballgame going into the second quarter.
Then Murray State caught fire, proving why it had the best offense in the MVC.
Racers star Katelyn Young had a field day, dominating the Bruins from inside the paint and beyond the arc.
Halli Poock also nailed 3-pointers of her own.
Soon, the lead ballooned to 45-29 at half.
But Belmont came out of halftime with intensity, stopping the Racers from scoring while going on a run of its own.
A 16-point lead soon diminished for a four-point lead as the Belmont crowd began finding life.
The Racers refused to give in as Young drew a crucial and-one before the end of the third to take the 57-48 lead.
Murray State then dominated the fourth quarter, outscoring Belmont 26-14 and doing everything right on both sides of the court.
It’s the first time the Racers have made it to March Madness since 2008.
For Belmont, it’s the second time it’s lost in the championship game since joining the MVC in 2022.
The Bruins also shot an uncharacteristic 2-21 from 3-point range.
“I thought we had good effort and good focus,” head coach Bart Brooks. “But you can’t beat a good team without executing a little bit better than we did offensively.”
But despite the loss, Brooks said he’s proud of his team’s effort all season.
“I’m proud of them for how they’ve been hanging all year. I know they’re hurting mentally right now because they’re competitors. This is a hard day for all of us,” he said. “But what I love about this group is the hard days don’t define us.”
Even if the Bruins didn’t make the NCAA Tournament, they still will host Middle Tennessee State University as part of the Women’s Basketball Invitational Tournament on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.
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This article was written by Ty Wellemeyer
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