Women's Basketball Secures First Win of the Season

In its second game on the road to start the season, Belmont women’s basketball won 75-55 against Wichita State. 

The Bruins came into Saturday’s game looking to rebound following a rough finish to their season opener against Kansas State. 

Opening the game with a 12-6 run against the Shockers, the Bruins came out swinging behind five straight points from junior guard Emily LaChapell in the first two minutes. 

While the Shockers fought to try and cut into Belmont’s early lead, the Bruins closed out the first quarter with a 21-11 lead. 

Then Shockers junior guard Princess Anderson had 9 points and gave them the jolt of energy they needed.  

The Bruins struggled to put points on the board, going 3-14 as a team in the second quarter and only getting seven points as a team. 

Belmont found itself in a similar situation to their season opener against Kansas State, going into halftime trailing the Shockers 30-28. 

However, the Bruins responded differently in this go around. 

“I think anytime we've got a new team, we've got a lot of new players and trying to figure things out, to see them gel a little bit. I think, grow up a little bit in the second half,” said head coach Bart Brooks. 

At one point in the third quarter Belmont built a 10-point lead with help from graduate guard Kendall Holmes. 

The Bruins ended the third with an 8-point lead and looked to get their first win if they could close out the fourth quarter with the same energy. 

Doing better than that, the Bruins held the Shockers to their lowest-scoring quarter of the game and ended the game with a 20-point win. 

Sophomore guard Jailyn Banks had eight of the Bruins’ 21 fourth quarter points, pushing the pace for the Bruins and getting to the free throw line six times. 

“They made it tough on us. They had a really good second quarter, and I thought we responded well, so it was good to see the response,” Brooks said. 

Ultimately, the Bruins got their first win of the season and returned back to Nashville with a 1-1 record in their road stint to start the season. 

The Bruins will return to play in the Curb Event Center on Thursday and face Kennesaw State University. 

Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m.  

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This article was written by Braden Simmons