Women's Basketball Closes Home Stand with Stetson on Saturday
| Final | 1 | 2 | T |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stetson (16-4, 7-1 A-Sun) | 22 | 36 | 58 |
| Belmont (5-13, 4-3 A-Sun) | 31 | 34 | 65 |
| Nashville, Tenn. (Curb Event Center) | |||
| Stetson | Belmont |
|---|---|
| Pts: McGOWAN, Victoria - 21 | Pts: Molly Ernst - 18 |
| Reb: SIMS, Sasha - 11 | Reb: Haley Nelson - 10 |
| Ast: McGOWAN, Victoria - 4 | Ast: Katie Brooks - 5 |
| Team Statistics | Stetson | Belmont |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goal % | 30.9% (17-55 ) | 42.0% (21-50 ) |
| Rebounds | 29 | 42 |
| Assists | 6 | 11 |
| Turnovers | 14 | 19 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 13 | 10 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 7 | 11 |
| Pts in the Paint | 22 | 24 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 2 | 2 |
| Bench Pts | 9 | 10 |
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Belmont women's basketball team (4-13, 3-3 A-Sun) will wrap a three-game home stand at the Curb Event Center on Saturday evening when it hosts Stetson (16-3, 7-0 A-Sun) beginning at 5 p.m.
The Hatters will look to build on their 10-game winning streak in league play in Nashville this week. Stetson stands at 16-3 overall and are tied for the lead with FGCU in the A-Sun with a 7-0 mark. SU is led in scoring by Victoria McGowan, who is dropping in 16.6 points per game. Shanasha Sanders and Sasha Sims also average in double digits, adding 14.5 and 11.6 points per contest, respectively. Sims also leads the team in rebounds, grabbing 7.4 per outing.
Belmont leads the all-time series, 16-5, including sweeping the two regular season games.
The upset minded Belmont women's basketball team nearly toppled visiting Atlantic Sun leader Florida Gulf Coast, who was ranked 4th in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top-25 Poll coming into the matchup, on Thursday night at the Curb Event Center. The Bruins kept it within one down the stretch but were held off by the Eagles in the final seconds, 57-50, marking the first time this season any conference team held their point differential to single digits. Senior Haley Nelson (Scottsboro, Ala.) notched her seventh double-double of the season with 17 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Classmate Tristan Daniel (Waynesboro, Tenn.) dropped in 10 points. Redshirt junior Katie Brooks (Maryville, Tenn.) finished with a game-high five assists and four steals.
Belmont continues to be led in scoring by Nelson, who is averaging 14.4 points per outing. She also leads the team in rebounds, pulling down 7.8 boards per contest. BU has four players shooting at a 71 percent clip or higher from the charity stripe. Sophomore Julianne Downs (Franklin, Tenn.) is firing at 84.6 percent while Daniel and sophomore Molly Ernst (Louisville, Ky.) are hitting 75 percent of their attempts.
Three Bruins continue to make their presence felt in NCAA Division I statistics this week (as of 1/12). Nelson continues to stand among the best statistically among all NCAA Division I players in a whopping six categories. Her highest rankings are 27th in double doubles (7), 47th in field-goal percentage (.515) and 87th in blocked shots per game (1.6). She is also ranked 150th in rebounds per game (7.8), 198th in points per game (14.4), and 223rd in steals per game (2.1). Brooks comes in at 229th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.02) and 261st in assists per game (3.1). Ernst is ranked 176th in three-point field goals per game (1.8).
Tip off on Saturday is slated for 5 p.m. The contest can be heard live via the internet on the Bruins Sports Network and seen on ASun.TV. Live stats and a Twitter feed (@BelmontWBB) will also be available. Prior to tip-off will be a presentation to honor Haley Nelson's 1,000th career point.
