WEDNESDAY'S SCORES
Belmont 69, @Lipscomb 68
BELMONT 69, LIPSCOMB 68
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - A last-second 3-pointer from senior Maura Muensterman gave the Belmont Bruins a 69-68 victory over the Lipscomb Lady Bisons at Allen Arena Wednesday night. The Bruins improved their all-time record to 48-26 in the Battle of the Boulevard, as they have logged 11-consecutive victories in the series.
Muensterman knocked down a shot from deep range to give Belmont (4-5) a one point lead with 0.6 seconds remaining. The Lady Bisons (2-8) were unable to get a shot off as time expired.
The Bruins were fueled by a combined 53 points from the senior trio of Ellie Harmeyer (21), Maddie Wright (16) and Muensterman (16). Harmeyer notched her fifth double-double of the season with 15 rebounds.
Lipscomb had five players with double-figure points, as junior Taylor Clark led the team with a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Wright kicked off Belmont's scoring on the evening with a make from beyond-the-arc one minute into the contest. The two teams traded buckets, until Wright struck again from 3-point range to give the Bruins an 8-5 advantage at the 6:23 mark. Freshman Kiki Britzmann capped off a 6-0 Belmont run with a slashing layup in the paint with four minutes remaining in the first quarter. However, the Lady Bisons scored 12-straight points to take a 17-11 lead through the first 10 minutes.
A layup from Muensterman at the 8:58 mark of the second quarter sparked an 8-2 run for Belmont, who knotted the game up at 19-19 four minutes in. Harmeyer and Muensterman combined for the Bruins' final nine points of the period. However, it was not enough to take a lead going into the half, as Lipscomb entered the half up 28-26.
Belmont held its rival to 33 percent shooting from the floor on a 10-of-30 clip from the field. Wright, Muensterman and Harmeyer meshed for 24 of the Bruins' first-half points, as Harmeyer brought down eight rebounds after two quarters.
Wright and Britzmann knocked down consecutive 3-pointers in under 60 seconds to give Belmont a 35-34 advantage three minutes into the second half. Sophomore Conley Chinn put in a reverse layup to propel a 5-0 Bruin run at the 3:52 mark. Sophomore Maddie Cook finished off Belmont's third-quarter scoring to give the squad a 46-45 lead going into the final quarter of play.
Muensterman and sophomore Jamilyn Kinney nailed back-to-back 3-pointers to extend the Bruin lead to 52-48 one minute into the fourth quarter. Chinn hit a deep range shot to award Belmont a five-point advantage with five minutes remaining, but the Lady Bisons responded with 10-0 streak.
Lipscomb held a 65-61 lead with one minute left in the game. The Bruins answered with five-straight points from the charity stripe to take a 66-65 lead with 20 seconds remaining. The Lady Bisons hit a layup and tacked on another point from the free throw line to take a two-point advantage with under three seconds to play. After an advance to half court from a Belmont timeout, Muensterman hit a contested 3-pointer to win the 74th Battle of the Boulevard.
Overall, the Bruins outrebounded Lipscomb by a 43-34 margin and held them to 40 percent shooting from the floor. The Wednesday night matchup featured six tied scores and 13 lead changes.
Belmont returns to the Curb Event Center for an in-state matchup with Middle Tennessee Saturday at 3 p.m. They then hit the road to Milwaukee, Wisc. for their final non-conference contest of the season at Marquette on Dec. 21.