Final Score: Lipscomb: 62 , Belmont: 67
Location: Nashville, Tenn. (Curb Event Center)
Records: Lipscomb: 2-4, Belmont: 4-3
THE SHORT STORY: Despite a huge career-high for
Maddie Cook, Lipscomb was unable to come out on top of the Battle of the Boulevard at the Curb Event Center Thursday night in Nashville.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Lipscomb came out of the gate with pace and energy and scored the first bucket of the game to set the first half tone.
After back-and-forth action,
Maddie Cook came off the bench and made an immediate impact with four quick points.
Consistent work on both ends led the Bisons to a 10-9 advantage after the first quarter.
The Bisons continued to pressure the Bruins in the paint and Cook continued to drain midrange jumpers to give Lipscomb a 14-11 during the second quarter.
Belmont battled back and took a 16-14 lead, but
Dorie Harrison made back-to-back layups and
Casey Collier nailed a triple to give the Bisons a 21-16 advantage.
Lipscomb continued outscore the Bruins, forcing a Belmont timeout at the 2:31 mark of the second quarter. The Purple and Gold closed out the first half making six of its last eight field goals for a 30-23 advantage at the break.
Belmont started the second half with back-to-back three pointers, shaving the lipscomb lead down to one.
The back-and-forth affair continued throughout the third quarter and Cook continued to be Lipscomb's offensive star, scoring her career high 14
th point in the third.
Cook and Peete combined for 14 points in the third quarter to keep the narrow 49-48 lead heading into the final frame.
The game continued at a fiery pace in the fourth quarter, but the momentum swung to Belmont's favor when the Bruins went on a 7-0 run over two and a half minutes to take a 58-54 lead with 3:51 left in the game.
The Bisons struggled from the floor in the final minutes but Cook broke the over five minute field goal drought to get the Bisons back within a pair.
Lipscomb eventually ran out of time to get back on top and fell 67-62 at the Curb Event Center.
HERD NOTES
- Cook's 20-points bested her career-high previously set last season with 13 points against Murray State when she was part of the Belmont program.
- Blythe Pearson snagged a career-high 15 rebounds.
- Peete, Collier and Harrison all scored in double-figures with 11, 14 and 10, respectively.
- Belmont is ranked No. 10 in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll and received a vote in this week's USA Today Sports/WBCA Top 25 Coaches Poll.
THOUGHTS FROM THE BENCH
"Obviously this game means a lot to us and our fans. We didn't get the result we wanted, but what I was most proud of was is that I think we competed for 40 minutes. We've had some games where I think we've done a little bit of overthinking and a little bit of doubting. We worked really hard to execute our game plan and this is the first time I've looked out and thought this was our team. We have a lot to build on and will have momentum moving forward. I'm really proud of the girls and their performance tonight," said head coach Lauren Sumski.
UP NEXT
Lipscomb will return to Allen Arena Sunday, December 5 at 1:30 p.m. as they host MTSU.
