PREVIEW: Kentucky WBB hosts Belmont in first game of home-and-home series

Kentucky has just two games remaining until conference play, and the next team in Kentucky’s way are the Belmont Bruins. This is actually the first game of a home-and-home series between the Cats and Bruins. Kentucky will travel to Nashville next season and play Belmont in a true road game.

Here’s everything you need to know about Belmont prior to tipoff.

Bio Blast

Despite having a 5-5 record, the Belmont Bruins are a force to be reckoned with. Their five losses come from four ranked teams: No. 9 Duke, No. 11 Ohio State, No. 13 Kansas State, and No. 20 Michigan. The fifth loss comes from an 11-1 Mississippi State team, featuring former Wildcat Eniya Russell. Yes, Kentucky should come out on top, bit that doesn’t necessarily mean it’ll happen.

Kentucky is Belmont’s fourth top 20 team of the year, given that Michigan was unranked when they played. However, this is the fifth Quad 4 game for Belmont of the season, so the Bruins have lots of practice when it comes to the more elite teams of women’s college basketball. Despite that, Belmont is still put at No. 47 in the NCAA’s net rankings, so don’t count the Bruins out of this game entirely.

Fortunately for Kentucky, Belmont’s offense isn’t exactly strong. Though, it seems like opponents tend to shoot better in Lexington. There are only three Bruins averaging double-digits on offense, but their defense is a different story. So far, Belmont only allows an average of 64.1 points per game. However, Belmont has hardly any height. The Bruins’ tallest player stands at 6-foot-2. As we all should know by now, almost the entirety of Kentucky’s roster is 6-foot-2 or taller.

So, even though this seems like a game Kentucky should come out with a W, there’s a chance the ‘Cats come back after a week-long break extremely dry. However, we can only hope that’s not the case.

Belmont Projected Starters

• #00 – Tuti Jones, 6.7 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 2.3 APG
• #21 – Emily La Chapell, 12.1 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 2.2 APG
• #23 – Jailyn Banks, 11.2 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 2.5 APG
• #33 – Carmyn Harrison, 8.0 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 1.3 APG
• #35 – Kendall Holmes, 11.4 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 2.3 APG

Scouting Report

In general, the Bruins struggle to put points on the board. As a unit, they average just 64.1 points per game, so that combined with Kentucky’s tough defense should serve as a good matchup for the Cats. Belmont shoots just 38.6% from the field and 27.5% from three-point range as well.

Emily La Chapell is the main name to look for when Belmont takes the court. The junior guard averages a team-high 12.1 points per game, but she is a reflection of the team’s inefficient offense considering she shoots just 42.9% overall and 19.0% from deep. Still, La Chapell is capable of making her presence felt if Kentucky doesn’t keep an eye on her defensively.

Guards Kendall Holmes (11.4) and Jailyn Banks (11.2) are the only other Bruins that average double-figures in the scoring column. Banks is also the assists leader for Belmont, averaging 2.5 assists per game. Senior forward Camryn Harrison puts up 6.3 rebounds and 1.3 rebounds per game, both team-highs.

Projected Kentucky Starters

#3 – Georgia Amoore

5-FOOT-6 – GUARD – GRADUATE STUDENT

15.6 PPG – 7.2 APG – 2.3 RPG

#7 – Teonni Key

6-FOOT-4 – FORWARD – JUNIOR

11.5 PPG – 9.7 RPG – 2.9 BPG

#10 – Dazia Lawrence

5-FOOT-8 – GUARD – REDSHIRT SENIOR

13.0 PPG – 1.9 APG – 1.7 RPG

#13 – Clara Strack

6-FOOT-5 – CENTER – SOPHOMORE

16.0 PPG – 9.9 RPG – 3.6 APG

#32 – Amelia Hassett

6-FOOT-3 – FORWARD – JUNIOR

10.8 PPG – 9.8 RPG – 1.6 APG

How to Watch/Listen

Place	Tipoff	TV	Radio	Live Stats
Historic Memorial Coliseum (Lexington, KY)	6 p.m. EST	SEC Network+ (Jeff Piecoro, Christi Thomas)	630 WLAP, 790 WKRD (Darren Headrick)	StatBroadcast

Follow Along with KSR’s LIVE BLOG

Unable to watch the game? Don’t worry — we’ll be providing real-time updates throughout to keep you informed on the action. Follow along with KSR’s LIVE BLOG, which will get rolling on the website an hour before the game starts.

Join The Discussion on KSBoard

Want to interact with the KSR crew during tonight’s game? Consider joining the conversation on KSBoard, where we’ll be sharing live updates while also answering questions and providing real-time analysis (and probably complaining about the officiating).