With one final hurdle in the way of it's quest for a undefeated season in the OVC, Belmont left no doubt. The Bruins dominating Eastern Kentucky 94-64 in Saturday's OVC Women's Tournament final to finish a perfect 19-0 in conference play.
Tied at 22, Belmont closed the first half on a 16-6 run highlighted by two three-pointers from sharp-shooter Darby Maggard, and a third from tournament MVP Kylee Smith just before the halftime buzzer.
"This team has the ability to say the tough thing to one another," Belmont coach Cameron Newbauer said. "They put me at ease whenever I'm nervous because of their resilience and their toughness. I couldn't be more proud."
Belmont may be comfortable grinding out tight games, but it can be downright scary as a frontrunner. On Saturday the Bruins pulled away while playing free and easy after halftime, scorching the nets with 64 percent shooting on the way to 56 points in the second half
"Today was absolutely a blast," Maggard said. "Everybody was clicking, everybody played well. This was fun."
It's easy to have fun with a point guard like Maggard, who dished out eight more assists, setting up Smith's career-high 30 point effort a day after Sally McCabe notched a career-high 27 in a win over UT Martin. All three Bruins were selected to the All-Tournament team with Smith being named the MVP.
"This is kind of a team award," Smith said. "I don't score points without my teammates, and passes from them. This is awesome. I'm just so excited to celebrate with my team."
In reality, voters should have just selected Belmont's entire starting lineup. The Bruins dominated the tournament, winning three games by an average of 22 points. Saturday's final score nearly matched their record-setting 95-63 win over the Colonels in the the tournament final a year ago.
You could see what Newbauer was building in that tournament run last season, but the expectations were different this season. With nearly everyone back from Belmont's first OVC championship team, the Bruins rolled through the competition this year, playing just five games that were decided by single digits while running their conference winning streak to 25 games.
"We've never talked about goals or records or anything," Newbauer said. "For this to happen with just a mindset on trying to get better everyday is just tremendous."
Belmont's 27 wins overall are the most in the program's Division I era, and the most by an OVC team since Morehead State won 28 in 1978-79. The Bruins are just the fourth team in league history to go unbeaten in all conference games in a season.
Their 21-game winning streak is the longest in program history and the second longest in the country behind no. 1 UConn. And while they aren't on the same level as the Huskies (no one is), no one is going to want to see the Bruins pop up in their bracket when the NCAA Tournament pairings come out March 13th.
This is a hot team playing great basketball and brimming with confidence.
"I knew this team was special, and this just proves that we're special," McCabe said when asked about returning to the Big Dance for a second straight year. "It was our goal to get back. This season has been so much fun. I can't wait to continue it."
