LOUISVILLE, Ky.—Fighting through injuries and foul trouble, the Bellarmine University women's basketball team pulled out a 72-70 victory over the visiting Northern Kentucky Norse on Thursday night behind 23 points from Therese Montano.

Montano got off to a hot start as she scored the first six points for the Knights as they raced out to a 6-1 lead.

The Knights moved well on defense during the first half, closing out on Northern Kentucky's shooters and held the Norse to just 1-11 (9.1%) three point shooting in the first half.

The turning point of the opening period happened at the 10:47 mark when Northern's Casse Mogan, a first team All-GLVC selection a year ago, was forced to the bench after picking up her second foul. From there the Knights went on an 8-2 run to stretch the lead out to 13.

With their improved defense and shooting 11-24 (45.8%) from the field, Bellarmine took a 40-26 lead into the half.

“Our defense was much sharper tonight, we got a hand in the face of their shooters and that fueled our team in the first half,” said Coach David Smith.

The first half closed on a sour note for the Knights as freshman point guard Kylee Hamilton sustained an injury on the last play of the half and did not return. That injury comes after Betsy Goodin was lost for the season after injuring her knee in practice on Sunday.

Northern Kentucky came out of the locker room aggressively and slowly chipped away at the lead. Bellarmine enjoyed its largest lead of 15 with a little over four minutes left, that was cut down to just four with 1:47 to play.

With the pressure and fouls mounting, the game got tight as Montano, Jalissa Chatlos, and Allison Osen all fouled out in the final minutes.

Up by one with just 12 seconds left, sophomore Chelsea Hawkins went to the line and connected on one of two free throws, forcing the Knights to make one last stand.

The Norse inbounded the ball to Mogan, who drove to the right side of the basket, but the Knights closed in on her forcing into a contested shot that fell short as the buzzer sounded.

“We just needed one stop there at the end and I thought we did a great job of forcing her into a tough shot,” said Smith. “This is a critical win for us and I'm proud of my team.”

Montano's 23 points sets a new career high, and GLVC scoring leader Lauren Jones also pitched in 18 points as the Knights improve their record 10-8 and 5-5 GLVC. Northern Kentucky moves to 12-5, 6-3 in the GLVC.

The Knights now have some time off to get healthy, as they will not play again until Jan. 27 against Illinois-Springfield, gametime is set for 5:45 at Knights Hall.

Box Score