EVANSVILLE, Ind.--The Bellarmine University women's basketball team suffered its first defeat of the season tonight, falling 89-63 at the University of Southern Indiana. The game was the Great Lakes Valley Conference opener for both teams.

The first minute of the game foreshadowed what would happen over the next 39 minutes as the relatively young Bellarmine team opened the game by missing a 3-pointer, giving up a USI trey, and committing a turnover.  When the final horn sounded, Bellarmine had committed 22 turnovers and hit just two of 16 shots from long range. The Screaming Eagles, meanwhile, connected on 11 of 17 shots from beyond the arc and turned the ball over just 12 times to gain a 32-10 advantage in points off turnovers.

The Knights, however, did show signs of life. Allison Matheis drilled a 3-pointer with eight seconds remaining the in the first half to cut the USI lead to single digits at 40-31.  The momentum carried over to the second half as Bellarmine got to within seven at the 14:24 mark.

The Screaming Eagles squelched the Bellarmine comeback attempt by going on an 18-3 run over the next seven minutes to increase their lead to 22 at 68-46. The home team coasted the remaining seven minutes to record the 89-63 victory.

Bellarmine had a balanced scoring attack with four players reaching double figures:  Jalissa Chatlos and Melissa Fitz each had 11, and Brittany Edelen and Kylie Brady each tossed in 10.

Southern Indiana's Ellen Young was the game's leading scorer, tallying 24 points on a near perfect night.  She was 8 of 9 from the field, and hit all four 3-pointers she attempted as well as all four of her free throws.

Bellarmine's record falls to 4-1, 0-1 GLVC; and USI moves to 8-2, 1-0.

The Knights are back in action on Saturday with another conference road game as they face Kentucky Wesleyan in Owensboro at 6:15 p.m. (ET).

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