LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The undefeated and 3rd-ranked Indianapolis Greyhounds squeaked out a narrow 71-68 victory against the Bellarmine Knights tonight in a women's basketball Great Lakes Valley Conference contest at Knights Hall.
Bellarmine (10-6, 3-4 GLVC) came out strong to open the game and owned a 7-point lead 11:20 into the game. The Knights shot nearly 54 percent from the field in the first half, bettering the Greyhounds by close to 10 percent. The visitors, however, used strong rebounding to claw their back into a 34-34 tie at the half.
The Knights were caught on their heels in the start of the second half while the Greyhounds ran up a seven point lead just four minutes in. Bellarmine took the lead back by one later on in the period and the teams went back and forth for the rest of the game.
The game ultimately came down to the final minute of play when the Greyhounds' all conference forward Samantha Meissel was fouled and sent to the charity stripe with 22 seconds left. Both shots went down and UIndy led Bellarmine by two. Coach David Smith then called a timeout to set up a play for the next possession.
The Knights' Destiny Mattingly brought the ball up court and fed it to Allison Matheis whose 25 feet shot rimmed in and out. The Greyounds claimed the board and the Knights were forced to foul with just with 1.1 seconds left. One free throw was made to complete the final score.
“I told them in the huddle that we were going for a win and we got a decent shot but, it just didn't go down,” Coach David Smith said after the game, “What can I say, our girls played their hearts out and just came up a little short.”
The Knights finished the game shooting 52 percent from the field including netting a hot 63 percent from beyond the arc. Destiny Mattingly led the team with 21 points, four rebounds and three assists. Brittany Edelen had a strong game rejecting five shots and coming down with nine rebounds. Matheis hit four treys while collecting 14 points for the game.
The Greyhounds (15-0, 6-0 GLVC) were led by Samantha Meissel who finished with a double-double scoring 17 points and bringing down 11 rebounds.
Bellarmine will be back in action on Saturday, Jan. 16 in Knights Hall against St. Josephs. Tip is set for 1 p.m.
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