SPRINGFIELD, Mo.—The Bellarmine University women's basketball team held a five-point second half lead in the first round of the 2010 Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament, but could not keep up with Quincy University in a 92-78 loss on Saturday afternoon at Weiser Gym, on the campus of Drury University.

The Knights, who trailed by as many as 10 points with six minutes remaining in the first half, battled back late in the period to tie the game at 39 with 47 seconds left, and subsequently pulled ahead on a Melissa Fitz three-pointer just before the halftime horn to take a slight lead into the locker room.

The game was tied six more times in the second half, but Quincy pulled away in the final seven minutes of the contest, stretching the lead to 17 with under a minute to play.

The loss ends the season for the Knights (16-12), who were unranked in last week's NCAA Division II Regional Rankings.  The rankings play a predominant role in deciding which eight teams in the Midwest Region qualify for the NCAA Tournament, which begins in two weeks.

Brittany Edelen had 27 points 12 rebounds and six blocked shots, leading all players in each category.  Allison Matheis added 20 points, while Kylie Brady contributed 17 and six rebounds.

Bellarmine committed 24 turnovers in the contest, of which 13 were steals by the Hawks.  Quincy controlled the game at the foul line, hitting 26-of-32 (.813) from the charity stripe.

Quincy was led by Sam Poppe's 19 points off the bench in 23 minutes.  Courtney Shuman grabbed 11 rebounds to go with her 18 points, while Lindsey Stellflue tallied four steals.

The game was the final collegiate contest for Edelen and fellow senior Destiny Mattingly, who finished with three points and three assists.