SPRINGFIELD, Mo. --- Playing the first of two games on the road in the state of Missouri, the Bellarmine University women's basketball team fell behind early and never could recover, falling to Drury University 67-53 on Thursday night in Great Lakes Valley Conference action.

The loss leaves Bellarmine (6-7, 0-5 GLVC) one game under .500 and 0-5 in the conference for the first time in school history. The Knights were again without a pair of starters as Kylie Brady and Therese Montano sat out with injuries.

The host Panthers (10-4, 4-1 GLVC) used a 15-2 run midway through the first half to put distance between themselves and the Knights, one that they would never relinquish. Drury used pressure defense to force Bellarmine into 20 turnovers, including 12 in the first half, resulting in 20 points for Drury.

Trailing 43-26 at the half, Bellarmine came out of the break firing, cutting the lead to 11 4:30 into the second period. That was as close as the Knights would get though as the Panthers were too much to handle. Senior Allison Matheis led the effort for Bellarmine with 16 points, while sophomore Kelsey Lamb nearly had a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds off the bench, both career highs.

Katie Pritchard and Bethanie Funderburke, last season's Freshman of the Year in the GLVC, shared game-high scoring honors with 17 apiece. The Panthers also won the rebounding battle, 43-40.

The road does not get any easier for Bellarmine as they make the trip to Rolla, Mo. on Saturday to take on No. 24 Missouri S&T, tip is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. EST.

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