Box Score LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Despite a strong season-opening performance on the road by the Bellarmine University women's basketball team, the Knights fell short in overtime to the Cedarville University Yellow Jackets, 87-84. Three players scored in double figures for Bellarmine with sophomore guard Mariah Gador's 18 points leading the way.

"I'm proud of my team" said head coach Chancellor Dugan. "We can build on this and we will be better in March because of this game."

The opening 11 minutes of the contest were a back-and-forth affair. The two squads alternated the lead four times and were tied twice before the Knights took control.

With 8:01 remaining in the first half and Bellarmine holding a slim 18-17 lead, Gador drilled a three-pointer which began an 11-2 Knights run over the next three minutes. The run was punctuated by several strong layups in the paint by sophomore center Jennifer Smith and sophomore forward Sarah Galvin. Gador scored a pair of buckets and added an assist in the streak, ending with a 29-19 Bellarmine lead.

For the rest of the period, the Knights' lead would not drop below six. The visitor's advantage was extended to 13 on a flashy reverse layup with 37 seconds left in the half once again by Gador. Two late first half buckets by Cedarville pulled the margin back to nine as the half ended 42-33 in favor of BU.

Bellarmine shot an even 50% from the field in the first half while Cedarville shot at a 43.3% rate in the period.

When the second half got underway, Bellarmine was able to extend their advantage to a game-high 14, 52-38, with 16:43 remaining in the game, due in part to the strong play by junior forward Morgan Clemons. Clemons scored seven points in the second half on 3-for-5 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds in the period, including three offensive boards. Freshman guard Destony Curry contributed five points and four rebounds in the second half.

However, Cedarville spent the remaining minutes battling back. The Yellow Jackets went on a 21-9 run in the final eight minutes of the half. With 24 seconds left in the game and Bellarmine holding a three point lead, 71-68, Cedarville junior guard Ryan Reagan hit a free throw to bring the game within two, 71-69. Following a miss on Reagan's second attempt, Yellow Jackets junior forward Deborah Gordon grabbed an easy rebound and put the ball back into the basket to tie the game at 71.

"You've got to give it to Cedarville," said Dugan. "They're seniors and they're playing at home. We had them down and they came back, making their free throws count."

The game headed to overtime, tied at 71.

Despite Bellarmine's fighting through the overtime period, the result came down to Cedarville's strong free throw shooting. In overtime, there were three ties and two lead changes, as the teams fought to claim the early season win.

When a Reagan layup gave the Yellow Jackets a 79-77 lead with 49 seconds left, Bellarmine found themselves battling from behind. Cedarville pushed their lead to four but BU sophomore guard Nicole Bryant knocked down a three-pointer on her only shot of the game with 21 seconds left to cut the deficit to one, 80-81.

In a three point hole, Bellarmine sophomore guard Mackenzie Martinez dribbled the length of the court and converted on two consecutive possessions, each time cutting the deficit back to one. However, after every BU basket, the ensuing foul and Yellow Jacket trip to the free throw line resulted in two points for Cedarville as they went 8-for-8 from the free throw line in overtime, and maintained their distance from Bellarmine. Cedarville escaped with an 87-84 win.

The Yellow Jackets shot 28-for-35 (80 percent) from the charity stripe in the game and 21-for-24 (87.5 percent) in the second half and overtime. Bellarmine shot 18-for-29 (62.1 percent) from the line.

The Knights went 31-for-71 (43.7 percent) from the field, besting Cedarville's 29-for-67 (43.3 percent) shooting. Bellarmine pulled down 46 rebounds to CU's 42 and recorded six steals in the game.

Gador shot 6-for-9 (67 percent) from the field and finished with 18 points, two rebounds, four assists, a block and a steal. Clemons finished with nine points and 11 rebounds for the Knights and junior forward Darion Hutchinson had 15 points and nine boards. Martinez contributed 12 points and five assists and had the unenviable task of guarding Cedarville leading scorer senior guard Kayla Jenerette, who shot just 6-for-16 (37.5 percent) from the field.

Jenerette led all scorers with 23 points on 6-for-16 shooting and 11-for-12 from the line. She also contributed six assists, five rebounds and two steals for the Yellow Jackets, with just one turnover.

With the loss, Bellarmine begins the season 0-1. Cedarville improves to 1-1.

Bellarmine continues their road trip with a 2 p.m. CST game against North Alabama on Sunday, Nov. 17.