Box Score LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Despite outshooting visiting Wayne State, the Bellarmine University women's basketball team fell to the Warriors, 60-70, in the second game of the MetroMedical Solutions Bellarmine Classic on Friday night at Knights Hall.
 
"We're going to get better," said head coach Chancellor Dugan. "That's what I love about this team, they're resilient. We just have to make sure we clean up the things we can control."
 
The loss was Bellarmine's first at home this season and drops the Knights to 3-4 on the year. With the win, Wayne State improves to 6-1 overall.
 
Bellarmine senior forward Kelsey Lamb led the Knights in both points (14) and rebounds (7) off the bench. Freshman guard Jessica Hardin had 13 points, including three three-pointers, an assist, a block, and two steals in her 21 minutes on the court.
 
"[Kelsey Lamb] did a great job tonight. I'm very pleased with her play. I also thought Hardin and [freshman guard] Mercedes [Cox] did a great job coming off the bench as well," said Dugan.
 
Bellarmine began the game slowly and found themselves down 0-9 just over three minutes into the game. A Warrior lead held throughout the first half but an 8-0 Bellarmine run in the dying minutes of the period challenged the Wayne State advantage. However, the Knights couldn't break through and headed to the locker room trailing by four, 27-31.
 
"We just weren't moving the ball like we should" said Dugan. "We were tentative to shoot the ball and have to make our free throws."
 
In the first half, Bellarmine shot 12-for-32 (37.5 percent) from the field and Wayne State shot 11-for-28 (39.3 percent). The Knights' 10 offensive rebounds in the first period led to 22 points in the paint for BU and eight second-chance points.
 
Trailing by six, 29-35, with 17:52 to go in the game, Bellarmine senior guard Therese Montano wrestled in an offensive rebound and put it back in to close the gap to four, 31-35. On the ensuing Warriors possession, junior forward Morgan Clemons stole the ball, raced down the court and, on an assist from Montano, converted on a layup to make the game 33-35 with 17:05 left.
 
Following a bucket by sophomore center Jennifer Smith that cut the Warrior lead to one, 36-35 with 16:15 on the clock, Bellarmine's defense pulled through. Lamb stepped in front of Wayne State junior guard Jackie Jones and drew the charge, giving the ball back to the Knights with a chance to take the lead. A nice feed on the other end by BU sophomore guard Mackenzie Martinez found Smith once again and her jumper gave the home side their first lead of the ballgame, 37-36, with 15:33 to play.
 
After trading buckets with the visitors from Detroit, Mich. over the next five minutes, the Knights held a tie game, 49-49, with 7:10 to go in the game. Over the next 3:26, four Bellarmine turnovers and a pair of missed jumpers opened the door for the Warriors to capitalize. Wayne State went on a 12-0 run and forced the Knights to spend the remaining minutes fighting from behind.
 
Hardin knocked down a pair of three-pointers in the waning minutes, but the Warriors' 20 made second period free throws sealed Bellarmine's fate as the Knights fell 60-70.
 
For the game, Bellarmine finished ahead of Wayne State in shooting percentage as the Knights shot 25-for-60 (41.7 percent) and the Warriors finished 20-for-52 (38.5 percent). Wayne State hit 26 of their 33 free throw attempts, whereas Bellarmine was just 6-for-14 from the charity stripe. The Knights were 4-for-16 (25.0 percent) from behind the arc and the Warriors finished 4-for-9 (44.4 percent) from three-point range.
 
"When we took it to them, it was there. The middle was wide open and we were reluctant to shoot that little 10-foot shot," said Dugan.
 
In her first game back from injury, Montano finished the night with eight points, four rebounds, and four assist in 28 minutes. Martinez ended the night with four rebounds, three assists, and three of Bellarmine's seven steals.
 
Wayne State's two-pronged attack came through the dominant post play of junior center Shareta Brown and the outside presence of senior guard Destiny Lavita-Stephens. Brown shot 7-for-17 from the field for 22 points, grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds and a career-high seven steals, and Lavita-Stephens scored 20 of her own on 6-for-10 shooting and 3-for-4 from behind the arc.
 
Wayne State will take on Southern Indiana in the third game of the MetroMedical Solutions Bellarmine Classic on Saturday, Dec. 21 at 5 p.m.
 
Bellarmine returns to the hardwood on Saturday, Dec. 21, for a game against Trevecca Nazarene in the final game of the Classic. Trevecca Nazarene fell to Southern Indiana 64-90 in the opening game on Friday evening.
 
BOX SCORE (HTM)