LOUISVILLE, Ky. — It was not déjà vu all over again for the Bellarmine University women's basketball team.

Sophomore guard Whitney Hartlage poured in 21 points, senior forward Morgan Clemons posted a double-double and four Knights scored in double figures to fend off a second-half rally by Cedarville in a 82-68 victory on Tuesday evening at Knights Hall.

In its season opener against North Alabama on Saturday, the Knights (1-1) squandered a 12-point lead in the second half before ultimately falling 80-78 on a basket in the waning seconds by the Lions. On Tuesday, BU once again built a comfortable lead after the intermission — it grew to as much as 13 points — before the Yellow Jackets (2-1) rallied to knot it up, but this time the Knights recovered to pull out their first victory of the season.

A host of Knights posted big numbers. Hartlage drilled four 3-pointers and sank 7-of-12 shots overall in accounting for her team-high 21 points. Clemons piled up 13 rebounds and 10 points, junior guard Mariah Gador added 12 points and junior guard Mackenzie Martinez chipped in 11. Junior center Jennifer Smith nearly emulated Clemons with a second double-double, falling just shy with 11 rebounds and nine points.

After a fast-paced first half where Bellarmine's press got Cedarville out of sorts, the Knights increased a 46-36 lead at the break to 58-45 with 14:20 left when Hartlage flipped a pass over her head to Clemons for an easy bucket after a steal on the press. But the Yellow Jackets countered behind Kaysie Brittenham, who racked up a game-high 28 points and keyed a 15-2 run that tied it at 60 with 9:41 remaining.

While Cedarville erased the large deficit, the Yellow Jackets never regained the lead. Martinez spotted Hartlage in the left corner for a 3-pointer, sophomore guard Destony Curry converted a transition layup and Hartlage swished a deep trifecta from the top of the key for a 68-62 lead. Smith then had a sensational sequence where she hit a layup off a pass from Clemons, blocked a shot on the other end and stuck a putback off an offensive rebound for a 72-64 lead with 5:21 left.

Gador sewed up the win roughly two minutes later when she swished a 3-pointer from the corner off a feed from Martinez, who led Bellarmine with four assists. Gador had three of the Knights' 10 steals, and Smith and freshman forward Beth Bowers both blocked three shots.

Bellarmine shot 45.8 percent from the field and held Cedarville to 38.6 percent shooting. The Yellow Jackets' Raegan Ryan, who scored 23 points in each of her first two games, was limited to 13 by the Knights. BU hit 21 free throws to the eight of Cedarville, and a 45-38 advantage on the boards also contributed to the Knights' success.

Bellarmine certainly wasn't successful early. The Knights fell behind 11-0 inside the first three minutes before sophomore forward Kelsey Adwell ended the drought with a 3-pointer. Hartlage provided a big spark off the bench, leading an 18-0 run that swung momentum in BU's favor for the rest of the first half. The Knights led by as many as 12 in the first half on a bucket by Clemons before going into halftime up 46-36. Freshman guard Raven Merriweather connected on all four of her shots and scored nine points before the intermission.

Bellarmine starts a three-game road trip with a matchup next Tuesday at Trevecca Nazarene.

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