Box Score LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Freshman guard Destony Curry had the strongest game of her young career as a late three-pointer by the freshman lifted the Bellarmine University women's basketball team to an 82-81 conference win over the visiting Maryville Saints on Saturday afternoon at Knights Hall. Curry poured in a career-high 21 points in the comeback win. "I'm proud of all of them," said head coach Chancellor Dugan. "They stayed focused and stayed with it. We got down big but were able to come back."

Facing a double-digit deficit in the second half for the second straight game, Bellarmine looked to capitalize on another comeback opportunity and grab an important win in their final regular-season home game.

Down by two points with 17 seconds remaining, the Knights worked the ball around the perimeter and found Curry open on the right side. Without hesitation, she rose and fired a three. The ball bounced high off the rim, hung in the air, and fell through with just three seconds on the clock. The Knights Hall crowd erupted with Bellarmine holding an 82-81 lead. Maryville's final attempt went wide and the Knights won 82-81 in dramatic fashion.

Curry hit all four of her three-point attempts in her career-best performance. She also converted several driving layups and knocked down her free-throws.

"Destony had a great game," said Dugan. "That's what I've expected from her all year. She took it to the rim and no one can stop that girl off the dribble."

Neither team staked a claim to the game early on. Bellarmine held a slim 9-8 lead with 16:07 to play before Maryville took over with their hot shooting. The Saints went on an 8-0 run and held a 16-11 lead over the Knights. Another run by the visitors stretched Bellarmine's deficit to 11, 23-34, with 6:41 until halftime.

Bellarmine responded from behind the three-point line. Back-to-back triples by freshman guard Jessica Hardin and Curry pulled the reins on the Maryville lead with five minute to play. The Knights trailed, but BU was able to keep Maryville in check and headed to the locker room down seven, 35-42.

Bellarmine (12-11, 8-7 GLVC) finished the first half 11-for-36 (30.6 percent) from the floor, but Maryville's advantage came from their 16-for-29 (55.2 percent) shooting in the period.

"I ripped them a little bit. I told them to stay within themselves and trust what we do. I thought they came out and did that," said Dugan.

The Knights pushed hard as they came out of the break. After trailing by 12 points, 41-53, with 15:13 left, the Knights went on a 20-8 run over the next 6:16 and tied the game, 61-61, with 8:57 left. Bellarmine grabbed six offensive rebounds in the first 10:29 of the second half and converted them into nine points. Sophomore forward Sarah Galvin's third straight layup gave Bellarmine their largest lead of the game, 72-69, with 5:21 until the final buzzer.

Maryville stole the lead back, 80-79, with 42 seconds left, and set up Curry's game-winner.

Bellarmine finished the game shooting 27-for-69 (39.1 percent) from the field, 7-for-17 (42.1 percent) from three, and 21-for-27 (77.8 percent) from the free-throw line. The Knights won the rebounding battle 40-38, including 19 BU offensive rebounds. Bellarmine turned the ball over just 10 times and forced 15 Saints giveaways.

Five players scored in double-figures for Bellarmine. Curry led all players with 21 points and Galvin had 15 points and seven boards. Hardin scored 11 and both sophomore center Jennifer Smith and senior guard Therese Montano had 10. Montano also contributed five assists and hit all six of her free-throws, bringing her consecutive free-throws made mark to 25.

Maryville (14-10, 7-7 GLVC) shot 29-for-54 (53.7 percent) from the field, 6-for-13 (46.2 percent) from behind the arc, and 17-for-27 (63.0 percent) from the line. Junior guard Shelby Miller led the Saints with 16 points and sophomore center Alex Hillyer had 15 points and 9 rebounds.

Bellarmine will wrap up the regular season with a three-game road trip, starting with a game at Saint Joseph's College on Thursday, Feb. 20 at 5:30 p.m. The Knights beat the Pumas 91-83 on Jan. 18 at Knights Hall.

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