LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A lengthy holiday break didn't stall Destony Curry's standout play. In fact, the Bellarmine University sophomore guard picked up right where she left off.

On Friday evening in BU's Great Lakes Valley Conference debut, Curry led the Knights in scoring for the third straight game, tossing in 20 points and leading a strong second-half charge in a 74-66 victory over Rockhurst at Knights Hall.

"1-0 in the league — there's nothing better than that," BU Coach Chancellor Dugan said after her squad pumped in 44 points after halftime in its first home game since Dec. 13.

Curry was only one point shy of her career high. After gaining All-Tournament honors in the Dec. 19-20 Wayne State Holiday Classic — Bellarmine's last nonconference outings before the GLVC opener — Curry connected on 7-of-14 shots, including a trio of 3-pointers. She also had four rebounds and three assists for the Knights (6-3, 1-0 GLVC) while scoring in double figures for the third consecutive game after performing that feat in half of the team's first six contests.

"She's been doing that every day in practice," Dugan said of Curry's hot stretch after some early struggles. "For the first couple games, I felt bad for her. She thought she was doing something wrong. I kept telling her that nothing was wrong and to just keep doing what you're doing. Tonight was the player we see every day in practice."

The same could be said of Morgan Clemons, who posted her third double-double of the season and pushed the Knights to a 30-29 lead at halftime behind 12 first-half points. The senior forward finished with a season-high 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting and corralled 12 rebounds. Freshman guard Raven Merriweather chipped in nine points, and sophomore guard Whitney Hartlage added eight.

Mary Dineen led Rockhurst (6-4, 0-2) with a game-high 25 points while Lauren Meyers and Kendall Hart contributed 14 apiece. A jumper by Meyers gave the Hawks an 18-12 lead, the largest advantage of the first half. The score was tied on six occasions before the intermission before Bellarmine took a slim one-point lead heading into the second half.

The score was deadlocked with less than 12 minutes remaining, but that's when Bellarmine made its move. Merriweather triggered a 14-2 run with a jumper while Curry buried a 3-pointer and capped the flurry with a layup. Hartlage also sank a trifecta as the Knights built a 12-point lead and sank half of their eight attempts from beyond the arc in the second half after missing all eight tries in the first stanza.

A basket by freshman forward Beth Bowers increased the lead to 13 with less than seven minutes left, and Rockhurst never got closer than six. That happened at the 2:36 mark, but Curry responded with a game-clinching 3-pointer.

Bellarmine knocked down 16 free throws in the second half, six more than Rockhurst. That helped account for the difference, as did a Knights defense that held the Hawks to 36.1 percent shooting and a 47-39 rebounding advantage.

"I was pleased with our effort," Dugan said. "We just needed to do a better job rebounding starting out the game. In the second half, I thought we did a good job blocking out and had much better energy going to the offensive glass and guarding.

"We're not a great defensive team yet," she added of the Knights, who forced the Hawks into 17 turnovers, "but we have the potential to be one."

Bellarmine will host GLVC rival William Jewell at 1 p.m. (ET) on Sunday. Fans may follow the game on live video here or live stats here. The contest will be broadcast on 94.7 FM-WFIA.

BOX SCORE (HTM)