LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Chancellor Dugan hopes the buckets come in bunches, but that's not where the Bellarmine University women's basketball coach starts as far as what she desires to observe in the Knights' season opener.

"I want to see energy, I want to see effort, I want to see kids diving on the floor after basketballs, I want to see the bench into it. And I think I will see that," Dugan said. "The way we have been practicing makes me excited going forward into this season."

The season starts at 1 p.m. (ET) Sunday in Knights Hall as Bellarmine welcomes in Bluefield State of West Virginia. BU went 14-13 last season while the Lady Blues compiled a 21-7 record.

"It's always nice to open at home if you can," Dugan said. "They won 20 games last year, so it's going to be a good season opener for us."

Bellarmine returns its four leading scorers (Raven Merriweather, Whitney Hartlage, Destony Curry, Beth Bowers), its leader in assists and steals (Mackenzie Martinez), and All-Great Lakes Valley Conference performer Sarah Galvin, who missed last season due to injury.

"I'm just so excited to get back out there," Galvin said. "We're ready for the season to start. We've been practicing for a while now, and I hope our hard work pays off. We need to bring energy and enthusiasm right from the first tip."

Curry reiterated that latter point.

"Our hustle is something that we want to define us," she said. "We want every play to be a hustle play. We want to set that tone in the first game."

Dugan said evaluating the Knights' potential depth is always a focus early in the season. Starting on Sunday afternoon, she'll look for each player to prove that she deserves a spot in the rotation.

"The kids on the bench are going to be called upon, and they are going to have to respond," Dugan said. "I always try to emphasize to them to be ready at all times. If you make the most of your opportunity, that gives me confidence to call on you sooner and have you in the game more often. Early in the year, you're really looking to see who you can call on and who can be in the game when you have to draw up a play."

Bellarmine had a pair of scrimmages in the preseason. The Knights came away with plenty of positives, but they were not pleased with their work on the boards. They'll seek a blue-collar outing against Bluefield State in their opener.

"We definitely need to rebound a lot more," Martinez said. "We need to bring the effort, and play with a chip on our shoulder."

For more coverage of Bellarmine athletics, follow us on Twitter (@BUKnights), Instagram (BUKnights) and Facebook (BUKnights).

BLUEFIELD STATE at BELLARMINE
Date: Sunday, November 15
Tip-off: 1 p.m. (ET)
Venue: Knights Hall
Video
Live Stats