LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The start of Great Lakes Valley Conference action looked a lot like nonconference play for the Bellarmine University women's basketball team.

Four players scored in double figures as Bellarmine extended its early season unbeaten streak with a 72-58 victory over Illinois Springfield on Thursday at Knights Hall.

Junior forward Sarah Galvin paced Bellarmine (4-0, 1-0 GLVC) with 17 points, while junior guard Destony Curry buried 3 of 4 from 3-point land in tallying 13 points. Sophomore forward Beth Bowers scored 11 points and grabbed six rebounds in her first outing of the season after returning from injury. Senior guard Mackenzie Martinez chipped in 11 points, five assists and five rebounds, and junior guard Kelsey Adwell added eight points, four rebounds and three steals.

Bellarmine fell behind 17-16 to Illinois Springfield (3-3, 0-1) after one quarter before the Knights owned a 35-31 advantage at halftime. BU once again put together a strong third quarter, doubling up the Prairie Stars in the period to lead by 11 heading into a final frame where its comfortable margin remained intact.

Both teams shot below 40 percent, but Bellarmine made up for it by getting to the free throw line 26 times and sinking 16 of its attempts. By comparison, Illinois Springfield had only 14 chances from the charity stripe and made just half of its attempts. Also crucial for Bellarmine was the Knights' 22-11 superiority in points off turnovers.

Bowers stuck a putback with two seconds left before halftime to give Bellarmine a slim 35-31 lead. After the break, Curry stroked a 3-pointer, sophomore forward Brooke Valentine had a putback and Martinez added a lay-in as the Knights created some distance with a 7-2 run to open the second half. Another trifecta from Curry boosted BU's advantage to 49-38 heading into the fourth quarter.

Once there, Illinois Springfield never threatened Bellarmine. A Bowers bucket put the Knights up 14 with 6:36 left, and the Prairie Stars couldn't get closer than eight the rest of the way. BU's lead would swell to 15 points on a pair of free throws by Galvin, who sank 5 of 6 from the charity stripe.

Bellarmine will host McKendree at 1 p.m. (ET) on Saturday in a game that will be televised on ESPN3.

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