BIG RAPIDS, Mich. — Coach Chancellor Dugan wanted to test her ninth-ranked Bellarmine University women's basketball team from the get-go this season, and that's certainly what has unfolded for the Knights after their second straight game went down to the wire before they pulled out a 79-76 victory over Wayne State on Sunday at host Ferris State.

Bellarmine (2-0) debuted with a 94-93 overtime win over Ferris State on Friday, and Wayne State (2-0) provided the Knights with another stiff challenge before they hunkered down with less than 3 minutes left to deal the Warriors their second consecutive close loss to a quality opponent — they opened with a 78-73 loss to Ursuline, which received votes in the WBCA preseason poll.

Senior forward Sarah Galvin led Bellarmine with 19 points, junior guard Raven Merriweather tallied 18 on 7-for-10 shooting including three 3-pointers, junior forward Beth Bowers added 13 and senior guard Whitney Hartlage chipped in 10. Shannon Wilson and Nastassja Chambers had 17 points apiece for Wayne State.

While Bellarmine led for the vast majority of the game, including by 14 in the third quarter, Wayne State chipped away and eventually went ahead in the fourth for the first time. With 2:30 left, the Knights trailed 72-71 after a free throw by Chambers, but Galvin knocked down a pair of free throws to give Bellarmine the lead for good.

A clutch 3-pointer by Bowers pushed the lead to four with 1:57 left. Wayne State was within one at 77-76 with 16 seconds left, but senior guard Destony Curry nailed a pair from the charity stripe with 4 seconds left to help close out the win.

Free throws played a pivotal role for Bellarmine, which sank 21 of 26 for an 80.8 percent clip. Wayne State hit 16 of 24 (66.7). Galvin canned all seven of her attempts for the Knights.

Bellarmine held a 40-30 rebounding superiority, including 25-12 in the first half when the Knights took a 32-21 lead after one period and a 41-30 advantage at halftime. Wayne State improved on the boards after the intermission and began erasing a 14-point deficit with 8:19 left in the third quarter by outscoring the Knights 25-18 in the period. The Warriors converted 23 Bellarmine turnovers into 25 points, hindering the Knights from pulling away for good.

Bellarmine hosts Ohio Dominican at 7 p.m. (ET) Saturday in Knights Hall in its home debut.

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