LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Destony Curry's free throw with one tenth of a second on the clock lifted the No. 9 Bellarmine Knights (3-0) to an 82-81 overtime win over Ohio Dominican (3-1) in the Knights' home opener in Knights Hall on Saturday.
 
Every game this season for the Knights has come down to the wire, and Curry isn't a stranger to making free throws when it really counts.  Last Sunday she hit two free throws with four seconds remaining to ice the 79-76 win over Wayne State.
 
Tonight, with just over two minutes to play in the five-minute overtime period, Curry again proved her ability to perform in crunch time by draining a 3-pointer – her fourth of the night – to tie the game at 79.  Lauren Bates' two free throws gave the lead back to Ohio Dominican with 1:40 remaining.  Whitney Hartlage made two charity tosses of her own, tying the game for the tenth and final time with 33.1 seconds left on the clock. 
 
A Panther turnover put the ball back in the hands of the Knights, where Curry pulled down an offensive rebound and drew the foul under the basket with 0:00.1 showing on the clock to set up her game-winning free throw.
 
"This team (Ohio Dominican) right here was very, very good," said Bellarmine Head Coach Chancellor Dugan. "They gave us everything we wanted. I was very pleased with my group."
 
Bellarmine took control early, notching a 18-7 lead in the first quarter, but the Panthers battled back in the second to tie it up 30-30 heading into halftime.
 
"We took our foot off the pedal. We were scoring easily, and then they turned it up. I thought we backed down just a little bit," Dugan said.
 
The Knights picked up their defensive pressure in the second half, outrebounding the Panthers 29-22 and forcing eight turnovers.
 
"We really stepped up defensively. I just wish we would have done that for the whole game," Dugan said. "I was just wondering where our defense was going to be and when it was going to happen. Hopefully we can learn from this."
 
The effort was certainly there.  Senior Sarah Galvin paced the Knights with 24 points and eight rebounds, while Curry chipped in 21 points and seven boards.  Junior Raven Merriweather dominated the glass, grabbing a game-high 11 rebounds.
 
Senior Madi Rittinger led the Panthers with 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Kayla Cook added 14 points, six rebounds and four assists.
 
The Knights now hit the road for an extended stretch.  Next up is Kentucky State ong Nov. 23 in Frankfort. Bellarmine does not return home until Dec. 30 when they host Ashland University in a 1 p.m. contest.  

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