EVANSVILLE, Ind. — The No. 8 Bellarmine University women's basketball team's appetite for excess wasn't relegated to Thursday.

On Saturday in their opening game of the USI Thanksgiving Classic, the Knights indulged their offense to the tune of 46 first-half points en route to a convincing 78-62 victory over previously unbeaten Michigan Tech at the Physical Activities Center.

Senior forward Sarah Galvin was one rebound shy of a double-double, racking up a game-high 21 points with nine boards for Bellarmine (5-0). Junior guard Raven Merriweather added 13 points, senior guard Destony Curry chipped in 11 and senior guards Whitney Hartlage and Serena Sandusky along with freshman guard Mikayla Berry all contributed eight in the balanced effort. The Knights led by as many as 25 points in the second half over Midwest Region foe Michigan Tech (3-1).

"Anytime you beat a team from the GLIAC, that's always good," Bellarmine Coach Chancellor Dugan said. "We didn't have a lot of preparation time for this game. The girls responded."

That was particularly true in the first half. After Bellarmine took a 16-10 lead after one quarter, Hartlage spurred a 16-0 surge in the second quarter by sinking a pair of 3-pointers and then, after junior forward Beth Bowers' steal and feed to Merriweather for a basket, Hartlage spotted Berry for a trifecta. Five straight points from Sandusky later, the Knights led 38-18.

Bellarmine shot 56.7 percent in the first half while nailing 6 of 7 from beyond the arc. The Huskies were limited to 41.4 percent shooting, including only 1 of 8 on their 3-point attempts, as they trailed the Knights 46-29 at halftime.

Bellarmine's lead swelled to 25 after three periods after the Knights finished the third on a 10-0 run. Michigan Tech's Kelli Guy, who was held scoreless in the first half, exploded in the fourth quarter and her 3-pointer cut the Knights' lead to 12 with 2:09 left. By that point, the damage had been done, and a traditional three-point play from Berry ended whatever hope there might have been for a miracle comeback.

Bellarmine finished with a 44-32 rebounding edge, which produced a 12-2 advantage in second-chance points. Led by Galvin, the Knights had a 42-32 superiority in scoring in the paint.

Bellarmine will meet Young Harris at 1 p.m. (ET) Sunday at the PAC as USI Thanksgiving Classic play continues.

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