WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Senior forward Sarah Galvin entered the Bellarmine University women's basketball team's 1,000-point club, and the No. 4 Knights again leaned heavily on their defense to pull out a 68-61 victory Sunday over Florida Tech in the Palm Beach Atlantic Holiday Hoops Classic.

Galvin posted a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds for undefeated Bellarmine (9-0), which is now 5-0 in games decided by seven points or less. She entered the contest needing 11 points to become the 17th player in program history to reach 1,000. Galvin accomplished the feat after sinking a free throw deep in the third quarter.

Junior guard Raven Merriweather added 14 points against Florida Tech (6-4), while senior guard Whitney Hartlage drained four 3-pointers in scoring 12. Led by Hartlage, Bellarmine canned nine trifectas in 21 attempts while the Panthers were only 1 of 14 from downtown.

With the victory, Bellarmine Coach Chancellor Dugan moved within one of 400 for her head-coaching career. Prior to her arrival with the Knights, Dugan coached for 13 years at Division I Florida Atlantic, which is a short trip away from Palm Beach Atlantic.

There may have been no getting around the idea that the Bellarmine-Florida Tech contest was defined by fouls and free-throw shooting. There were a mindboggling 56 fouls called and 61 foul shots taken. The Knights couldn't shake Florida Tech because the Panthers were lights out from the line, sinking 26-of-29 chances for a sizzling 89.7 percent clip. Julie McCarthy had a game-high 25 points backed by 15-of-17 efficiency from the charity stripe.

Bellarmine finished 23 of 32 (71.9 percent) from the free-throw line. Galvin knocked down 10 of her 12 chances. The third quarter in particular saw relentless whistles — the Knights attempted a whopping 20 free throws alone in the period, and the Panthers had 11 chances from the charity stripe.

Bellarmine held a 10-point lead in the third quarter, but Florida Tech inched back and was within 64-61 with 2:14 left. The Knights' defense locked down the win by shutting out the Panthers the rest of the way — they went 0 for 4 from the floor and had a turnover in that scoreless stretch. Meanwhile, the Knights hit four free throws, with Galvin capping the scoring with a pair from the charity stripe.

Bellarmine trailed 7-0 at the start of the game, but the Knights ultimately put together one of their most impressive quarters of scoring after ripping off a Hartlage-fueled 17-0 run en route to a 22-11 lead after one period. They led by as many as 14 in the second quarter before Florida Tech steadily cut into the lead and made it close all the way to the end.

Bellarmine plays host Palm Beach Atlantic at 2:30 p.m. (ET) Monday as the Knights conclude play in the Holiday Hoops Classic.

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