WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The No. 4 Bellarmine University women's basketball team delivered Coach Chancellor Dugan the perfect early Christmas present: her 400th career head-coaching victory.

Dugan achieved the milestone after the Knights rallied from a five-point halftime deficit with a game-changing third quarter as they pushed to an 82-70 victory Monday over Palm Beach Atlantic in the Sailfish's own Holiday Hoops Classic.

One game after joining Bellarmine's 1,000-point club, senior forward Sarah Galvin paced a balanced Knights attack with 14 points. Galvin was named to the All-Classic team along with junior guard Raven Merriweather, who contributed 13 points for Bellarmine (10-0) against Palm Beach Atlantic (4-7).

Senior guard Destony Curry and junior forward Beth Bowers added 10 points apiece for Bellarmine, which won both its outings in the Holiday Hoops Classic. Freshman forward Taylor Hunter, who recently returned from injury, had eight points and four rebounds in 14 minutes. The Knights are now two wins shy of matching the best start in program history — the 1991-92 squad began 12-0. This is the second straight year that record has been threatened as Bellarmine went 11-0 before suffering a loss last season.

Winning in Florida is nothing new for Dugan. Prior to arriving at Bellarmine, she coached for 13 seasons at Division I Florida Atlantic, which is located less than 30 miles away from Palm Beach Atlantic. Dugan is now 80-42 overseeing the Knights, including a sterling 34-4 since the beginning of last season.

Dugan's 400th career victory seemed in jeopardy at halftime as Bellarmine trailed 38-33 after Palm Beach Atlantic shot 53.3 percent in the first half. The Knights turned things around in a hurry in the third quarter, as Curry had a pair of steals that led to baskets in a 5-0 run that set the tone for the period.

Bellarmine took the lead for good on a putback by sophomore center Ally Mayhaus. Her bucket sparked a 15-4 run to close the period, as Merriweather drained a 3-pointer and finished a transition layup off a nice lead pass from senior guard Whitney Hartlage for a 61-50 advantage.

Palm Beach Atlantic regrouped to begin the fourth quarter on a 7-0 run to cut its deficit to four, but freshman guard Katie Downey and Hartlage nailed consecutive 3-pointers to thrust the lead back into double digits. The Knights led comfortably the rest of the way, leading by as many as 15.

Bellarmine outscored Palm Beach Atlantic 28-12 in its commanding third quarter, and the Knights shot 51.6 percent in the second half. Equally important is that Bellarmine held Hannah Grim to six points in the second half after she scored 13 before the break and limited Ayanna Holmes to four after the intermission after she also scored 13 in the first 20 minutes.

Bellarmine had a 20-9 advantage in second-chance points, capitalizing on 13 offensive rebounds.

Bellarmine returns to action on Dec. 30 when the Knights have a showdown with top-ranked Ashland at Knights Hall.

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