ROLLA, Mo. — Chancellor Dugan bemoaned a lack of energy in the first half from her No. 25 Bellarmine University women's basketball team.

The Knights were able to flip the switch bridging the first and second halves with a decisive 20-2 burst that propelled them to a 79-64 victory Thursday over Missouri S&T at the Gale Bullman Multi-Purpose Building in Great Lakes Valley Conference action.

Junior forward Sarah Galvin scored a game-high 17 points for Bellarmine (16-2, 10-2 GLVC), which outscored Missouri S&T (6-13, 2-10) 40-27 in the second half. Sophomore guard Raven Merriweather contributed a season-high 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting, including 3 for 3 from 3-point range. Junior guard Destony Curry added 11 points, junior guard Whitney Hartlage chipped in 10 and senior guard Mackenzie Martinez collected a game-best five assists.

Led by Merriweather, three-point shooting was a big asset for Bellarmine, which stroked nine of its 17 attempts for a 52.9 percent clip. Curry drained a trio of 3-pointers and Hartlage knocked down a pair as the Knights hit 5 of 8 from downtown in the second half.

Bellarmine's ability to create turnovers was also a major factor. The Knights forced the Miners into 27 of them and turned them into 29 points. BU's defense buckled down in the second half, holding S&T to 33.3 percent shooting after the Miners shot 62.5 percent in the first half. Merriweather had three of Bellarmine's 11 steals.

"I thought we played better in the second half, but I'm not overly pleased," Dugan said. "We need a better effort on the boards. We've got to guard better. We need to play more cohesive."

With 3:43 left in the first half, Missouri S&T was shooting a staggering 73.7 percent. However, behind the strong second half, Bellarmine ended up outshooting the Miners 48.4 percent to 47.9 percent.

At the 2:46 mark in the second quarter, Bellarmine trailed 37-31 as Missouri S&T was seemingly scoring at will. That's when the Knights got things together and rattled off an 8-0 run leading into halftime behind four points apiece from Galvin and Merriweather.

"I thought Raven came in and gave us a lot of energy," Dugan said. "I thought she played one of her better games."

The intermission did nothing to cool off Bellarmine. Curry drilled a 3-pointer and Hartlage added another as the Knights ripped off a 12-2 run in a little over three minutes for a 51-39 advantage.

From there, Bellarmine's lead never dipped below eight. The Knights held a 10-point advantage leading into the fourth quarter, and Curry's layup pushed it to 15 after four minutes passed in the last period.

Joe'l Bland scored 14 points, Jamy Douvier had 13 and Raetchel Gray added 12 for Missouri S&T.

Bellarmine will play at 2 p.m. (ET) Saturday at No. 12 Drury. The Panthers defeated Southern Indiana 70-56 on Thursday.

"It's going to be a big one," Dugan said. "We've got to be a lot sharper."

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