EVANSVILLE, Ind. — In a clash of archrivals who were both undefeated in Great Lakes Valley Conference play, the fourth-ranked Bellarmine University women's basketball team knew Southern Indiana wasn't going to give up the victory easily Monday night.

So Destony Curry took it.

With USI seeking to tie it up in the waning seconds, Curry stole the ball away from the Screaming Eagles to help clinch a pivotal 88-83 victory at the Physical Activities Center.

Senior guard Whitney Hartlage paced Bellarmine (15-1, 7-0 GLVC) with 17 points against USI (14-3, 6-1) after a near-perfect shooting performance — 5 of 6 from the field and 4 of 4 from the free-throw line. However, Hartlage's expert ballhandling against the Screaming Eagles' full-court press was perhaps her greatest asset to the team in its fifth straight win. She didn't commit a single turnover, weaving her way through and around USI's pressure to set up the Knights' offense.

And there was plenty of that in the second half — not just from Bellarmine either. When it came to scoring, the first half was lackluster as the Knights grabbed a 32-28 halftime lead. After the break, the offensive fireworks lasted nearly the entire second half until Bellarmine delivered some key stops late. The Knights shot a blistering 64.3 percent after the intermission, while the Screaming Eagles sizzled at 61.3 percent.

With both teams seemingly scoring at will, Southern Indiana led 68-64 with 7:42 left after Kaydie Grooms sank a 3-pointer. Not much later, the Screaming Eagles and Knights traded baskets over six combined possessions. Bellarmine finally got a stop, and junior guard Raven Merriweather drove the lane for a go-ahead basket with 3:41 left.

After forcing a turnover, Curry converted an old-fashioned three-point play, and after a Hartlage steal accounted for Bellarmine's fourth consecutive defensive stop, Merriweather nailed a pair of free throws for an 80-74 advantage with 1:47 remaining.

Tanner Marcum, who poured in a game-high 30 points, got USI within one with 21 seconds left on a jumper. Hartlage followed by calmly draining a pair of free throws.

USI had a chance to tie after calling timeout with 11 seconds left. Bellarmine did a nice job covering Marcum on the play, and Curry managed to swipe the ball away from the Screaming Eagles. It was a victory-clinching steal, but senior guard Kelsey Adwell knocked down a pair from the charity stripe with one second left for good measure.

There was no shortage of contributions for Bellarmine, which had five players score in double figures. Following Hartlage, Curry scored 14, Merriweather had 13, senior forward Sarah Galvin chipped in 12 and freshman guard Mikayla Berry was stellar off the bench with 11 points, three assists and three rebounds in nine minutes. Adwell had three assists, and sophomore center Ally Mayhaus led the Knights with six rebounds.

The Knights, whose aggressiveness can sometimes lead to carelessness with the ball, protected it with maximum security on Monday. They easily registered a season low in turnovers with eight. On the flipside, Bellarmine forced USI into 17 turnovers and capitalized with 22 points off of them.

Bellarmine's offense is starting to click. Three of the Knights' four highest-scoring games of the season came over their last three outings. Bellarmine shot 50 percent against USI, its second-best showing of the year. Hartlage canned three of the Knights' six 3-pointers, while the Screaming Eagles hit three from deep.

Bellarmine hosts Lewis on Thursday and Wisconsin-Parkside on Saturday.

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