ST. LOUIS — The No. 17 Bellarmine University women's basketball team nearly stole the victory from Missouri-St. Louis, but the Tritons swiped it right back as Jordan Fletcher stuck a putback with 5 seconds left as the Tritons upset the Knights, 58-57, on Saturday at the Mark Twain Building in Great Lakes Valley Conference play.

Senior forward Sarah Galvin posted a game-high 19 points and had eight rebounds and three steals for Bellarmine (19-5, 11-4 GLVC), while sophomore center Ally Mayhaus ripped down a career-high 19 rebounds and notched a double-double by tallying 11 points. Mayhaus' 19 boards are tied for the sixth most in a single game in program history — Michelle Weakley had 23 in 1987.

After trailing by 10 with 4:16 left, Bellarmine stormed back with a 12-1 run. Mayhaus followed a steal by freshman guard Mikayla Berry by grabbing a missed jumper and sinking the putback for a 57-56 lead with 15 seconds left.

Missouri-St. Louis raced back the other way, and Laura Szorenyi drove to the basket and rose up for a contested layup. She missed but Fletcher was in perfect position for the offensive rebound and the game-winning putback. It was only her second field goal of the game.

Bellarmine had a wildly different shooting performance against UMSL than it had against Maryville on Thursday. In the latter contest, the Knights shot a season-best 58.8 percent. However, Bellarmine shot only 30.6 percent against the Tritons, its second-lowest effort of the season.

By contrast, Bellarmine's defense continued its improvement. The Knights limited the Tritons to 30.6 percent shooting as well and forced 20 turnovers. The problem was Bellarmine was only 1 for 12 from 3-point range (8.3 percent) while UMSL hit 4 of 13. The Tritons were also superior at the free-throw line, hitting 24 of 30 for an 80-percent clip while the Knights were 18 of 26 (69.2 percent).

It was a grind for both teams from the outset. Missouri-St. Louis led 9-6 after one quarter, 25-21 at halftime and 45-39 after three. The best either team shot in a quarter over the first three was 41.7 percent — UMSL in the second. Bellarmine found some semblance of rhythm in the fourth period and made 6-of-13 shots (46.2 percent) in rallying from 12 down, but Fletcher ultimately led the Tritons to overcoming the Knights' comeback by delivering the winning bucket.

Shawnta Johnson had 18 points for UMSL.

Bellarmine closes the regular season with three games at home. The Knights host McKendree on Thursday and Illinois Springfield on Saturday.

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