LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A couple of 3-pointers went down, and the confidence of the No. 23 Bellarmine University women's basketball team went way up.

On Thursday at Knights Hall, Bellarmine drilled six 3-pointers in the second quarter to build a commanding lead en route to an 80-69 victory over McKendree in Great Lakes Valley Conference action.

Senior guard Destony Curry posted 15 points, four rebounds and four assists for Bellarmine (20-5, 12-4 GLVC), which secured back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since the 2003-04 and 2004-05 campaigns. Senior forward Sarah Galvin also had 15 points with seven rebounds, freshman guard Mikayla Berry netted 10 points and freshman guard Katie Downey had a season-high nine points with four assists. Junior guard Raven Merriweather contributed five steals, and sophomore center Ally Mayhaus and junior forward Beth Bowers pulled down eight rebounds apiece, with Bowers' total a season best.

Bellarmine shot a significantly poorer percentage than McKendree (10-16, 1-15) — 35.3 to 47.4 — but the Knights more than made up for that gap in other areas. For starters, Bellarmine drained a season-high 11 3-pointers behind three apiece from the freshman combination of Berry and Downey while McKendree totaled only three trifectas. The Knights tied a season high with 23 offensive rebounds and had a 46-34 overall advantage on the boards. Bellarmine also knocked down 21 of 30 from the free-throw line while the Bearcats had only 14 opportunities from the charity stripe, sinking 12.

After going an unsightly 1 for 12 from 3-point range in a loss at Missouri-St. Louis in its previous game, Bellarmine shot masterfully from deep in the second quarter. Curry nailed consecutive 3-pointers and then Berry drilled back-to-back trifectas. Berry canned another one and Downey followed suit. All told, Bellarmine stroked six 3-pointers in a span of less than four minutes to surge to a 46-27 halftime lead. The Knights' aggressiveness on the boards was also a major factor in the half — eight different players corralled an offensive rebound.

Bellarmine's play wavered in the second half, but the Knights were never threatened. Their lead rose to 21 in the fourth quarter on a 3-pointer by senior guard Whitney Hartlage, and it never dipped below 11.

Madison Hart and Shayli Florine had 13 points apiece for McKendree.

Bellarmine will host Illinois Springfield at 1 p.m. (ET) Saturday.

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