LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The No. 23 Bellarmine University women's basketball team put its collective foot down in the fourth quarter Saturday at Knights Hall.

Bellarmine turned a tight game with Illinois Springfield after three periods into a romp as the Knights defeated the Prairie Stars 76-63 in Great Lakes Valley Conference play.

Junior forward Beth Bowers scored a game-high 19 points for Bellarmine (21-5, 13-4 GLVC), which has clinched a first-round bye in the GLVC Tournament. Behind Bowers, the Knights had an overwhelming 39-12 advantage in bench points over the Prairie Stars (8-17, 2-15). Senior guard Destony Curry contributed 11 points, four assists and three steals off the bench.

Junior guard Raven Merriweather had 15 points and freshman guard Mikayla Berry chipped in nine for the Knights, who held a 45-33 rebounding advantage. Bellarmine reached 20 offensive boards for the second straight game, pulling down an even 20.

The Knights also hit 22-of-30 free throws while the Prairie Stars attempted only 14, hitting just six. Just like in its previous victory over McKendree, Bellarmine won relatively convincingly while shooting less than its opponent — 40.3 to 41.0 on Saturday — in large part due to its aggressiveness on the boards and its ability to get to the free-throw line with far greater efficiency.

While Bellarmine held the lead for the vast majority of the game, Illinois Springfield kept within earshot of the Knights through three quarters. It was tied at 17 after one period, Bellarmine led by three at halftime and the Knights took a 56-51 advantage into the final stanza.

Merriweather sank a pair of free throws to get Bellarmine going in the right direction to start the quarter, and the Knights went on to unleash a game-clinching 13-2 run over a span of roughly 4:30. Senior guard Whitney Hartlage nailed a 3-pointer, Curry found Berry for a layup after a steal and Bowers spotted Merriweather for a basket after another theft.

Berry's drive boosted the lead to 72-55 with 4:14 left. UIS didn't get closer than 11 after that. The Prairie Stars were led by Syerra Cunningham, who had 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Bellarmine will host Southern Indiana at 5:45 p.m. (ET) Thursday in the teams' regular-season finale. The Screaming Eagles have clinched the GLVC East title at 15-2 in league play.

For more coverage of Bellarmine athletics, follow us on Twitter (@BUKnights), Instagram (BUKnights), Facebook (BUKnights) and the BUKnights mobile app available for iPhone and Android.

BOX SCORE (HTM)