LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Bellarmine University women's basketball team's next opponent will be its most recent opponent.

At 2:30 p.m. (ET) Friday at host Ashland (Ohio) University, the Knights (22-7) will square off with No. 5 Drury (28-3) in the opening round of the DII NCAA Tournament. Drury is the second seed and Bellarmine is the No. 7 seed. The NCAA Midwest Region quarterfinal clash marks a rematch of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament semifinals.

The Panthers won that contest 87-62 and followed with a 67-63 victory over Lewis in the title game. GLVC West champion Drury also won the regular-season battle with Bellarmine, 83-72, on Feb. 2 at Knights Hall.

Coach Chancellor Dugan's revitalization of Bellarmine's program continued this season as the Knights secured consecutive NCAA Tournament berths for the first time since 2007 and 2008. In addition, Bellarmine won at least one game in the GLVC Tournament in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2004 and 2005. On top of that, the Knights have won 22 games or more in consecutive years for the first time since claiming 25 and 23 victories in the 1990-91 and 1991-92 campaigns.

Of course, Bellarmine will enter the NCAA Tournament looking to lengthen that list of accomplishments. While the Knights struggled mightily against Drury in the GLVC Tournament semis, they put together one of their best performances of the season in an 88-70 romp over a strong Rockhurst squad in the quarterfinals. They shot 50 percent, limited the Hawks to 33.9 percent and posted a dominant plus-19 rebounding advantage. That balanced victory came after Bellarmine earned a first-round bye after tying for second in the GLVC East.  

A steady start would likely go a long way toward Bellarmine turning the tables on Drury. The Panthers established firm control from the get-go in both of their previous contests against Bellarmine, creating enough room where the Knights were never in position to threaten in the second halves of either game. In the regular-season matchup, Drury led 29-10 after one quarter and 49-31 at halftime. In the conference tournament, the Panthers led 27-17 after one period and 47-28 at the intermission.

Drury's depth of talent was underscored by five players earning All-GLVC nods. Heather Harman (15.7 points, 4.2 assists) was named to the first team, Hailey Diestelkamp (11.7 points, 8.3 rebounds) and Paige Wilson (11.2 points, 85 3-pointers) were selected to the second team, and Daejah Bernard (9.0 points, 4.1 rebounds) and Briana Jones (12.3 points, 4.3 rebounds) were chosen to the third team. Diestelkamp was also recognized as the Freshman of the Year.

Senior forward Sarah Galvin was named first-team All-GLVC for Bellarmine and averages team highs of 15.6 points and 7.4 rebounds. Junior guard Raven Merriweather earned second-team All-GLVC accolades and averages 12.9 points with a team-best 59 steals. Senior guard Destony Curry chips in 10.3 points per game, senior guard Whitney Hartlage is at 9.2 and a team-best 3.3 assists per contest, and junior forward Beth Bowers is posting 8.4 points an outing.

The other NCAA Midwest Region quarterfinals consist of: top-seeded Ashland vs. No. 8 Malone; third-seeded Saginaw Valley vs. No. 6 Lewis; and fourth-seeded Ursuline vs. No. 5 Grand Valley State.

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