EVANSVILLE, Ind. — The Bellarmine University women's basketball team dropped its Great Lakes Valley Conference opener, falling 77-70 to Southern Indiana on Saturday at the Physical Activities Center.

Senior center Liza Tibbs posted her first career double-double for Bellarmine (5-1, 0-1 GLVC), pulling down a career-best 12 rebounds to complement 15 points. Junior guard Mikayla Berry registered a game-high 18 points, and freshman guard Kathleen Scott racked up six steals against the Screaming Eagles (7-1, 1-0).

Bellarmine fell behind 10-0 at the outset, and the Knights found themselves clawing back the rest of the game. The Knights did continuously battle back, tying it early in the second quarter, but they never did take a lead.

Southern Indiana gained a 35-30 advantage at halftime and led by 14 with 3:44 left in the third quarter. Bellarmine got within single digits heading into the fourth quarter and cut a 62-52 deficit all the way to two on a Berry 3-pointer with 3:52 left. That turned out to be the last gasp for the Knights, as Southern Indiana responded with a crucial 7-1 run en route to the win.

Bellarmine struggled to take care of the ball against USI's pressure defense, turning it over 10 times in the first quarter and 25 for the game. The Screaming Eagles also had their issues against the Knights' relentlessness, collecting 20 turnovers.

Bellarmine shot 45.6 percent from the floor to the 43.9 percent of USI, but the turnovers plus poor free-throw shooting (12 of 22) hurt the Knights' chances for a road win.

Emma DeHart and Kennedy Williams had 13 points each for Southern Indiana.

Bellarmine plays an exhibition at 3 p.m. (ET) Saturday at Western Kentucky.

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