ALLENDALE, Mich. — Facing a stiff challenge on the road before the holiday break, the Bellarmine University women's basketball team fell 87-74 to 11th-ranked Grand Valley State on Wednesday afternoon at GVSU Fieldhouse Arena.

Junior guard Katie Downey tallied 16 points and junior guard Mikayla Berry added 14 for Bellarmine (5-3), which dropped its third straight game. Junior forward Mallory Schwartz posted 11 points and senior center Liza Tibbs and sophomore forward Lauren Deel chipped in eight apiece. Freshman guard Kathleen Scott had seven assists against Grand Valley State (10-1), which has won eight in a row. Bellarmine held a 35-5 advantage in bench scoring.

Bellarmine had strong first and fourth quarters, but it was the middle two stanzas — and in particular the second period — that damaged the Knights' chances at an upset. The contest was tied at 20 after one quarter, but Grand Valley State outscored Bellarmine 22-7 in the second quarter and led by 20 after three periods.

"That second quarter just really got us," Bellarmine Coach Chancellor Dugan said. "We fought and fought but let (the deficit) slip away too far."

Bellarmine forced Grand Valley State into nine of its 24 turnovers in the first quarter, scoring 12 points off the takeaways behind an active press in tying the Lakers at 20 leading into the second frame. Once there, GVSU flipped the script, forcing nine Bellarmine turnovers and turning those into 10 points as the Lakers built a double-digit lead.

"I loved how we were pressing and playing — the intensity," Dugan said. "But we started turning it over. We can't have turnovers in bunches. That's been an Achilles' heel."

Bellarmine trailed by 23 late in the third quarter but made a nice run late as Downey stroked a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 17. Unfortunately for the Knights, GVSU's Jenn DeBoer drained a triple as time expired to bump the lead back to 20. DeBoer and Victoria Hedemark had 18 points, but Cassidy Boensch was most impressive with 26 and 16 rebounds.

The deficit was too much to overcome, but Bellarmine did get within 11 in the fourth quarter.

"At the end of the third quarter and the whole fourth, we really battled back," Dugan said. "I thought everybody really fought today. We've got to learn from this and get better."

After returning from Christmas break, Bellarmine will play just its second game of the season thus far in Knights Hall when it hosts Glenville State at 1 p.m. (ET) on Dec. 31. The Pioneers routinely reach the 100-point threshold and average 107.2 per game.

"When we come back, it's going to be a track meet," Dugan said. "We have to have our track shoes ready."

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)