LOUISVILLE, Ky. — With 54.6 seconds left Thursday in their final game in Knights Hall,
Raven Merriweather and
Beth Bowers exited the court together to a rousing ovation.
The senior duo certainly earned the adulation.
Merriweather delivered a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds, and Bowers racked up 16 points and eight rebounds in a 69-47 victory over Indianapolis in Great Lakes Valley Conference play.
"I can't say enough about our seniors and what they've meant to this program," Bellarmine Coach
Chancellor Dugan said. "We're going to miss those two next year. This was a good win and I'm glad we got it on Senior Night."
Sophomore guard
Katie Downey chipped in 10 points and four assists for Bellarmine (16-11, 11-7 GLVC), which limited Indianapolis (8-19, 5-12) to 27.4 percent shooting. Most encouraging for the Knights may have been their commanding 50-35 rebounding advantage after they struggled mightily of late with their work on the boards.
In addition to Merriweather and Bowers, sophomore forward
Allison Van Dyke corralled seven rebounds, sophomore guard
Mikayla Berry added six and freshman forward
Lauren Deel tallied five. The Knights had an 18-3 advantage in second-chance points.
"We've got to realize that when we rebound and lock in on defense, we're a pretty tough team," Dugan said.
That was evident Thursday night. After trailing 21-11 following one quarter, Bellarmine nearly held the Greyhounds to as many field goals over the final three periods — nine — as they had in the opening frame — eight. Indianapolis shot less than 23 percent in all three of those frames.
Deel gave Bellarmine the lead for good when she hit a putback with 2 seconds left in the first half for a 30-28 advantage. The Knights started rolling toward the rout in the third period when they opened the stanza with a 13-2 run jump-started by Downey's 3-pointer and finished off by her jumper.
Bellarmine led 47-37 after three quarters and blitzed the Greyhounds in the fourth as junior center
Liza Tibbs sank a jumper for a 21-point advantage. The lead swelled to 26.
UIndy's Devin Ferguson scored 13 points and Martha Burse added 11, half of her season average. Berry collected four steals for the Knights and Merriweather added three.
While Bellarmine has completed its regular season, there are several GLVC games left to be played Saturday. The Knights are currently fifth in the GLVC Point Rating System, which determines the eight teams receiving berths in the conference tournament.
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