LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Bellarmine University women's basketball team needed a jolt.

And what Bailee Harney and Presley Brown provided was the equivalent of a thunderbolt.

With Bellarmine facing a 10-point deficit early in the fourth quarter, the freshman duo led a gutsy comeback as the Knights outscored McKendree 26-10 in the period to wrangle a critical 60-53 victory Saturday in Great Lakes Valley Conference play.

Harney scored a career-high 12 points and Brown added a career-best eight for Bellarmine (13-9, 7-7), which secured its fifth win in the last six games. Brown scored all of her points against McKendree (12-12, 6-9) in the fourth quarter, and she and Harney combined for 16 in the stanza.

"Presley came in and just gave us such a huge spark," Knights Coach Chancellor Dugan said. "She played defense and drove to the basket hard. She was everything we've wanted her to be. She finally put it together and I'm so happy for her because she works so hard and wants to be out there. I thought Bailee Harney did a great job too. That bodes well for the future."

With 8:45 left in the fourth, Bellarmine was in a precarious spot, trailing 46-36. Less than 20 seconds later, the Knights had cut their deficit in half after Brown converted a drive and Harney drained a 3-pointer. Brown then followed a Harney lay-in with two buckets of her own as Bellarmine rallied within 48-47.

Junior guard Mikayla Berry, who scored 10 of her 11 points in the fourth quarter, knotted the score at 51 with consecutive baskets, and Harney swung the lead in Bellarmine's favor by burying a 3-pointer from the right wing several feet beyond the arc just ahead of the shot clock buzzer.

Harney's trifecta made it 54-51 with 2:49 left, and Berry followed a steal by sophomore guard Breia Torrens with a basket as the Knights celebrated their third straight victory. Bellarmine made 10 of its 14 shots in the last period for a scorching 71.4 percent clip.

"They dug in," Dugan said. "It's nothing I did as a coach. It was executing what our game plan had been. McKendree is very good. I didn't know how we were going to win, but I felt like we were going to win it."

In addition to the lift supplied by Harney and Brown, a key component in the comeback was Bellarmine's pressure defense in the fourth. The Bearcats were clearly frazzled by the Knights' relentlessness and committed 12 turnovers in the period. Torrens, ripping the ball away from the Bearcats, piled up four of her six steals in the fourth quarter.

"I just thought we turned it up with our pressure," Dugan said. "Bailee came in and gave everything she had. When one person does that, you really feel bad about your effort if you're not doing that."

For the game, Bellarmine forced McKendree into 28 turnovers, tying a season high for takeaways. Led by Torrens, the Knights also tied a season high with 17 steals. Berry had four thefts. Junior center Ally Mayhaus grabbed nine rebounds and posted three of the Knights' seven blocks, which was one off a season best.

The first half was back and forth. Bellarmine led 14-13 after one quarter, and it was tied at 24 at the intermission. There were six ties and four lead changes in the half. A strong third quarter gave McKendree a 43-34 lead, setting the stage for the Knights' comeback.

Bellarmine will host Indianapolis on Thursday and Lewis on Saturday.

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