LEBANON, Ill. — In its first matchup this season with McKendree, the Bellarmine University women's basketball team needed a big fourth-quarter push to capture the victory.
Things were far less stressful Thursday night at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center.
After holding a five-point halftime lead, Bellarmine bolted out of the break with a 13-1 run that resulted in a big cushion and allowed the Knights to power to a critical 69-53 victory in Great Lakes Valley Conference play.
Bellarmine (15-10, 9-8) entered the contest sixth in the GLVC Point Rating System — which determines berths and seeding in the eight-team conference tournament — while McKendree (13-13, 7-10) was seventh.
"It was huge," Knights Coach
Chancellor Dugan said of the win.
Balance was a big part of Bellarmine's seventh victory in its last nine games. Junior guard
Katie Downey scored a team-high 12 points and sophomore guard
Breia Torrens added 11, but most impressive is that all 11 Knights who played entered the scoring column. The Knights shot an efficient 48.1 percent from the floor and were 14 of 15 (93.3 percent) from the charity stripe.
However, Dugan was most proud of her squad's decisive 36-24 advantage on the boards. McKendree, which came into the game fourth in the GLVC in rebounding margin, had zero second-chance points.
"That was the key," Dugan said. "I'm all about defense and rebounding. They beat us on the boards last game."
Freshman guard
Bailee Harney scored a pair of baskets, including one just ahead of the buzzer, to give Bellarmine an 18-12 lead after the first quarter, and the Knights took a 30-25 advantage into halftime.
What followed after the intermission was an onslaught. In less than three minutes, Bellarmine went from a five-point lead to a 15-point advantage. The Knights would ultimately begin the quarter on a 13-1 run to take full control of the contest. Torrens began the burst with a 3-pointer, and Downey followed with eight straight points.
"We were more aggressive on the offensive end, and that really set us up for the second half," Dugan said.
McKendree responded with a 7-0 run, but Bellarmine immediately matched it as freshman guard
Presley Brown drained a 3-pointer for a 51-34 lead with 1:53 left in the third. The Bearcats cut their deficit to nine on a couple occasions in the fourth, but they never really threatened as the Knights quickly bumped their advantage back into double digits.
Bellarmine will play its regular-season finale at 2 p.m. (ET) Saturday at Illinois Springfield. The Knights defeated the Prairie Stars 75-54 on Feb. 14 at home.
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