LEBANON, Ill. — Breia Torrens brought the Bellarmine University women's basketball team back. Tasia Jeffries kept the Knights alive.

And ultimately, the team as a whole delivered the win.

On Thursday night at the Melvin Price Convocation Center, Bellarmine stayed poised in overtime in a wild back-and-forth contest on the road in claiming an 89-86 victory over McKendree in Great Lakes Valley Conference play.

Torrens was unstoppable in the second half in pouring in a career-high 34 points and leading Bellarmine (7-4, 2-2 GLVC) back from a 10-point deficit early in the third quarter against McKendree (7-5, 0-4). The junior guard connected on 11-of-20 shots and 10-of-11 free throws. Torrens scored an astonishing 19 points in the third period alone, canning all six of her field goals and all six free throws as the Knights outscored the Bearcats 26-12 in the frame.

"I told them at halftime that they have the ability to do amazing things, and they did that in the second half and overtime," Knights Coach Chancellor Dugan said. "At the same time, we've got to turn a corner and put together four quarters."

Jeffries, Torrens' backcourt mate and former high school teammate, was responsible for sending the game to overtime. With Bellarmine trailing 70-67 and the clock ticking under 10 seconds in the fourth quarter, the junior guard launched a 3-pointer from well beyond the arc on the right wing and drilled it for the tie.

"Our guards did a good job looking for each other," Dugan said. "When Bre's really playing, you can't guard her."

After a video review to determine the time on the clock after Jeffries' made trifecta, McKendree advanced the ball on a timeout with 2 seconds left. The Bearcats hit a driving layup, but after another video review — the third in the last 40 seconds of play — the officials ruled time expired before the shot.

The seesaw affair continued in overtime. McKendree converted consecutive old-fashioned three-point plays to take an 81-78 lead with 1:44 left, but senior guard Mikayla Berry responded by nailing a tying 3-pointer for Bellarmine. The teams then traded made jumpers, and Torrens' basket marked the eighth tie of the contest at 83 with 54 seconds left.

Junior forward Lauren Deel registered a double-double for Bellarmine with 12 points and 10 rebounds. On the second to last of her boards, she was fouled after grabbing a Bearcats miss with 40 seconds left. Deel knocked down the two free throws, and Jeffries followed by draining four straight from the charity stripe after two more McKendree misses to seal the victory.

"I told them during a timeout (late in overtime) that the crazy is done," Dugan said.

Surprisingly, Torrens wasn't the game's leading scorer. That honor went to McKendree's Jenna Krause, who racked up 36 points behind 10-of-14 shooting from the floor and 12 of 13 from the charity stripe. Jeffries posted 16 points behind a trio of 3-pointers for Bellarmine and Berry added 12 points.

Bellarmine was outrebounded 22-12 in the first half but finished with a 42-37 advantage on the boards.

"They really buckled down," Dugan said. "I think rebounding was the biggest key. We were plus-15 in the second half."

Free throws also played a big role in the game. The Knights sank 30 of 35 from the charity stripe while the Bearcats were 31 of 48.

Bellarmine plays at 6:30 p.m. (ET) Saturday at Southern Indiana.

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