LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Saturday's game turned into a showcase for the depth of the Bellarmine University women's basketball team.
Nearly 70 percent of the Knights' scoring came from their bench as they captured a 64-57 victory over visiting Quincy in Great Lakes Valley Conference play.
Bellarmine's three leading scorers all came off the bench. Senior center
Ally Mayhaus posted a double-double with a game-high 15 points and a game-best 10 rebounds. Sophomore forward
Alisha Owens had a big fourth quarter and finished with 11 points while junior forward
Lauren Deel registered 10 points and five rebounds for the Knights (14-9, 9-7 GLVC), who had a 44-21 advantage in bench points against Quincy (7-17, 3-13).
Winner of three straight contests, Bellarmine swept its two games in Knights Hall this week after also knocking off one of the GLVC's top-tier teams in Truman State on Thursday. The Knights built a 34-23 lead over Quincy at halftime largely by forcing turnovers and taking care of the ball themselves. Bellarmine racked up 15 takeaways and had only four giveaways in the first half, resulting in an 18-3 advantage in points off turnovers.
The second half was back and forth. Quincy sliced its deficit to four in the third quarter, but Bellarmine pushed its lead back to 13 by the end of the frame on a pair of free throws by
Katie Downey, a senior guard who has missed nearly all of this season due to injury and received a roar of approval from her teammates after sinking each shot from the charity stripe.
The Hawks didn't go away in the fourth. With less than five minutes remaining, they were within four at 54-50. Owens followed by scoring the next seven points for Bellarmine and essentially closing out the win for the Knights, who held a 61-53 lead with just under two minutes left.
Bellarmine finished with a decisive 24-8 advantage in points off turnovers. Both teams were about even in field-goal percentage and made free throws, but the Knights tallied 12 more field-goal attempts due to forcing 20 Hawks turnovers.
Bellarmine will play Thursday at Missouri S&T.
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