ROLLA, Mo. — The Bellarmine University women's basketball teams kept the streaks intact.
On Thursday at Gibson Area, Bellarmine pushed its winning streak to four in a row while handing Missouri S&T its ninth straight loss as the Knights hammered the Miners 80-58 in Great Lakes Valley Conference play.
"I thought we came out ready," Knights Coach
Chancellor Dugan said. "I thought our intensity on defense was good. I think that just carried over into the second half."
Contributions came from just about everywhere for surging Bellarmine (15-9, 10-7 GLVC). Junior guard
Tasia Jeffries canned a trio of 3-pointers in scoring a game-high 17 points, junior guard
Breia Torrens added 14 and senior forward
Allison Van Dyke supplied 12. Torrens and Van Dyke were both 6 of 8 from the field for the Knights, who shot 47.1 percent and limited Missouri S&T (7-17, 3-14) to 37.7.
Senior center
Ally Mayhaus nearly posted a double-double with 10 rebounds and nine points. Sophomore forward
Alisha Owens hauled in eight rebounds as Bellarmine won the battle of the boards 45-37. Seven different players notched at least three rebounds.
Jeffries scored 15 of her points in the first half. She canned a pair of 3-pointers in scoring eight points inside the final three minutes of the opening quarter to stake Bellarmine to a 16-14 lead. The Knights clamped down defensively in the second period, shutting out Missouri S&T over the final 4:31 and going on a 7-0 run capped by a jumper from freshman guard
Ashlee Harris to head into halftime with a 36-24 advantage.
Bellarmine's bench played splendidly in the third quarter as a Van Dyke layup pushed the Knights to a 57-43 lead heading into the final frame. Once there, layups by Van Dyke and Torrens bookended an 11-0 run that extended the Knights' advantage to 24. It swelled to as many as 27.
"It looks great when you play hard and share the ball," Dugan said. "I think we're being really unselfish with the ball. We also ran the floor well tonight."
Bellarmine plays at 2 p.m. (ET) Saturday at Maryville in its final road game of the regular season.
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