LOUISVILLE, Ky. — It was worth the wait.

On Saturday in Freedom Hall, the Bellarmine University women's basketball team followed the lead of senior guard Presley Brown in commanding the second half, rallying for a 68-61 victory over Morehead State that marked the Knights' first win of the season.

The triumph for Bellarmine (1-4) in its home debut also snapped an 11-game losing streak against Morehead State (1-4). The Knights and Eagles renewed a series that saw regular action in the 1970s and '80s. Bellarmine won the first-ever meeting between the two teams in the 1973-74 campaign, but Morehead State captured every contest thereafter through the 1988-89 season.

Saturday's victory against the Eagles was a long time coming — and it took a colossal effort in the second half to accomplish it. Bellarmine trailed 44-33 at halftime, but the Knights turned the tables in the second half, outscoring the Eagles 35-17 over the final two periods.

In the third quarter, there was a stretch of over three minutes where neither team scored, but Bellarmine snapped out of the funk behind Brown. She had two baskets and assisted on another in a critical 8-2 run to close the period that cut the deficit to 51-48.

Sophomore guard Mackenzie Keelin opened the fourth by drilling a game-tying 3-pointer and spotting senior guard Kathleen Scott for a go-ahead basket that provided Bellarmine its first lead. Brown gave the Knights some cushion by following with a 3-pointer, and after Morehead State responded to tie, she fed senior forward Sheniqua Coatney for a basket and hit a tough drive for a 60-56 lead with 3:06 left.

Morehead State got back within one twice, but each time Brown countered with a basket. The second staked the Knights to a 64-61 advantage with 1:31 remaining. Brown hit 7-of-9 shots and scored 13 of her 15 points in the second half. Behind her, Bellarmine hit 63.6 percent of its shots (7 of 11) in the last period.

"I thought we did a really good job in the fourth quarter running our offense, and Presley really stepped up," Knights Coach Chancellor Dugan said. "She was on point doing what she does. She's so good when she gets in the lane — she's very crafty with her left hand/right hand."

Scott tallied a career-high 16 points, and junior guard Jaela Johnson added 15, the second most of her college tenure. Johnson, Scott and Keelin combined to can 7-of-13 shots from 3-point land as Bellarmine was 8-for-20 overall from deep.

Bellarmine had only three turnovers in the second half. The Knights also limited Morehead State to just seven field goals and 25.9 percent shooting over the final two periods after the Eagles were shooting 51.5 percent at the intermission.

"They did a great job bodying up on defense (in the second half)," Dugan said. "I thought Morehead did a very good job of getting up on us and slowing us down in the first half. We just kept running. Because of how we play, and our tempo, we want the fourth quarter to be ours and hopefully wear them down."

Bellarmine will host Western Kentucky at 6:30 p.m. (ET) Thursday.

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