MUNCIE, Ind. — The Bellarmine University women's basketball team hung tight with Ball State for most of three quarters before the Cardinals pulled away for an 84-63 win over the Knights on Monday in Worthen Arena.

Junior guard Jaela Johnson paced Bellarmine (2-8) with 18 points and also registered career highs in rebounds with seven and assists with six against Ball State (7-3). Sophomore forward Lucy Robertson's 13 points were just one shy of a career high, while senior guard Presley Brown tied a career best with seven rebounds and tallied 12 points and four assists.

Bellarmine made its Division-I debut last season against Ball State and fell 98-42. A year later, the Knights were within striking distance of the Cardinals for the majority of the contest.

"I'm really proud of them," Coach Chancellor Dugan said. "I thought in the first half we played so hard and did some really nice things that we were working on in practice this week. As a coaching staff, you love to see that show up in the game."

Playing its final nonconference road game, Bellarmine shot nearly 60 percent in the first half in trailing 38-32 at halftime. The Knights remained within six at 47-41 on a pair of free throws by Robertson midway through the third quarter, but Ball State created a comfortable cushion by outscoring Bellarmine 15-6 the rest of the period.

Bellarmine got no closer than 12 in the fourth quarter as Anna Clephane scored a career-high 26 points on 10-for-12 shooting for Ball State. Thelma Dis Agustsdottir chipped in 18 points. Sydney Freeman assisted on the Cardinals' first three baskets during the critical run to close the third — when the Cardinals' fast break began kicking in — and also sank a 3-pointer during that stretch.

"In the second half, they got run-outs on us, and that didn't happen over the whole first half," Dugan said. "They got eight straight points on that in the third quarter, and I think that was deflating — we couldn't quite get over that. Ball State is a good team and would be a contender in the ASUN."

Bellarmine held a 34-29 rebounding advantage and shot nearly 45 percent, but the Knights accumulated 24 turnovers and Ball State shot at a strong 54.1 percent clip.

"I thought we battled and did a good job on the boards," Dugan said. "I'm pleased with where we're going. We've just got to keep progressing."

Bellarmine will conclude the nonconference portion of its schedule when the Knights welcome Campbellsville Harrodsburg for a 6:30 p.m. (ET) contest Wednesday in Freedom Hall.

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