LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Despite a historic shooting performance from senior guard Tasia Jeffries, the Bellarmine University women's basketball team was defeated 76-62 by Liberty on Saturday afternoon in ASUN play in Freedom Hall.

Jeffries tied the program record for 3-point percentage (minimum six attempts) after burying seven of her eight shots (87.5 percent) from deep. Becky McKinley had the exact same amount of attempts and success rate twice, doing so in 1994 against IUPUI and 1995 against Indianapolis.

Jeffries fell one shy of the program record for 3-pointers made. Betsy Young (1999 vs. Saint Joseph's) and Stephanie Pieper (2003 vs. Spalding) share the record with eight. Jeffries didn't miss from beyond the arc until her final shot, scoring all 21 of her points off 3-pointers.

"She did a great job working to get open," Knights Coach Chancellor Dugan said. "We ran some plays for her and her teammates found her."

Bellarmine (4-12, 4-7 ASUN) and Liberty (13-5, 9-2) both shot exceptionally well from beyond the arc. Buoyed by Jeffries, the Knights were 10-for-20 from deep while the Lady Flames were 9-for-17. Priscilla Smeenge was 3-of-3 for Liberty and finished with 12 points, one of five in double figures for the Lady Flames, who had a 34-16 advantage in points in the paint.

"They were physically better than us today," Dugan said. "They got into us, they pushed us around. They did what I wanted us to do to them."

One of Jeffries' trifectas came during a terrific start for Bellarmine as the Knights raced out to a 9-2 lead. The Lady Flames settled in but the contest was tight after one quarter as senior guard Breia Torrens capped the period with a jumper as the Knights trailed 18-16.

Liberty created some distance from Bellarmine with an 11-2 run in the second quarter and held a 42-29 advantage at halftime. The Knights trailed by 19 in the third quarter, but Jeffries fueled a 12-0 run by nailing a trio of 3-pointers.

Liberty countered with a 5-0 run and the Lady Flames' lead never dipped below double digits thereafter. They were able to increase their advantage to 20 about midway through the fourth.

"I thought the second quarter got away from us," Dugan said. "I thought we played pretty well in the other three quarters. We've just got to clean some things up, particularly with blocking out."

Freshman guard Claire Knies sank a pair of 3-pointers in scoring a career-high nine points and tied a career best with six rebounds for Bellarmine.

Bellarmine and Liberty will meet again at 2 p.m. (ET) Sunday in Freedom Hall.

"We've got to come out and be stronger defensively, especially in transition," Dugan said.

For more coverage of Bellarmine athletics, follow us on Twitter (@BUKnights), Instagram (BUKnights) and Facebook (BUKnights).

BOX SCORE (HTM)