LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Bellarmine University women's basketball team is set to embark on its third season in Division I and the ASUN Conference as the Knights prepare to take the court in 2022-23.

Bellarmine will warm up by hosting Brescia in an exhibition game at 1 p.m. (ET) Saturday in Freedom Hall.

Bellarmine will enter its 11th season under Head Coach Chancellor Dugan, who ranks third in program history with 152 career wins with the Knights.

Bellarmine went 4-24 overall last season. The Knights' wins were highlighted by a 68-61 triumph over Morehead State and a 68-48 conference romp over Lipscomb, the latter representing the largest margin of victory against a D1-level opponent in the D1 era.

WHO'S BACK
Bellarmine returns four players who started 12 games or more last season and six total who appeared in at least 22 contests.

Guard Jaela Johnson, a graduate student, led Bellarmine in scoring (12.8) in her first season with the Knights while ranking second in assists (2.5), steals (33) and 3-pointers made (45). She earned an ASUN Newcomer of the Week award last season and registered five 20-point games, including a 24-point effort at Ohio State.

Mackenzie Keelin, a redshirt junior guard, also had a strong first season at Bellarmine. She led the Knights in 3-pointers made (52) and 3-point percentage (37.1) while ranking third in rebounding (4.2) and fourth in scoring (7.7). Keelin posted double-doubles against ASUN foes Liberty and North Florida.

Junior guard Claire Knies is a third returning starter in the backcourt. She averaged 5.3 points and 2.1 rebounds. Her top outing came at Cincinnati, where Knies drained five 3-pointers and racked up 21 points.

Forward Sheniqua Coatney, a graduate student who logged 12 starts last year, has led Bellarmine in rebounding in both her seasons with the Knights. She averaged 5.0 boards per game last season and also blocked a team-high 21 shots. Coatney delivered a 17-point, 13-rebound performance against Evansville.

Junior forward Lucy Robertson (3.7 points, 3.2 rebounds) appeared in 27 games last season, while sophomore forward Haley Stoklosa (2.9 points, 1.6 rebounds) saw action in 25 contests in her debut season and led the team in field-goal percentage (46.8).

Sophomore guard Bralee Trice (1.6 points, 1.4 rebounds) missed the nonconference portion of the schedule due to injury but took the court in 14 ASUN games.

Redshirt sophomore guard Hannah Farrell was limited to five games last season due to injury. Redshirt junior guard Ashlee Harris and redshirt sophomore guard Lydia Reimbold are also back after missing all of last season due to injury.

WHO'S NEW
Johnson and Keelin were impact transfers, and Bellarmine is hoping the same will be said of senior forward Cam Browning and redshirt sophomore guard Hayley Harrison.

Browning played two-plus seasons at Belmont and appeared in nearly 60 games. As a sophomore, she averaged 4.9 points and 2.5 rebounds while shooting 63.2 percent from the field. Harrison took a medical redshirt at UT Martin in 2019-20 and followed with 49 appearances over the next two seasons. As a sophomore, she started 12 games and averaged 5.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists.

Bellarmine's true freshmen include guards Aly Avrach, Miyah Brown, Jayla Butler and Amaya Curry and 6-foot-6 center Gracie Merkle.

PREMIER OPPONENTS
In addition to its 18-game ASUN slate, Bellarmine has an exciting nonconference lineup that includes road games at LSU (Nov. 7) and Kentucky (Nov. 17) and a showdown with Louisville in Freedom Hall (Dec. 14). All three were NCAA Tournament teams in 2021-22, with the Cardinals advancing to the Final Four.

Bellarmine will also host Wofford (Dec. 17) and Murray State (Dec. 20), both of whom earned berths in the WNIT last season. Louisville, Wofford and Murray State cap a December in which the Knights play six of their seven games in the month at home.

ASUN play begins in January, with nine home and nine road games comprising the conference slate. League action tips off Jan. 2 at Jacksonville.

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