MOREHEAD, Ky. — Morehead State used its best 3-point shooting performance of the season to edge the Bellarmine University women's basketball 63-59 on Sunday at Johnson Arena.

The Eagles (4-5) built their lead behind perimeter shooting and ultimately sank a season-high 10 3-pointers while fending off a comeback bid from Bellarmine (2-6), which had two players post double-doubles in its nonconference road finale.

Freshman center Gracie Merkle registered her fourth straight double-double and fifth of the season after registering 12 points and 13 rebounds while hitting 6-of-8 shots and adding two blocks. Senior forward Cam Browning notched her first double-double as a Knight after amassing 15 points and a career-high 12 rebounds while canning all nine of her free-throw attempts.

Behind Merkle and Browning, Bellarmine had a commanding 48-30 rebounding advantage. The Knights drained 16 of their 19 attempts from the charity stripe while Morehead State went 7-for-17, and the Eagles made only two more field goals (23 to 21) than Bellarmine.

However, when it came to field goals, Morehead State got more bang for its buck. The Eagles came into the game shooting only 24 percent from 3-point range, but they shot 37 percent against the Knights while racking up 10 makes from deep.

By contrast, Bellarmine went just 1-for-11 from 3-point land as the Knights were outscored 30-3 from beyond the arc. MSU was particularly potent from long range in the first half, burying seven trifectas in building a 35-27 advantage at the intermission.

Bellarmine trailed by eight with three minutes left in the third quarter before briefly taking the lead with a 9-0 run capped by an old-fashioned three-point play by freshman guard Jayla Butler. Isabel Gonzalez answered with a 3-pointer on the other end, and Morehead State never trailed again.

The fourth quarter remained tight but after Browning converted a traditional three-point play to cut the deficit to 56-54 about halfway through the period, Veronica Charles countered for Morehead State with a pair of 3-pointers.

Still, Bellarmine did have several opportunities down the stretch to catch up with Morehead State. With less than a minute left, the Knights were within 62-59 with possession of the ball but missed a game-tying 3-point attempt. The Eagles' Sandra Lin helped to ice the win after sinking a free throw to bump the lead to four with 14 seconds left.

Bellarmine shot out to a 9-0 lead, but Morehead State still led 16-13 after one quarter. In addition to the Eagles' accuracy from deep, the Knights were hurt by 21 turnovers, including a plethora in the fourth quarter that undermined the comeback bid.

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

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