DeLAND, Fla. — Stetson finished the regular season with a flurry, and the Hatters carried that over into the opening round of the ASUN Championship against the Bellarmine University women's basketball team.

On Wednesday night in the Edmunds Center, West Division six-seed Bellarmine hung tight with East three-seed Stetson in the first half, but the Hatters commanded the second stanza in an 81-53 victory over the Knights.

Junior guard Jaela Johnson tallied 13 points and five assists for Bellarmine, which finished its second season in Division I at 4-24.

"It's been a tough year," Knights Coach Chancellor Dugan said. "It's been frustrating on a lot of levels. There were a lot of times where we were outmanned. It's a process and we'll get better."

Senior guard Bailee Harney registered nine points, senior guard Presley Brown grabbed seven rebounds and senior guard Kathleen Scott corralled six boards for Bellarmine. Yazz Wazeerud-Din scored 16 points to lead five players in double figures for Stetson (19-11), which won for the 11th time in 12 games.

Bellarmine trailed only 20-19 after the first quarter and 37-32 at halftime. The Knights had a plus-two rebounding advantage at the break.

Stetson would finish with a 47-34 rebounding advantage. The Hatters outscored Bellarmine 44-21 in the second half. They limited the Knights to eight points in the third quarter and put up 20, following that up with a strong fourth period.

Stetson advances to the quarterfinals, where the Hatters will play Sunday at West two-seed North Alabama.

"They've worked, they've listened," Dugan said of her squad. "They gave everything they had, and I want to thank the seniors for everything they did for the team and for Bellarmine."

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