LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The rebounding machine kept ringing them up.

And she did in the scoring column as well.

On Saturday in Freedom Hall, freshman center Gracie Merkle piled up a program-record 24 rebounds while also amassing a game-high 29 points in powering the Bellarmine University women's basketball team to a 66-54 win over Jacksonville in ASUN action.

"I'm really pleased with their approach and how they're conducting themselves," Knights Coach Chancellor Dugan said. "They're listening, being coachable, handling changes within the game. You know you have a team that's locked in when you can make a change inside a quarter, inside a timeout, and execute."

The nation's leader in field-goal percentage, Merkle hit 13 of her 16 shots from the floor for Bellarmine (7-13, 3-4 ASUN), which pushed its winning streak to three games. The reigning ASUN Player and Freshman of the Week had tied the program record earlier in the season with 23 rebounds against Simmons College of Kentucky and broke it with the 24 boards versus Jacksonville (8-8, 3-3).

Sophomore guard Hayley Harrison helped lead the defensive effort with a career-high four blocks, with several coming on Jacksonville jumpers, and added a career-best seven assists along with 11 points. Senior forward Sheniqua Coatney matched Harrison with 11 points and had six assists as the Knights avenged an earlier road loss to Jacksonville.

Bellarmine registered 17 helpers on its 27 made field goals and shot a sound 46.6 percent from the floor while outrebounding Jacksonville 44-34. For the second straight game, the Knights won the turnover battle — they had one less giveaway than Jacksonville, 17-18, and had a 16-13 advantage in points off turnovers.

"I thought we really turned up the heat and really listened to the scout," Dugan said. "All my assistants have won their scout this week, so that's great. I feel so happy for them because they work so hard breaking down the nuances of what each opponent is going to do and how they're going to do it."

Bellarmine threatened to blow out Jacksonville on multiple occasions, but the Dolphins displayed resiliency as did the Knights, who ultimately answered every pushback. Bellarmine built a 27-10 lead in the second quarter, but Jacksonville rallied to within 31-26 at halftime. The Knights' cushion was back to 16 in the third period, but the Dolphins raced back to within 49-47 by the end of the stanza.

Bellarmine responded by taking control for good in the fourth quarter. Harrison kickstarted a 7-0 run to begin the frame by sinking a jumper and concluded the burst with a traditional three-point play.

Jacksonville got back within four with 4:43 left, but freshman guard Jayla Butler followed by sinking a runner and added a pair of free throws among six points from Merkle as Bellarmine delivered a game-clinching 10-0 run. The Knights' defense limited the Dolphins to just 3-for-16 shooting in the final quarter as BU outscored JU 17-7 in the frame.

Merkle secured her ASUN-best 13th double-double of the season by halftime (10 points, 11 rebounds), but she nearly did it in the first quarter alone as her eight points and seven rebounds helped spur Bellarmine to an 18-7 lead. Her 29 points were the second most of the season for the five-time ASUN Freshman of the Week, who had 32 in a recent road outing against Eastern Kentucky.

Bellarmine will play at 7 p.m. (ET) Thursday at Stetson.

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