LOUISVILLE, Ky. — There was no better way to ring in the New Year than this.

On Saturday afternoon in Freedom Hall, the Bellarmine University women's basketball team controlled the last segment of a back-and-forth affair with Ohio as the Knights pulled out a tense 70-66 victory.

In Bellarmine's final contest in the 2023 portion of its schedule, along with its last nonconference matchup, junior guard Hope Sivori once again displayed the arm strength of a quarterback in a critical moment. Ohio (3-7) had cut a seven-point deficit with 2:30 left to 65-64 with 1:21 remaining.

After Bellarmine (5-7) missed a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws, the Bobcats committed a turnover with the opportunity to take the lead. Sivori made them pay for the miscue on the inbound, unloading a pinpoint crosscourt pass ahead to streaking senior guard Claire Knies for a layup.

After registering her season-high ninth assist, Sivori followed an Ohio missed jumper and rebound by Knights sophomore guard Miyah Brown with a pair of free throws and 69-64 lead with 30 seconds left. Another Brown rebound off a Bobcats miss sealed it up.

It was a seesaw game. Bellarmine led 20-14 after the first quarter, but Ohio held a 35-32 advantage at the break. Ohio's Jaya McClure, a Louisville native, then poured in 13 of her game-high 21 points in the third quarter as the Bobcats maintained a 52-49 lead.

Bellarmine went ahead for good when junior guard Hayley Harrison buried a 3-pointer with 6:28 left in the fourth. Brown found Sivori for a triple and later converted off a nice feed from Harrison while adding a free throw for a 63-56 advantage with less than three minutes remaining, but the Knights had to fend off a final Bobcats push to secure the win.

Passing was a key ingredient in the victory. Led by Sivori, Bellarmine assisted on 19 of its 22 made field goals. Free throw shooting was also crucial — the Knights hit all 10 of their attempts from the charity stripe in the first half and finished 23-of-30 for the game compared to eight makes in 11 chances for Ohio.

Brown matched a career high with 18 points and had eight rebounds and four assists for Bellarmine. Harrison sank 10 of her 11 free-throw attempts in scoring 15 points with four steals, Knies hit 6-of-9 shots in notching 13 points, and Sivori added eight points and six rebounds to complement her considerable assist total.

Senior guard Ashlee Harris notched three steals, senior forward Lucy Robertson chipped in eight points and senior guard Mackenzie Keelin hauled in six rebounds.

Bellarmine will open ASUN play at 7 p.m. (ET) Thursday at Austin Peay.

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