LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Purdue Fort Wayne entered Freedom Hall as one of the top 3-point shooting teams in the country, but the Mastodons were cold from the perimeter and leaned on defense and interior scoring to defeat the Bellarmine University women's basketball team 57-46 on Wednesday night.

Purdue Fort Wayne (7-2) came into the contest shooting over 40 percent from long range, but the Mastodons were only 3-for-24 (12.5 percent) from deep against Bellarmine (2-5). However, PFW was able to offset its struggles from beyond the arc by outscoring the shorthanded Knights 32-12 in the paint and forcing 23 turnovers behind 14 steals.

Bellarmine also played strong defensively in the low-scoring affair. The Knights held a 12-11 lead after the first quarter and led by six in the second, but PFW closed the period on a 14-0 run to take a 28-20 advantage into the break.

Bellarmine trailed 37-32 after three quarters before junior guard Hope Sivori opened the fourth by sinking a 3-pointer. PFW countered by taking control for good with a 9-0 run.

Sivori notched eight points, six rebounds and four assists for Bellarmine. Senior guard Claire Knies and junior guard Hayley Harrison both collected 10 points while sophomore guard Miyah Brown corralled seven rebounds.

Ryin Ott came off the bench to score a game-high 17 points for PFW.

Bellarmine will host Asbury at 1 p.m. (ET) Saturday.

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