LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Forget pretty in pink.

The Bellarmine University women's basketball team was a problem in pink.

On Thursday in the KFC Yum! Center, the Knights took control from the opening whistle in cruising to a 62-35 victory over shorthanded Central Arkansas in ASUN action while wearing pink uniforms in honor of those affected by cancer.

"I thought they were really locked in," Knights Coach Chancellor Dugan said. "I was really proud of how they came out."

Freshman center Gracie Merkle and senior forward Sheniqua Coatney both collected double-doubles for Bellarmine (8-19, 4-10 ASUN), which emphatically ended a six-game losing streak, several of which were heartbreakers. There was no chance of that happening again versus Central Arkansas (8-16, 3-10 ASUN) as the Knights raced out to a 19-6 lead after one quarter and 38-10 halftime advantage.

Merkle recorded her ASUN-best 17th double-double after posting a game-high 20 points and 10 rebounds while going 10-for-12 from the floor for the Knights, whose 27-point margin of victory was its largest against a Division I-level opponent in the D1 era while the 35 points allowed was the fewest overall in the D1 era. Coatney tied a career high with a season- and game-best 13 rebounds. She notched her first double-double this season after tallying 10 points.

"Shaq rebounded outside of her area, too," Dugan said. "She really went to go get the ball and just had the mindset of 'I'm going to rebound.' That's what we see every day in practice, and now I hope she can keep it up going forward."

Behind Merkle and Coatney, Bellarmine dominated the interior in amassing advantages of 42-14 in points in the paint and 48-29 in rebounding against Central Arkansas, which dressed only six players. The Knights had 10 players score and 10 notched at least one rebound.

Coatney and Merkle opened the scoring with putbacks, and junior guard Mackenzie Keelin nailed a 3-pointer as Bellarmine bolted out to a 15-2 lead. Six different Knights accounted for the scoring in a 13-0 run to start the second quarter, bookended by a jumper from freshman guard Miyah Brown and a triple from freshman guard Jayla Butler.

Defensively, Bellarmine didn't allow Central Arkansas to crack double digits until less than two minutes remained in the second period. The Knights held the Sugar Bears to 26.4-percent shooting for the game and forced 18 turnovers, led by three steals from Butler.

Bellarmine will host North Alabama at 1 p.m. (ET) Sunday in Freedom Hall.

"North Alabama is a very good team, and they have one of the better point guards in the league (Hina Suzuki)," Dugan said. "They're very balanced. We've got to know personnel and our game plan."

For more coverage of Bellarmine athletics, follow us on Twitter (@BUKnights), Instagram (BUKnights) and Facebook (BUKnights).