LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Bellarmine University women's basketball team saved its best for last.

It didn't quite result in a win. But it was close. Oh, was it ever close.

On Wednesday night in Freedom Hall, the Knights nearly closed the season with an epic upset of Liberty — which only six days prior had beaten BU by 27 — but a potential game-winning drive in overtime was a little strong as the Flames escaped with a 69-68 victory in ASUN action.

"The culture of this program has just changed by leaps and bounds," Knights Coach Chancellor Dugan said. "It means something to these kids — they come in every day and practice their tails off. They care about each other and just fight out there for each other."

Sophomore guard Hayley Harrison sent the game into overtime after burying a 3-pointer with less than a second left for Bellarmine (9-22, 5-13 ASUN). In the extra frame, the Knights trailed Liberty (22-7, 16-2) by four with one minute left but cut the deficit to one when freshman guard Miyah Brown spotted freshman center Gracie Merkle for a layup while Harrison was fouled off the ball and hit 1-of-2 from the free-throw line with 44 seconds left.

Bellarmine blocked a shot on the other end, setting the Knights up for a final shot after a timeout was called with 14 seconds remaining. Merkle, who BU utilized with great success as a distributor out of the post, found a teammate cutting for a driving layup, but the attempt rattled off the rim and out as time expired.

Merkle capped the season by boosting her ASUN-best double-double tally to 19 after ripping down 18 rebounds and notching 10 points. The nine-time ASUN Freshman of the Week and three-time ASUN Player of the Week set a new single-season program record for total rebounds with 340. She also rejected three shots against Liberty to finish the season with 72, which ranks second in program history. Merkle dished out a career-high five assists.

"What a special kid," Dugan said. "She's just so unassuming. Gracie was so strong on the boards."

Brown poured in a career- and game-high 18 points behind an 8-for-9 effort from the charity stripe and added seven rebounds and three assists for Bellarmine. Harrison buried four of her seven attempts from the 3-point line in scoring 17 points, and senior forward Sheniqua Coatney concluded her career with 13 points, four rebounds and three steals.

"What a great senior year for Shaq Coatney," Dugan said. "She's just played so well and done so many things. I'm going to miss the heck out of that kid."

Last Thursday, Liberty defeated Bellarmine 77-50 in Lynchburg, Virginia, and the two-seed in the upcoming ASUN Tournament came into Freedom Hall red hot and unbeaten since Jan. 12. The Flames extended their conference-best winning streak to 14, but it was by the skin of their teeth.

Bellarmine trailed by 12 in the second quarter and was down 33-23 at halftime, but Coatney and Brown bracketed baskets around a Harrison 3-pointer as the Knights roared out of the break with a 7-0 run. That spurt firmly entrenched BU into a battle with Liberty as the Knights held a 44-42 lead after outscoring the Flames 21-9 in the third period.

Neither team led by more than three in the fourth quarter. The Flames held the last three-point advantage, but it was extinguished by Harrison's game-tying, buzzer-beating 3-pointer that propelled the game into overtime.

In the extra session, Liberty took the lead for good on a Mya Berkman basket with 2:14 left, but the Knights were still in position to potentially pull off the upset on the final possession.

"We had such good looks in the last four minutes of regulation, and in overtime we had some good, good looks," Dugan said. "Our M.O. this season is the ball just hasn't gone in the basket. But my god, they played so hard."

Liberty and Bellarmine are the ASUN's top-two rebounding teams, and the Knights finished with a commanding 46-33 advantage on the boards. BU was also 18-for-21 (85.7 percent) from the charity stripe.

"Programs that are building have to go through some stuff — we lost seven games this year by seven points or under — so we have to go through those trials and tribulations," Dugan said. "We have to lose games like this to eventually win a championship, because it's going to mean something. I told them, 'You don't think I'm going to be talking about this Liberty game all spring and summer,' and they go, 'Yeah, we know.' They feel it."

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