CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. — In its Atlantic Sun Conference opener Thursday at F&M Bank Arena, turnovers undermined the Bellarmine University women's basketball team almost literally to the last whistle, spoiling by and large a strong performance in a 65-63 loss to Austin Peay.

In her much-welcomed and encouraging return from injury, senior forward Cam Browning sank a pair of free throws with 1:08 left to cut Bellarmine's deficit to 64-63. The Knights had a chance to take the lead after a defensive stop but committed a turnover.

A steal by junior guard Hope Sivori led to a pair of free-throw attempts for Bellarmine (5-8, 0-1 ASUN), but the Knights missed both opportunities. Along with giveaways, BU struggled from the charity stripe, hitting only 9-of-19 chances.

Sivori came up with another clutch steal, and Bellarmine called timeout with eight seconds left. From the sideline, the Knights couldn't quite connect on a lob underneath the basket, leading to a turnover.

Austin Peay (8-7, 1-0) hit 1-of-2 from the line with four seconds left to bump the lead to 65-63. Bellarmine appeared as if it would have a good look to tie, but the Knights mishandled another inbound pass toward the basket for their 25th turnover, their second-highest total of the season.

The giveaways and turnovers were particularly unfortunate because the Bellarmine offense was otherwise highly efficient, as the Knights shot an even 50 percent from the field, their best output this season against a D1 opponent. Their 40-percent mark from 3-point range (8-for-20) was a season high against any opponent. BU limited APSU to 42.6 percent from the field and just 22.2 percent (4-for-18) from beyond the arc.

Sivori stuffed the stat sheet with 10 points, eight rebounds, six assists and five steals. Junior guard Hayley Harrison paced Bellarmine with 15 points and senior guard Ashlee Harris notched a season-high 11; both had four rebounds and three assists. In her first action in a little over a month, Browning went 3-for-3 from the field in scoring nine points, while sophomore guard Miyah Brown added seven rebounds and four assists.

Bellarmine jumped out to a 15-8 lead and was up 17-16 after the first quarter. A 6-0 run to end the second staked Austin Peay to a 34-27 halftime advantage. The Govs led by as many as 11 in the third, but the Knights stormed back within 50-49 on a Brown jumper to close the period. There were nine lead changes in the game.

Bellarmine will play at 3 p.m. (ET) Saturday at Lipscomb.

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