ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- Bellarmine Knights women's basketball played competitively early on, but were done in by some late runs in an 86-69 loss on the road against the Saint Louis Billikens.  With the loss, the Knights wrap up the non-conference portion of their schedule with a 9-4 record.

It was a tightly contested affair to begin things, as the Billikens held a 9-6 lead after the first four minutes had elapsed.  A Hayley Harrison corner three followed by a Skylar Treadwell floater along the baseline gave the Knights an 11-9 lead before SLU went on an 8-0 run to take a 17-11 lead.  Bellarmine responded with a three-pointer from Ashlee Harris and a bucket from Miyah Brown before a SLU bucket made it 19-16 after one quarter of play.  

It then became a game of runs as the Billikens turned that basket into a 10-2 run to take a 27-18 lead with 6:46 remaining in the first half.  The Knights once again came storming back as two Brown free throws were followed by back-to-back threes from Hope Sivori to make it a one point game.  SLU created some more separation with a 9-4 run to up their lead to 36-30, but Bellarmine once again had the answer as another layup from Brown and another three from Harris made it a one point game once more.  A SLU free throw made it 37-35 at halftime.

SLU scored the first two buckets of the third quarter to swell their lead back up to six, but the Knights once again had the answer, going on a 7-2 run that saw the Billikens go without a field goal for 4:43.  It was then Bellarmine's offense that began to stall however, as the Knights went just over four minutes without a field goal, allowing SLU to go on a 13-3 run to take a 56-45 lead.  Treadwell scored a layup to break the drought for the Knights, but the Billikens responded with five straight points to up their lead to 61-47.  A Treadwell three cut the lead to 61-50 going into the fourth quarter, but the Billikens extended their lead to 68-52 to start the final period.  The Knights used a 7-0 run highlighted by five straight points from Treadwell to cut the lead down to single digits, but Bellarmine was unable to get any closer, as a subsequent 8-0 SLU run effectively put the game on ice.

Treadwell led the Knights by posting her second double-double of the season, scoring 17 points on 7-of-14 shooting for her sixth double-digit effort of the season and collecting 10 rebounds.  Brown also had her sixth double-digit scoring output of the season, scoring 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting to go along with seven rebounds.  Kayce Hyman came off the bench to score nine points on 4-of-7 shooting.  Sivori and Harris each contributed with eight points and Erin Toller scored six points off the bench and tied her career high with three steals.

Up next, the Knights will open up ASUN conference play back at Knights Hall against the North Alabama Lions on Thursday, January 2.  Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

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