LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Bellarmine University women's basketball team will make its 2025-26 road debut in high-profile fashion as the Knights will travel to Ohio State for a 6:30 p.m. (ET) contest Thursday before returning home to welcome Miami (OH) at 2 p.m. Sunday.

Both Ohio State (1-0) and Miami (2-1 entering today's game) earned berths in national postseason tournaments last season.

ABOUT OHIO STATE
Ohio State (1-0) is barely outside the Associated Press top 25, ostensibly ranking No. 26 as the leading vote-getter not in the primary grouping. However, the Buckeyes are No. 25 in the USA Today WBCA Poll. OSU is coming off a 26-7 campaign in which the Buckeyes went 13-5 in the Big Ten while advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. They are the first of five teams the Knights will face this season that made the "Big Dance" last year. Ohio State opened the season Sunday with an 88-59 home win over Coppin State. Reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Year Jaloni Cambridge paced the Buckeyes with 23 points. The sophomore guard was named to the Naismith Trophy Women's College Player of the Year Watch List after being a unanimous first-team All-Big Ten selection last season, when she averaged 15.4 points and 3.9 assists per game.

ABOUT MIAMI
Bellarmine (1-1) will shift back home for the third time in four games to host a Miami squad that went 19-12 last season, including 11-7 in the MAC, while earning a WNIT bid. The RedHawks host IU Southeast, whose campus is located only a handful of miles away from Bellarmine in New Albany, Indiana, this afternoon coming off an 80-75 loss at Oakland. Miami opened the season with a 63-53 road win at Coastal Carolina and an 88-49 home victory over Cedarville. The RedHawks were picked seventh of 13 in the MAC preseason coaches' poll while junior forward Amber Tretter was named second-team Preseason All-MAC after averaging 11.1 points and 9.2 rebounds per game last season. She's averaging 11.7 points and 10.0 rebounds through three games this year, with Tamar Singer leading Miami in scoring at 12.7 points per outing.

KNIGHTS NOTES
• Bellarmine is playing at Ohio State for the second time in the D1 era. The Buckeyes captured a 110-58 win over the Knights in November of the 2021-22 campaign. Guard Ashlee Harris, a graduate student, is the lone remaining Knight from that squad, but she did not play in the game due to injury.
• Bellarmine's meeting against Miami (OH) will be its first ever against the RedHawks.
• Bellarmine is no stranger to playing Power-4 programs since its transition to D1 from D2 in 2020-21. In addition to Ohio State, the Knights have competed against LSU (2022-23), Kentucky (2022-23), UCLA (2023-24), Indiana (2024-25), Purdue (2024-25) and, of course, crosstown foe Louisville (four times).
• Ohio State is the first high-profile road opponent in an eye-catching 2025-26 nonconference schedule for Bellarmine that also includes games at Louisville, Illinois, Arizona and Notre Dame, which comprise four of the team's five contests leading into ASUN play.
• Bellarmine opened the season with a pair of home games, defeating fellow Louisville school Spalding, a D3 program, 77-51, before an 84-68 loss to Morehead State, another Bluegrass State foe. The victory over Spalding was Monique Reid's first career head coaching win.
• Bellarmine has eight newcomers this season, seven of which are transfers. Three of the transfers (Triniti Ralston, Rose Jamison and Kendall Wingler) have started both games this season.
• Ralston, a transfer from Southern Indiana, has had a notable start to 2025-26, leading Bellarmine in scoring (15.5) and rebounding (8.0) while tying for first in assists (4.5).

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