LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Two former assistants on the 2024-25 Bellarmine University women's basketball coaching staff will be leading their respective teams on the benches Monday when the Knights welcome intra-city foe Spalding for a 6:30 p.m. (ET) contest in BU's season opener.

Monique Reid will be making her head-coaching debut for Bellarmine, while Raven Merriweather will be patrolling the sideline for Spalding. Both Reid and Merriweather were assistant coaches under Chancellor Dugan, who retired after 13 seasons at BU and 34 overall as a head coach.

It will be the official head-coaching debut of Reid but not Merriweather — the matchup will be classified as a countable game for Bellarmine but an exhibition for D3 Spalding. Merriweather was also a former standout player at BU (2014-18), ranking ninth on the program's all-time scoring list with 1,420 points as a three-time All-GLVC guard.

KNIGHTS NOTES
• Bellarmine is 22-0 against Spalding in the all-time series. The Knights and Golden Eagles have met once in the D1 era, with BU capturing a 105-48 win in then-home arena Freedom Hall in 2021-22. Prior to that contest, the teams hadn't played since the 2009-10 campaign. They met 13 times in the '70s, none in the '80s, three times in the '90s and five times from 2001-10 before the most recent clash.
• This is the first of 13 home games this season for Bellarmine. BU has four contests in Knights Hall in November but none in December. Bellarmine does kick off the new year, though, with a Jan. 1 ASUN opener against Queens in Knights Hall.
• Bellarmine is coming off a benchmark-setting season in the D1 era. The Knights in 2024-25 set new D1-era program records for total wins (18), ASUN wins (eight), road wins (nine) and winning streak (six) while also winning their first-ever ASUN Tournament game.
• Bellarmine has eight newcomers this season, seven of which are transfers. Three of the transfers (guards Triniti Ralston, Rose Jamison and Kendall Wingler) started for the Knights in their Thursday exhibition against Simmons College. Like Spalding, Simmons is a fellow Louisville school.
• Graduate student guard Ashlee Harris and sophomore forward Kayce Hyman were the two returning Knights who started for Bellarmine in the Simmons exhibition. Now in her seventh season after persevering through multiple serious injuries in her career, Harris is the lone remaining student-athlete in all of BU athletics with ties to the D2 era.
• Bellarmine has a high-profile nonconference road schedule, with notable contests at Ohio State, Illinois, Louisville, Arizona and Notre Dame.

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