LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Bellarmine University women's basketball team will host its first fellow mid-major opponent of the 2026-27 season when the Knights welcome Bradley for a 5 p.m. (ET) contest Saturday.

Bellarmine (1-3) and Bradley (1-2) are meeting for the second time in the Division-I era. They squared off last season in Peoria, Illinois, with the Braves posting a 67-38 win. The contest had a low-scoring first half, as Bradley took a 27-13 lead into the break. The Knights were within 12 with just under two minutes remaining in the third quarter, but the Braves ended the period on an 11-0 run to pull away for good.

Although Bellarmine is welcoming a mid-major foe for the first time, it's the Knights' second home game. The Knights made their 2026-27 home debut Nov. 5 against Simmons College of the National Christian College Athletic Association. It was an intra-city matchup won by Bellarmine, 113-49, with a point total and 64-point margin of victory that were both D1-era program records.

Bradley has faced stiff competition. The Braves posted a 69-54 home win over Northern Illinois that was bracketed by road losses to a pair of high major, Big Ten schools in Wisconsin, 71-65, and Indiana, 84-56. Bradley has three players who are averaging double figures in scoring, led by Charia Smith at 15.0 points per game. She poured in 20 points and had nine rebounds against Indiana. Ellie McDermid tallied 21 points against the Hoosiers.

KNIGHTS NOTES

• Bellarmine is largely taking the floor against Bradley with a new team. Only two Knights who played in last year's contest are back this year (Triniti Ralston and Kayce Hyman). Overall, Bellarmine has six returners and eight newcomers on this year's roster. Two returners (Hana Abdel Aal and Anna Rodgers) are back after missing all of last season due to injury.
• Bellarmine is coming off a 91-66 loss Tuesday at Bowling Green State. Turnovers have been BU's early-season albatross, but outside of the giveaways, there were plenty of positive signs offensively against BGSU. Bellarmine's 66 points were its fourth most against a D1 opponent over the last two seasons. The Knights' 11 3-pointers made tied their highest output in the last two years. BU shot 58.3 percent in the second half and was even better from deep, knocking down 10 of its 14 3-point attempts (71.4 percent) after the break.
• Ralston was a Preseason All-ASUN Team selection. The senior guard's 20 points against Bowling Green represented her fifth 20-point game for the Knights since transferring last season from Southern Indiana (and that's even after she missed the second half of last year). Ralston netted 16 second-half points while tying a career high with four 3-pointers made and did not miss from beyond the arc. She's closing in on 700 career points (669).
• Rodgers, a redshirt sophomore wing, matched a career high with 11 points against Bowling Green and established a new career best with three 3-pointers made. She's sank a team-high six trifectas.
• Bellarmine's eight blocks against Bowling Green were its most since 2024-25. The Abdel Aal sisters, Hana and Haya, accounted for three apiece. Hana enters the weekend as the ASUN leader in total blocks with seven and is second in rebounding (7.75).
• Junior guard and transfer Savannah Rowland's 10 points against BGSU marked her first double-digit effort against a D1 squad at Bellarmine (she had 15 vs. Simmons).

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