Louisville City Wire

Fierce second-half comeback by Knights comes up just short against Bisons

A stirring comeback bid by the Bellarmine University women's basketball team was turned back by Lipscomb as the Bisons escaped 87-82 on Saturday afternoon in ASUN action in Freedom Hall.

Center Gracie Merkle had a dominant performance in the loss for Bellarmine (7-17, 3-8 ASUN), hitting all 11 of her shots in piling up game highs of 27 points and 13 rebounds for her ASUN-best 16th double-double. The three-time ASUN Player of the Week and six-time ASUN Freshman of the Week also distributed a career-high four assists.

Sophomore guard Hayley Harrison supplied 17 points and freshman guard Jayla Butler chipped in eight, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals for Bellarmine, which rallied back from an 18-point third-quarter deficit to Lipscomb (15-8, 9-2) behind a disorienting press to take a lead in the fourth.

"It's hard to lose games. It's hard on our coaches, our kids and our fans — and I get it," Knights Coach Chancellor Dugan said. "But after losing three straight, playing top-tier teams in the league, to come out and come back from down 18 and take a lead, and have shots to win the game, that's huge for this team. They keep growing every single day."

Bellarmine shot a sterling 54.3 percent in the second half, cutting an 18-point deficit early in the third quarter to 69-59 by the end of the period. The Knights, who harassed the Bisons with a full-court press over the final two quarters, charged ahead by opening the last period on a 13-0 run bookended by baskets by Butler.

Bellarmine maintained a three-point lead at 74-71 with 4:46 left, but Lipscomb regained the advantage with a 9-2 run primarily comprised of made shots from the charity stripe. After Butler responded with a jumper to cut the deficit to four, the Bisons followed with a basket and a pair of free throws to push the lead to 84-76 with 1:35 left in holding off the Knights.

"I thought we really focused, really locked in on what we had to do and played hard," Dugan said. "I was really pleased. Anybody who's followed my career knows I love to press. We went back to what I know and love, and the kids bought in tonight."

Jalyn Holcomb led five Lipscomb players in double figures with 24 points. She sank four 3-pointers and went 10-for-11 from the charity stripe.

Bellarmine outrebounded Lipscomb 43-29 and had a 25-8 advantage in second-chance points while also turning the ball over less than the Bisons, 10 to 12. Lipscomb didn't shoot considerably higher than the Knights (47.3 percent to 43.8), but it did hit three more 3-pointers than Bellarmine (10 to seven) and, most significantly, had a sizable advantage in opportunities at the free-throw line, sinking 25-of-33 attempts compared to 11-for-13 for BU.

"I thought we moved the ball so much better today," Dugan said. "We've just got to get everybody back healthy, but at this time in the season, you're never going to be 100 percent. …I'm looking forward to seeing what we're going to be able to do the rest of the year. I'm excited about it."

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