EDWARDSVILLE, Ill.—University of Southern Indiana Women's Basketball saw an eight-point third-quarter lead evaporate as No. 6 seeded Bellarmine University handed the No. 3 seeded Screaming Eagles a 68-57 setback in the opening round of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament Friday afternoon.

After taking a 36-28 lead early in the second half, the Eagles were outscored 40-21 throughout the final 18 minutes of the game to put USI's NCAA II Tournament chances in question.

USI (20-9), which was ranked No. 6 in the final regular-season Midwest Region Rankings, went just 8-of-31 (.258) from the field and 1-of-8 (.125) from three-point range during the final 18 minutes.

Bellarmine (16-11), meanwhile, was 13-of-24 (.542) from the field, 4-of-8 (.500) from three-point range and 10-of-13 (.769) from the free throw line during the final 18 minutes as it rallied from a second-half deficit to defeat the Eagles for the second time this year—USI had a double-digit halftime lead before falling to the Knights, 66-61, in Louisville, Kentucky, last month.

Early in the game, it was the Eagles who overcame a pair of five-point deficits to jump out to a four-point halftime lead. USI used a 10-4 run to close the second quarter with a 32-28 advantage at the intermission.

The Eagles scored four quick points to open the second half and looked to be in cruise control as Bellarmine called an early timeout after trimming USI's lead to 36-30 with a bucket. The Knights got a steal after the break and a quick three-pointer; then scored five straight points, after a basket by sophomore forward Imani Guy (Columbus, Indiana), to tie the score at 38-38.

After a pair of Guy free throws put the Eagles up 40-38, the Knights scored six straight points to take a 44-40 lead they would not relinquish. Bellarmine pushed its lead 49-45 at the end of three quarters and led by six less than 10 seconds into the fourth quarter.

The Knights used a 5-1 run to extend their lead to eight moments later and, after a three-pointer by sophomore guard Emma DeHart (Indianapolis, Indiana) cut USI's deficit to five with three minutes to play, they hit 6-of-8 free throw attempts in the final two minutes to clinch the victory.

Telling statistics
USI shot just 33.9 percent (19-56) from the field and 14.3 percent (2-14) from downtown in the loss. The Eagles were just 5-of-22 (.227) from the field in the fourth quarter as they could not take advantage of five Bellarmine turnovers in the final 10 minutes. The Eagles also had a 10-4 advantage in bench points heading into the second half; but Bellarmine's reserves outscored the Eagles' bench players 15-0 in the second half.

Statistical leaders
Junior guard Ashley Johnson (Louisville, Kentucky) finished with 13 points, four steals and a game-high five assists to lead the Eagles, while Guy finished with 12 points and two blocks before fouling out of the contest. Senior guard Alex Davidson (Salem, Indiana) finished with eight points and a team-best seven rebounds, while senior center Kacy Eschweiler (St. Charles, Missouri) and senior guard Milana Matias (Klaipeda, Lithuania) respectively finished with eight points and four steals.

Sophomore guard Beth Torrens had 16 points, four assists and seven steals to lead the Knights, while junior forward Mallory Schwartz added 14 points and five rebounds.

Up next
USI will await the announcement of the 64-team NCAA II Tournament field, which is made Sunday at 9 p.m. (CDT) on ncaa.com. A USI men's and women's selection show will be held at the Westside Buffalo Wild Wings Sunday night.