EDWARDSVILLE, Ill.—University of Southern Indiana Women's Basketball overcame a 10-point third-quarter deficit, but the Screaming Eagles were unable to overcome a flurry of timely long-range shots as they suffered a 66-59 setback to Bellarmine University in the opening round of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Championship Tournament Thursday afternoon.

Bellarmine (18-10) hit three three-pointers to turn a 25-23 second-quarter deficit into a 32-27 halftime advantage before scoring five straight points to begin the third period and take a commanding 10-point lead.

USI (18-9) trailed 39-29 and 45-37 later in the period before using a 5-0 run to get to within three points with just under four minutes to play in the third frame.

After trailing by seven with less than a minute to play in the third quarter, the Eagles used an 8-0 run, which spanned the final 30 seconds of the third quarter and the first two minutes of the fourth, to take a 51-50 lead.

USI led 53-52 later in the period, but a 6-0 Bellarmine run put the Knights up, 58-53, with less than four minutes to play.

The Eagles rallied, once again, closing the gap to a single point with 96 seconds on the clock, but another Bellarmine three-pointer took the wind out of the Eagles' sails. USI was held to just two points throughout the final 90 seconds of the game as Bellarmine used a 7-0 run to pull out the win.

Freshman forward Hannah Haithcock had 14 points and a career-high 12 rebounds to lead the Eagles. Junior guard Emma DeHart and freshman forward Tara Robbe each added 10 points off the bench, while senior guard Kiara Moses and senior guard/forward Morgan Sherwood each finished with nine points.

Moses had three steals, as did senior guard Ashley Johnson, who had a game-high seven assists.

Junior guard Breia Torrens had 16 points, nine rebounds and four assists to pace the Knights, who sank 9-of-19 (.474) three-point attempts. USI was just 4-of-21 (.190) from three-point range.

The Eagles will have to wait to find out what their NCAA II Tournament fate is when the NCAA Division II Tournament selections are announced on NCAA.com Sunday at 9 p.m. (CDT).