The SVSU women’s basketball team dropped its first game of the season against Bellarmine on Friday, Nov. 9, at home in a close contest.
Despite shooting well from the field as well as from three-point land, the Lady Cards were unable to pull ahead of a talented Bellarmine squad. The matchup was the two teams’ first game of the GLIAC/ GLVC challenge.
The game began with some quick action on SVSU’s first possession, as freshman Maddie Maloney buried a three-pointer to get the score owing, though Bellarmine was just as quick to respond.
The game saw a back-and-forth first quarter until Bellarmine found themselves on a 13-0 run, leading into a Cardinal timeout.
The run didn’t change much for the Knights, however, as the Cardinals were able to take the lead back by the end of the quarter off some good shooting by freshman guard Maddie Barrie and senior forward Abby Duffy.
The second quarter flipped the script, as Bellarmine was able to find another late run against SVSU when the Knights were able to give themselves momentum heading into the second half with a 46-42 lead.
Duffy came out ring again in the third quarter, adding another eight points on 2-5 shooting and 4-4 from the line while the other freshman starter for the Cardinals, Maddie Maloney, tallied seven points, going 3-3 from the field, adding a three pointer. That was enough to give the Lady Cards the boost they needed, as they took a one point lead going into the final quarter.
The fourth quarter saw the two teams fighting over the lead until Bellarmine was able to create some breathing room on a pair of shots from Bellarmine’s Katie Downey and Bailee Harney, giving them a four-point lead with 6:23 remaining.
With less than five minutes to go, junior Mariah Cook knotted the game 73-73, making one of two free throws. The teams stayed neck and neck until a Breia Torrens jumper coming out of a Bellarmine timeout gave the Knights the lead. SVSU was not able to overcome the deficit and ultimately lost 83-79.
The team looked to change up the results against Southern Indiana on Sunday, Nov. 11, which concluded after The Valley Vanguard went to press.
