On Saturday afternoon at Knights Hall, the fourth-ranked Bellarmine University women’s basketball team put together a rally from a 14-point deficit against William Jewell that was sparked by its freshmen as the Knights rookies guided the team to a 70-56 victory in Great Lakes Valley Conference action.
“When you have that many freshmen out there, it can be nerve-racking, but they just played so hard,” Bellarmine Coach Chancellor Dugan said.
With an experienced and deep roster, Bellarmine (12-1, 4-0 GLVC) has rarely had to depend on its group of first-year players to carry a significant load. But against the Cardinals (5-7, 2-3) several of the Knights’ veterans – and, for that matter, top players – either got in early foul trouble or were ineffective.
Enter freshmen Mallory Schwartz, Mikayla Berry and Katie Downey. Each of the freshman trio played five minutes or more in the second quarter after a 22-15 first-period deficit swelled to 31-17 with 5:57 left in the second stanza. Berry bridged a pair of free throws and a badly needed 3-pointer with six seconds left around a jumper by Schwartz as the freshmen spurred a key 7-2 run to close the half slicing the deficit to 37-30.
“We talked about it in the shootaround in the morning, that we didn’t look ready,” Dugan said. “We didn’t have energy, and I shouldn’t have to coach that. I don’t ever want to have to coach energy. As a staff, we said that if (the experienced players) weren’t ready, you have to go with the ones that are. The young kids may make mistakes, but they’re ready to go.”
Indeed, the youngsters were ready to go and provided the jump-start Bellarmine needed. Early in the third quarter, an 8-0 run got the Knights to within one, and Whitney Hartlage spotted fellow senior guard Kelsey Adwell for a go-ahead basket with roughly one minute left in the third.
With around six minutes left in the fourth, Bellarmine unleashed a game-changing 8-0 run, with Berry twice assisting to Galvin and getting the favor returned as Galvin spotted her for a basket. Downey then made a superb feed to a cutting Adwell on the fastbreak for a 57-49 lead with 4:51 left. Adwell followed her putback by firing to Downey for a bucket, and Downey fed Galvin for yet another score as Bellarmine’s advantage rose to 16.
Dugan, who was recognized before the contest for recently recording her 400th career head-coaching victory, instituted a zone in the second half, and William Jewell had the sort of third quarter that might lead to some nightmares for the Cardinals. They were 0 for 15 from the field, including 0 for 13 from the 3-point line. The Knights’ active zone limited William Jewell to five total field goals and 16.1 percent shooting in the second half.
Honored prior to the game for recently joining the 1,000-point club, Galvin was one of the veterans who overcame a shaky start to post her fourth double-double after scoring a game-high 18 points with 10 rebounds. Berry added nine points, five assists and two steals, Schwartz ripped down nine rebounds and scored six in 14 minutes and Downey chipped in four assists and three rebounds. Adwell and senior guard Serena Sandusky also played pivotal roles off the bench, with Adwell tallying nine points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals, while Sandusky contributed eight points on 3-of-3 shooting with two assists.
Dugan praised Sandusky and Adwell for their contributions, and despite multiple “off-games” also commended the upperclassmen for preparing the team’s freshmen for opportunities such as Saturday’s.
“When someone falters, they’ve got to be ready to go and they are, and that’s a credit to the seniors for getting them ready,” Dugan said.
Bellarmine outscored William Jewell 40-19 in the second half. The Knights dominated several areas: 38-14 in points in the paint; 24-13 in points off turnovers; 16-2 in fastbreak points; and 15-8 in second-chance points. Maddie Nelson scored 17 points for the Cardinals, who pulled down 21 offensive rebounds. Behind a strong fourth quarter, Bellarmine shot 45.8 percent for the game, while holding William Jewell to 25.4 percent shooting.
Bellarmine plays Thursday at Quincy and Saturday at Truman State.
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by Adam Pruiett