| The Bellarmine University women’s basketball team is set for its final game in the 2020 portion of its schedule as the Knights will face Evansville at 4 p.m. (ET) Tuesday in the Meeks Family Fieldhouse. Both Bellarmine (0-3) and Evansville (3-1) are coming off 10-day layoffs. After having their season opener delayed nearly three weeks, the Knights played three games over six days before entering a break over Christmas. Bellarmine last competed Dec. 19 against Western Illinois in Freedom Hall, falling 79-57 to the Leathernecks. Bellarmine and the city of Evansville have a deep basketball history, but that connection was largely built through Evansville-based Southern Indiana. Before the Knights transitioned to Division I, Bellarmine and USI were founding members and archrivals in Division II’s Great Lakes Valley Conference, meeting 80 times in a conference series that dated back to the early 1980s. In fact, playing the Aces in Evansville is something of a homecoming for Knights Coach Chancellor Dugan, who was the head coach at Southern Indiana for eight seasons from 1991-99 and led the Screaming Eagles to the 1997 NCAA II national title game, four NCAA II Tournament berths overall and three GLVC championships. The Knights and the Aces do have a brief history, playing twice in the 1970s. Bellarmine won both meetings, posting a 57-45 home victory in 1974-75 and triumphing 74-42 on the road in 1976-77. Evansville is off to a 3-1 start, most recently capturing a 66-60 home win over Miami (Ohio) on Dec. 19 in the Meeks Family Fieldhouse, where the Aces are 3-0. Through four games, Evansville has already tied its victory total from last season, when the Aces went 3-26. Abby Feit was named Missouri Valley Conference Freshman of the Year last season and has continued to deliver on that promise this go-around. The sophomore guard/forward was recognized Dec. 21 as the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week after producing 28 points, 14 rebounds, six steals and four blocks against Oakland City and 24 points, eight rebounds and four steals against Miami (Ohio). She’s leading Evansville at 20.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per contest while shooting roughly 60 percent from both the field and three-point line. Louisville product A’Niah Griffin, who spent her prep days at Manual, has been another standout for Evansville. The junior guard ranks second on the team in scoring (14.8) and rebounding (6.3) and is shooting 56.1 percent from the field and 50 percent (6 for 12) from three-point range. Over the team’s last three games, Griffin tallied 20 points and eight rebounds against Purdue Fort Wayne, 18 and eight against Oakland City and 16 and five against Miami (Ohio). After missing Bellarmine’s first two games, senior guard and Preseason All-ASUN selection Breia Torrens tallied a game-high 19 points against Western Illinois. Fellow senior Lauren Deel, a forward, is averaging 10.7 points. The game is expected to be live streamed on an ESPN platform. A link will be provided on Bellarmine’s schedule webpage when it becomes available. For more coverage of Bellarmine athletics, follow us on Twitter (@BUKnights), Instagram (BUKnights) and Facebook (BUKnights). |
