Visiting Bellarmine University (Louisville, Ky.) jumped out to a 24-12 lead at the end of the first quarter and never trailed in handing Lee an 84-76 defeat in a NCAA Division II non-conference game in Walker Arena on Saturday evening.

The Knights continued to hold a 40-25 lead by halftime and then turned back a late surge by the Lady Flames in the final period to improve their record to 2-0 on the year, while the Lady Flames dropped 1-2.

"You can't commit 24 turnovers against a team like Bellarmine and expect to find a way to win," said coach Marty Rowe after the loss. "Coach Chancellor Dugan is a former Division I coach and does an excellent job of coaching her basketball teams. Hopefully, our girls can look at the film and learn from this game. We are going to play a lot of teams in the Gulf South Conference that are as good as or better than Bellarmine."

The Knights got 21 points from Sarah Galvin, who converted 11-of-12 free throws and also pulled down seven rebounds. Destony Curry nailed 3-of-6 3-pointers and was 4-of-4 from the charity stripe and tallied 19 points. Whitney Hartlage and Mackenzie Martinez pitched in with 10 markers apiece.

A huge stat in the contest saw the Knights march to the free-throw line 49 times and convert 36. For the game they shot 42 percent from the field and 38 percent from behind the arc. While Lee was guilty of the 24 floor mistakes, Rowe's club was able to force the visitors into 19 turnovers, several late in the contest. 

On the other hand, Rowe praised the effort of Erin Walsh, especially in the second half. The sophomore finished with 21 points and was 7-of-16 shooting from the field. Carrie Cheeks had another solid game with 19 points and a team-leading eight rebounds. The Lady Flames out-rebounded Bellarmine 34-29. Anna Woodford also played well in the final 20 minutes and totaled nine points and four assists. Shelby Brown followed with seven markers and Christina Johnson has six points and five rebounds. 

After shooting only 32 percent in the first half, the Lady Flames came back and cut deeply into the Knights lead by shooting 56 percent in the second half. "When you out-shoot a team 46 percent to 41 percent, you should be able to win most games," remarked Rowe. "However, when you turn the ball over 24 times and the officials call 35 fouls on your club, that explains why it is hard to win."

The Lady Flames will have some time to relax and maybe heal some wounds. They will practice a couple of days next week and then break for Thanksgiving before returning to action against an unbeaten Bryan College team one week from Monday in Walker Arena. The contest is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start.