LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Lewis' women's basketball team hung on for a tough 78-77 road against a resilient Bellarmine squad on Saturday afternoon at Knights Hall in Louisville, Ky. Jessica Kelliher (Waukesha, Wis./Waukesha North) finished with a double-double scoring a game-high 31 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead the Flyers. Tierney Lockett (Richton Park, Ill./Rich South) and Gabby Green (Milwaukee, Wis./Pius XI) finished with 17 and 13 points respectively.

Lewis, ranked second in the first NCAA Midwest Regional rankings, 11th in the D2SIDA Media Poll and 15th in the WBCA Coaches Poll, improves to 24-2 overall and 15-1 in the GLVC while Bellarmine falls to 14-10 and 8-8 in GLVC play.

The Flyers dominated the opening quarter shooting 67 percent from the floor as they led by as many as 21 points in the frame. Kelliher scored 13 of her points in the first 10 minutes.

The Knights made a run in quarter number two getting as close as 15 on a couple of occasions but Lewis still went into the locker room with a 48-30 lead at halftime.

Bellarmine controlled the third quarter shooting 52.4 percent (11-for-21) from the field as it outscored the Flyers 24-14 to cut the lead to eight heading into the final 10 minutes. Lauren Deel and Mikayla Berry each had seven points in the quarter to lead the Knights.

Bellarmine cut the lead to two on three different occasions in the final stanza but each time Lewis had an answer. After the Knights cut it to 70-68 with 3:50 to play the Flyers responded with a 7-3 run to extend their lead to six with 0:43 left after Green hit 1-of-2 at the foul line.

Mallory Schwartz brought Bellarmine to within three at 77-74 with 0:25 after completing an old fashioned three-point play.

Forced to foul, the Knights sent Kelliher to the line for a pair of free throws with 0:20 left she hit the first and then hit the second one but it was waved as it was ruled she crossed the line before the ball hit the rim.

Bria Torrens hit a three-pointer to make it a one-point game with 0:15 left. On the inbounds pass, Lewis turned it over trying to bring the ball up court giving the Knights a chance to win the game. Presley Brown had an open look at a three in front of the Bellarmine bench but it was too strong and the ball went out of bounds giving it back to Lewis. The Flyers were able to get the ball inbounds and the clock expired before the Knights could foul.

Lewis finished the game shooting 53 percent (25-for-47) from the field but was just 4-of-17 from three and shot 75 percent at the foul line. The Flyers outrebounded Bellarmine 39-29 but turned the ball over 29 times in the contest resulting in 32 points for the Knights.

Bellarmine shot 44 percent (31-for-70) from the floor in the contest, was 7-of-19 from beyond the arc and shot 57 percent at the foul line. It got 45 points from its bench and was led in scoring by Berry with 22 points while Brown added 10.

Lewis continues its four-game roadtrip on Thursday traveling to Quincy to take on the Hawks in a 5:15 p.m. contest at Quincy's Pepsi Arena.