LOUISVILLE, Kentucky – For almost every team across all sports and levels, no matter how successful it may be, there is a distinguishable low point.
In the Lipscomb women’s basketball team’s case, it’s hard not to argue that their low point just arrived after a 20-point loss to Bellarmine Thursday night.
The Knights’ were 3-23 overall and a winless 0-14 in the ASUN Conference leading up to their 68-48 win at historic Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky.
Giving a team their first conference win of the season is disappointing enough, but according to assistant coach Chris Sumski, the biggest issue on the night was a lack of effort.
“I don’t know if we didn’t take them seriously, [and] there’s no such thing as an easy conference win, but we just didn’t have it today,” Sumski said. “It was unacceptable.”
“It better [change Saturday versus Central Arkansas], or it’s going to be an embarrassing finish to the season,” Sumski said.
Presley Brown paced the Knights with 17 points, one of five players who scored in double figures for the home team. Baylee Harney, Claire Knies, Mackenzie Keelin, and Katherine Scott also scored 10-plus points for Bellarmine.
Second-year freshman guard Jordan Peete and sophomore wing Jalyn Holcomb scored 11 points each to lead the Bisons, who failed to score 50 points for only the third time this season.
Peete shot 4-5 from the field but committed six of Lipscomb’s 17 turnovers on the night. Holcomb added four rebounds and two assists.
The first quarter saw the Bisons shoot just 2-12 from the field on offense, scoring their lowest point total in a single quarter all season with four. Bellarmine could only manage to score 11, giving them a seven-point lead going into the second quarter.
Lipscomb found their way offensively in the second quarter to keep themselves in the game, tying the game at 20 apiece with 1:51 left in the half. Bellarmine knocked in a pair of threes before the half was over, but a layup from Holcomb cut the lead to 26-24 at the break.
“I think it really started with defense for us,” Sumski said. “It was a highly disappointing night for us as far as our competitiveness and following the scouting report.”
“We gave up 18 points worth of threes that we said were not going to allow them to attempt,” Sumski said, “and 17 points of drives that we were not supposed to allow. That’s where it started for us, and we just didn’t come out and compete the way we needed to.”
The second half derailed quickly for the Bisons, as Bellarmine continued to shoot the ball well from outside. A pair of three-balls pushed the lead to eight in the third quarter at 32-24, and Brown negated a quick Bisons run to extend the lead back to seven.
Going into the final frame down 43-36, Lipscomb still found themselves in position to grab a second-straight comeback win. After beating North Alabama Saturday despite only leading in the fourth quarter, though, another moment of magic was not in the cards.
Bellarmine started the fourth with a 9-0 run in two minutes, putting the Bisons 16 points in the hole at 52-36 with 7:58 remaining.
Senior center Dorie Harrison, who made her first appearance for Lipscomb since suffering an injury in the ASUN opener in January, scored the next three points for the Bisons. Outside of the Kentucky transfer, though, the Bisons didn’t score until Peete knocked in a layup with three minutes to go.
“I’m happy for [Harrison] that she was able to come back,” Sumski said, “and to kind of battle back. She’s been working hard with rehab and things like that, but it really doesn’t matter who we have on the floor if we’re not going to come out and compete.”
By that point, Bellarmine had extended the lead to 59-41, and they only continued to score. The last three minutes yielded nine more points for the Knights, who capped the game off with an outside jumper from Keelin.
The teams were level in turnovers and points in the paint, but Bellarmine outrebounded Lipscomb 31-28 and scored five more three-pointers on the night. Lipscomb never led against the Knights en route to their 19th loss on the season.
Lipscomb drops to 9-19 on the year and is still in search of their tenth win. They sit fifth in the ASUN West Division standings at 4-11 and will claim the West Division 4-seed with a win Saturday in the regular season finale against Central Arkansas.
That match tips off at 3:30 p.m. Central from Allen Arena and will be broadcast live on The Bison, Lipscomb’s on-campus radio station.
Photo courtesy of John Sommers and Bellarmine Athletics