LOUISVILLE, Ky. (January 2, 2025) – The University of North Alabama women’s basketball team kicked off Atlantic Sun Conference play with an overtime nail biter Thursday night, holding off the Bellarmine Knights 90-89 on the road in Louisville.
Both teams needed an extra quarter to determine a winner, but the Lions (6-6, 1-0 ASUN) would prove the more resilient team en route to the thrilling road win against the Knights (9-5, 0-1 ASUN). The first quarter was nearly even with UNA taking a one-point advantage after the opening period. The second quarter saw the Lions extend their lead to double digits, with the North Alabama bench playing a big role in the halftime lead.
Bellarmine began to pick it up offensively in the third, but the Lions were able to maintain its first-half momentum into the fourth quarter. The Knights’ offense came alive with a 26-point fourth quarter, but UNA held on long enough to force overtime.
The extra period saw both teams trading baskets with each other, but senior Charity Gallegos would secure the most important shot with a clutch go-ahead driving layup with two seconds remaining. North Alabama fended off a last-second Bellarmine shot attempt to begin 2025 with a victory.
The Lions were aided by a career scoring night from Gallegos with 32 points. She entered her conference debut as the reigning ASUN Player and Newcomer of the Week. Tonight also marked the first 30-point game for a North Alabama player since Julia Strachan, who scored 35 points against Jacksonville on Feb. 3, 2022.
Junior Alyssa Clutter also played a big role in the road win, securing a career-high 17 rebounds with 17 points for her second double-double of the season. Her rebounds also marked the highest individual total for a player since the 2021-22 season – the last being Skyler Gill with 17 on Feb. 12, 2022 against Bellarmine and March 6, 2022 against Stetson.
Juniors Rhema Pegues and Emma Kate Tittle finished in double figures to round out UNA’s top scorers. Pegues scored a season-high 14 points in only 18 minutes of action, while Tittle provided key scores on offense with four-made threes.
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST QUARTER: UNA 14, BU 13
A solid start in the opening quarter gave the Lions the one-point advantage to begin the conference contest. The back-and-forth beginning saw UNA go 5-11 from the field (45.5 percent) to start, with the team also going 2-4 from deep and 2-2 from free throws. North Alabama’s defense also made an early statement by holding Bellarmine to 26.3 percent shooting in the period with a 1-6 result from deep. Gallegos began her career day scoring eight first-quarter points, leading all scorers.
SECOND QUARTER: UNA 39, BU 29
The Knights remained steady going into halftime, but the Lions soared in the second period to take a 10-point lead. Rhema Pegues and Emma Kate Tittle each went 2-2 from downtown to lead a three-point barrage. Pegues and Tittle led the quarter scoring with 12 and eight points, respectively. Bellarmine improved to 42.9 percent shooting in the quarter, but the difference came on the rebounding end with UNA dominating the boards, 18-5. Eight second-chance points for the Lions, along with 21 bench points, sent the Lions into halftime on top.
THIRD QUARTER: UNA 58, BU 45
North Alabama began the second half lightning fast, using an early scoring run to boost the lead with the Knights also showing fight in the period. UNA began the quarter with a 9-2 run, with the first three minutes dominated by the Lions to push their lead to 48-31. North Alabama later pushed the lead to 22 at 54-32, but Bellarmine closed the gap to 13 points at the end of the period. However, a clutch Gallegos jumper at the buzzer set the stage for the electric 4th quarter.
FOURTH QUARTER: UNA 71, BU 71
Bellarmine stormed back with 26 points in the fourth quarter, sending the contest into overtime. The Lions forced the Knights into 8-19 shooting in the fourth, but three three-pointers in the final four minutes from Bellarmine proved the difference maker in closing the gap. Bellarmine converted a four-point play with 34 seconds to tie the game, but Gallegos’s two free throws with four seconds remaining gave the Lions a late two-point lead. Bellarmine’s Skylar Treadwell drew a foul on the final shot, going to the line and converting both to send the game to overtime. North Alabama was unable to get a shot attempt after the free throws.
OVERTIME: UNA 90, BU 89
Gallegos played hero for the Lions in overtime, with her go-ahead layup clinching the contest. It was an offensive showing for both teams in extras, as Bellarmine and North Alabama traded baskets for the majority of the period. The teams combined for 37 points, but none proved bigger than Gallegos’s basket with the game coming down to the wire. After two made free throws from the Knights made it 89-88 with 11 seconds left, the senior guard maneuvered through the Bellarmine defense and took it coast-to-coast for the clutch left-handed layup. With two seconds left, Bellarmine called a 30 second timeout. This set up a potential game-winner by Treadwell, but it missed off the mark, and the Lions secured the ASUN road win.
UP NEXT
The Lions now prep for their ASUN home opener, taking on the Jacksonville Dolphins this Saturday at 1 p.m. in CB&S Bank Arena.
