LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Bellarmine went on an 11-2 run in the first half and went on to defeat Southern Illinois University Edwardsville 71-57 Thursday night in women's college basketball at Knights Hall.
         SIUE, 6-7 overall and 1-4 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, found itself down 45-31 at halftime as the Knights improved to 10-2 overall and 5-1 in the GLVC.
         Bellarmine raced to the halftime lead behind Ashley Elmore, who had 14 points and 12 rebounds. Point guard Princess Wimsatt led Bellarmine in scoring with 17 points. Lynne Johnson added 14. The Knight shot 56 percent from the field in the first half on 18-of-32 shooting. The Knights cooled off in the second half with 38 percent shooting.
         The Cougars picked up a big night from Julianne McMillen, who scored 23 points and added 13 reboounds. Lindy Carey was the only other player in double figures for the Cougars with 12 points.
         Bellarmine's lead swelled to 24 points before the Cougars made a run of 19-6 to finish off the game.
         SIUE returns to action on Sunday at Northern Illinois. Game time is 2:05 p.m. in DeKalb.
                  -siue cougars-