HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford College women's basketball team finished a season sweep of the Ursinus College Bears on Thursday evening at the Gooding '84 Arena, prevailing by a final score of 65-43. Haverford reversed a Bears sweep a season ago in resounding fashion, taking the win by 22 points at home. Macy Goldbach led all scorers with 16 points, benefitting from a 4-of-6 performance from beyond the arc. Goldbach also added four steals on the evening, tying a career high.
Senior co-captains Sierra Berkel and Samantha Wetzel each had 12 points. Wetzel pulled down nine rebounds while Berkel added seven.
Haverford improves to 15-3 overall and 11-2 in Centennial Conference play. Ursinus falls to 9-10 overall and 6-8 in Centennial Conference play. With the win, Haverford extended its conference home winning streak to 14 games. The Fords have not lost to a conference opponent at home in the regular season since December 7, 2016 and are 8-0 on the Gooding Arena floor overall this season.
As has been the case all season, the Fords used a stifling defense that held the opposition to under 30 percent shooting for the sixth time this season. The unit, which came into the contest as the sixth best scoring defense in the nation, stymied the Bears as the visitors battled for rhythm. The quick Fords offense was able to capitalize on mistakes, with 18 points off turnovers.
The Fords sprinted out of the gates to a 7-0 run as Macy Goldbach drilled a three-pointer to open the scoring and Sierra Berkel finished a layup before adding a pair at the free throw line. A pair of Samantha Wetzel buckets extended the lead to 11-4, but Maya Kornfeld hit a three-pointer on the other end with just over two minutes left in the quarter, cutting the lead to just four at 11-7.
Sydney Fail made a jumper to open the second quarter, but Wetzel converted a layup and Goldbach again connected from downtown, stretching the Fords lead to 20-9 and prompting a Ursinus timeout with 7:39 left in the stanza.
Ursinus cut the lead to 25-17 with just over a minute remaining in the second after a Haverford turnover led to an easy chance for Lydia Konstanzer. On the other end of the intermission, a Goldbach three made the Haverford advantage 10 at 34-24 with 5:59 in the third. The bucket that prompted yet another Ursinus timeout.
Goldbach again connected in the first minute of the fourth quarter as part of a 14-2 run. Haverford went ahead 52-30 with 6:40 remaining and stretched the lead to as many as 27 points as Megan Furch hit a layup with three minutes and change remaining in the contest.
Julianna Clark added eight points off the bench while Raina Gully (5 points) and Furch (4 points) also contributed to the scoresheet as reserves. Furch had three steals.
Konstanzer was the only scorer in double figures for Ursinus, posting a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds while adding a pair of steals.
Haverford returns to action on Saturday, January 27 at Dickinson. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. in Carlisle, Pa. Haverford continues the road swing into next week with a Wednesday night jaunt to Washington College on January 31 (6 p.m.).