COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. - In a clash of the only two undefeated teams in the Centennial Conference, the Haverford College Women's basketball team (3-1, 1-1 CC) fell to Ursinus (5-0, 2-0 CC) by a score of 56-40 inside Helfferich Hall on Tuesday evening.
The first quarter was a defensive battle between the two squads, but Ursinus was able to go up by four early, thanks to two buckets from Chinwe Irondi. Abby Ryan connected on a jumper for the first basket of the game for the Fords to trim the lead down to 4-2.
Both squads traded buckets for the next three-and-a-half minutes, as Kelly Grant and Sarah DiLello got on the box score for the Bears with two points each. Siena Emuobor also found nylon in the stretch, as Ursinus led 8-4 with four minutes left in the quarter.
In the final four minutes of the period, Haverford jumped out to a 7-0 scoring run to end the first stanza. A clutch three-pointer from Gia Flamini, followed by baskets from Emuobor and Abby Ryan saw the Scarlet and Black take an 11-8 lead into the second quarter.
The second period saw the Fords keep their foot on the pedal, starting quarter two with an 8-2 scoring run that was highlighted by four points from first-year guard Shae Mercer, who boosted the Haverford lead to 19-10.
Down by nine with 6:24 to go, the Bears found a second wind and began to battle back with a 9-5 scoring stretch that witnessed Irondi collect three points, and Madison Smith contribute two points. Despite the highly-spirited rally from Ursinus, a key triple from Mercer guided the Fords to a 24-19 halftime lead.
At the half, Mercer and Irondi led all scorers with seven points each, while Summer Ryan led all players in rebounds with four. In spite of a relentless defensive effort from the Bears, a 60 percent field goal percentage by Haverford in the second quarter was the real driving force for the Fords' five-point lead at intermission.
Haverford started the third quarter off just like the second quarter, quickly tallying four points off of field goals from Mercer and Emuobor, to go up 28-19.
However, a five-minute, 11-2 scoring run, saw the Bears take their first lead since the opening quarter. In the stretch, Ursinus shot 4-9 from the field, 3-5 from the charity stripe, and were lifted by four points from Ava Possenti, and a crucial three-point play from Irondi to go up 30-28. The two squads started to trade points following the massive run by Ursinus, as a 7-5 rally for the Bears capped off an 18-9 third quarter in favor of the home team.
Trailing 37-33 to start the fourth quarter, the Fords quickly found themselves down 42-33 after a speedy 5-0 Ursinus run put the Bears into cruise control. Despite another three-pointer from Mercer, and buckets from Summer Ryan and Emuobor, Ursinus ended the game comfortably with a 14-7 scoring run, to give the Bears a 56-40 win for their second consecutive win over Haverford.
Irondi finished the contest with a double-double, grabbing 14 rebounds and dropping 18 points, fueling the win for the Bears, while Mercer paced all Fords in scoring with 16 points, shooting an impressive 7-15 from the field. Summer Ryan led the Scarlet and Black in rebounds, pulling down nine boards in the matchup.
Following the setback to Ursinus, the Haverford Women's basketball team has a quick turnaround, as they will be back in action just two days from now, hosting the McDaniel Green Terror inside Gooding '84 Arena. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m. The game will serve as the annual staff/faculty appreciation game, as players will honor faculty and staff from around the Haverford campus.