READING, Pa. – Junior Natalie Mehl scored a career-high 21 points while sophomore forward Chinwe Iorndi collected her second double-double of the season with 19 points and 16 rebounds to lead the Ursinus College Women's Basketball team to a 57-53 victory over Alvernia on Tuesday evening. 
 
 
With the win, Ursinus improves to 2-1 on the season while Alvernia falls to 1-3 overall.
 
 
The Golden Wolves jumped on the board first after a three-pointer from Kayla Williams at the 9:17 mark. The Bears answered back with a mid-range jump shot from Alison Lisanti and took a 4-3 lead, after Chinwe Iorndi converted on a layup inside the paint. Alvernia regained a 6-4 lead after a three-pointer on the ensuing possession, but Ironid answered with a jump shot to tie the game at six a piece. The Bears used a 7-0 run over the next two minutes to capture a 13-6 lead with 2:06 remaining in the period. Mehl started the run with a fast break layup and Sarah DiLello added a layup to give Ursinus a four-point cushion. Mehl drilled her first three-pointer of the game to make the score 13-6 as Alvernia added a late free throw to give Ursinus a six-point lead at the end of the first quarter.
 
 
Each defense stood tall in the opening minutes of the second period until an Alvernia basket at the 8:03 mark cut their deficit to four. Mehl converted on a fast-break layup to push the lead to six, but Alvernia used a 6-2 run to make the score 17-15 Ursinus with 5:24 to play in the half. The Golden Wolves later tied the game at 19 apiece, but junior forward Katie McCusker converted on three free throws to give the Bears a 22-19 lead at halftime.  
 
 
Lisanti opened the second half with a layup as Alvernia responded with a 7-0 run to regain a 26-24 lead behind back-to-back three pointers. The Golden Wolves offense started to heat up as a three-pointer from Tamia Wessels gave Alvernia a 34-28 lead at the four minute mark. The Bears resilience showed as they scored the final seven points of the quarter regaining a 35-34 lead heading into the fourth. Mehl converted on a three-point play and knocked down a jump shot with 27 seconds remaining in the period to give Ursinus the lead.
 
 
Each team traded baskets in the opening minutes of the final stanza before a Mehl three-pointer gave Ursinus a 43-39 lead with 7:07 to play. The Bears stretched their lead to six as Irondi converted on consecutive free throws, but the Golden Wolves responded with a layup by Kayla Williams to cut their deficit to four with five minutes to play. Over the next two possessions, Ursinus converted on two free throws as junior Kelly Grant and Mehl both scored from the charity stripe to make the score 47-41. The Bears stretched their lead to 11 as Irondi scored five consecutive points behind back-to-back layups and a free throw. With Ursinus leading 53-41, Alvernia used an 11-2 run to cut their deficit to just two with 23 seconds remaining. After a Golden Wolves foul, Mehl knocked down back-to-back free throws to make it a two-possession game and the Bears stood tall to earn the road victory.
 
 
Ursinus held a sizeable 30-14 advantage with points in the paint and forced 23 turnovers in which they totaled 22 points off the Golden Wolves miscues. The Bears shot 35.7 percent (20-of-56) from the field and went 3-of-18 (16.7%) from three-point range. Ursinus made 14-of-25 (56%) percent free throws, while Alvernia shot 24.6 percent (15-of-61) from the field and went 7-of-22 (31.8%) from three-point range. Jordan Karmonick led the Golden Wolves with 17 points and nine rebounds, while Tamia Wessels added 14 points and three rebounds.
 
 
The Bears return to action on Saturday with their Centennial Conference opener against Swarthmore at 1pm.