ALLENTOWN, Pa. – The Ursinus College women's basketball team dropped a 63-54 setback to Muhlenberg College on Tuesday afternoon in Centennial Conference action.
 
 
With the loss, the Bears fell to 3-3 overall and 1-2 in Centennial Conference action, meanwhile the Mules fell to 3-2 on the season and 2-1 in conference play.
 
 
The Bears jumped on the board first as sophomore Chinwe Irondi secured an offensive rebound and a layup off the glass gave Ursinus a 2-0 lead on their first possession. The Mules tied the game up seconds later, but each team went scoreless for the next two minutes until junior Natalie Mehl scored her first basket of the contest at the 6:53 mark. Muhlenberg scored the next six points as they knocked down consecutive three-pointers and held an 8-4 lead with 4:42 to play in the quarter. Irondi cut the Bears deficit to three with a free throw from the charity stripe, but each team traded three-pointers to give the Mules an 11-8 lead.  Muhlenberg's Avery McNulty connected on a jumper with under two minutes to play and the Bears answered with a layup from junior Maria D'Aulerio as the Mules led 13-10 at the end of the first quarter.
 
 
The Mules stretched their lead to five in the opening minute of the second period, but Irondi answered for the Bears with a layup at the 8:27 mark. Each defense stepped up over the next four minutes as both teams struggled to find open shots. Muhlenberg held onto a 4-0 run throughout the middle of the quarter until Irondi connected on a jump shot with 3:55 to play in the half. With Muhlenberg leading 19-14, they closed out the first half on a 5-4 run to capture a 24-18 lead at the break. First-years Stephanie Donato and Madison Smith each connected on shots for the Bears over the final minutes of the period. Muhlenberg's defense forced ten turnovers and held Ursinus to shoot just 1-of-12 from three-point range in the first half.

 
The Mules scored the first basket of the second half as Muhlenberg's Caroline Horst connected on a driving layup to stretch their lead to eight. After a Mules layup and a Bears timeout, Irondi collected an offensive rebound and a shooting foul allowed Ursinus to hit one-of-two free throws to cut their deficit to nine. Muhlenberg's Ava Connolly converted on a layup at the 5:45 mark to give the Mules a 30-19 lead, before junior Kelly Grant answered with two free throws on the ensuing possession. Muhlenberg used a 5-1 run over the next two minutes to stretch their lead to 13 with 3:32 to play in the quarter. After a Mules free throw, the Bears scored five consecutive points behind a Sarah DiLello three-pointer and a jump shot from Irondi. Muhlenberg quickly answered with a three from McNulty to halt the Ursinus run but the Bears answered as DiLello connected on a jumper. Muhlenberg drilled a three-pointer with six second left in the quarter to capture a 42-31 lead at the end of the third period.
 
 
The Mules opened the fourth quarter on a 5-0 run over the first three minutes before an Irondi basket at the 6:16 mark made the score 47-33. After a Muhlenberg basket, Grant knocked down a three-pointer and two free throws from Natalie Mehl on the ensuing possession cut the Bears deficit to 11. Muhlenberg used a 4-3 run and controlled a 54-40 lead until Mehl connected on back-to-back threes to make it a ten-point game with 2:03 to play. The Bears cut their lead to seven with 1:07 to play as Donato drilled a three-pointer after a pass from Grant. Muhlenberg converted on some key free throws down the stretch as they earned a 64-53 victory.


Irondi led the Bears with 14 points and 12 rebounds for her third double-double of the season, while Mehl added 14 points and seven rebounds. Donato chipped in with six points as DiLello, Grant, and D'Aulerio each finished with five points. Muhlenberg's Margaux Eripret finished with a game-high 17 points and 10 rebounds.
 
 
The Bears shot 29.5% (18-61) from the field and 23% (6-26) from three-point range while the Mules shot 39.2% (20-51) from the field and 38.1% from deep.
 
 
The Bears will return to action on Thursday as they travel to Haverford for a Centennial Conference matchup starting at 7:30pm.