Box Score HAVERFORD, Pa. – Sophomore forward Chinwe Irondi nearly captured her fourth double-double of the season as she finished with 24 points and nine rebounds as the Ursinus women's basketball team fell to Haverford College 65-55 on Thursday evening.

 
Junior guard Natalie Mehl collected 17 points and five rebounds, while Margrett Brown earned a team-high five assists.

 
With the loss, the Bears fell to 3-4 on the season and 1-3 in Centennial Conference action, meanwhile the Fords improved to 4-3 overall and 3-1 in conference play.

 
The Bears won the opening tip and junior Kelly Grant converted on a layup to put Ursinus ahead early in the first period. After Haverford tied the game at two a piece, sophomore Chinwe Irondi collected an offensive rebound and a layup at the 7:02 mark gave Ursinus a 4-2 advantage. The Fords responded with a 7-0 run and held a 9-4 edge before Irondi knocked down a jump shot with under five minutes to play in the first. Haverford added four consecutive points to stretch their lead to seven but three free throws and a mid-range jumper from Ironid cut the Bears deficit to two with 1:30 remaining in the period. Haverford closed out the first quarter on a 4-1 run and held a 17-12 advantage at the end of the first quarter. Each team traded buckets to open the second quarter and a steal from junior Natalie Mehl created an easy opportunity on the other end to cut the Bears deficit to three. Haverford's Abby Ryan scored four consecutive points throughout the middle of the period but a layup from Irondi cut the Bears deficit to five with 1:47 remaining in the half. The Fords added a late three-pointer from Gia Flamini and controlled a 26-18 lead at the break.

 
Haverford stretched their lead to double digits in the opening minute of the second half as Erin Albright converted on a jump shot. After a Bears turnover, Irondi sparked an Ursinus 5-0 run blocking a Fords shot and knocking down a jump shot on the offensive end. The Bears forced a missed shot on the ensuing possession and Mehl drilled a three-pointer after earning an offensive rebound to cut the deficit to five. The Fords responded with layups on the next two possessions, but Ursinus would keep the deficit at five as Irondi and Mehl each converted two free throws. After a Bears timeout, Haverford's Ally Landau collected five straight points to push the Fords lead to ten at the 4:45 mark. Mehl and Irondi each collected one-of-two free throws over the next two possessions, but a Fords basket kept the Bears deficit at ten. With Haverford leading 43-32, Irondi collected an offensive rebound and a layup to bring the Bears deficit to nine with 2:51 to play in quarter. Each team traded baskets, until first-year Stephanie Donato collected a three-point play as she converted on a layup after an offensive rebound in the final seconds of the quarter.

 
The Bears opened the final stanza trailing 46-39 but opened the scoring as a pick from Margrett Brown gave Natalie Mehl enough space to convert on a layup. The Fords responded with back-to-back baskets to stretch their lead to nine but a beautiful pass from Brown to Irondi cut the deficit to seven with 7:25 to play. Haverford's Kayla Robinson found Cortlyn Morris on the ensuing possession for an open layup leading to a Bears timeout at the 6:12 mark. A Fords basket stretched their lead to double-digits, but Ursinus quickly answered as Grant drilled an open three-pointer with 5:27 to play. Each defense stepped up as both offenses went scoreless over the next four minutes until Haverford's Robinson beat the shot clock with a layup with under a minute remaining. Ursinus quickly responded with a layup from Irondi as she backed down Robinson in the post to cut the Bears deficit to eight with 31 seconds remaining. After a foul, Haverford's Landau converted on both free throw's attempts, but a pull up three-pointer from Mehl cut the deficit to seven with 24 seconds remaining. Mehl converted on two more free throws as junior Alison Lisanti drilled a deep three-pointer, but the Fords went 9-of-10 from the charity stripe over the closing seconds for a 65-55 victory.

 
Ursinus shot 31.6% (18-57) from the field, 21.1% (4-19) from three-point range, and 71.4% (15-21) from the free throw line. Meanwhile, the Fords finished with an efficient 40.4% (23-57) from the field, hitting 3 of their nine (33.3%) three-point attempts, and earning 27 bench points for the conference victory. Abby Ryan led the Fords with 14 points while Cortlyn Morris collected a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds.

 
The Bears will return to action on Saturday as they travel to McDaniel for a Centennial Conference matchup at 1pm.