BALTIMORE, Md. -  The Ursinus College women's basketball team fell behind in the first quarter and were unable to overcome the deficit falling to Johns Hopkins 53-37 on Saturday afternoon.
 


With the loss, the Bears fall to 5-9 overall and 2-7 in Centennial Conference action, meanwhile the Blue Jays improved to 10-4 on the season and 7-2 in conference play.
 


First-year Madison Smith tallied a career-high 10 points and nine rebounds while shooting a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line. Sophomore Chinwe Irondi netted a team-high 15 points and seven rebounds, while junior guard Kelly Grant recorded five points and three rebounds.
 


In the opening period each defense stood tall over the first two minutes of action forcing two turnovers a piece until a three-pointer from Johns Hopkins' Macie Feldman at the 7:24-mark. The Blue Jays jumped out to a 5-0 advantage until Grant drilled a three-pointer for Ursinus with 5:57 to play in the quarter. After a converted free throw for Hopkins, the Bears cut the deficit to one as Grant went two-of-two from the charity stripe at the 3:35-mark. The Blue Jays went on an 8-0 run over the final minutes of the period, but two free throws from Madison Smith cut the Bears deficit to seven.


 
With Johns Hopkins leading 14-7, they struck first in the second stanza after an offensive rebound turned into a layup for Greta Miller. Smith answered for the Bears with a beautiful pass to Irondi on the ensuing possession to keep the deficit at seven after a Bears layup. After a Hopkins basket, Ursinus cut the deficit to six as Irondi netted a free throw and Smith converted on a layup attempt with 4:37 remaining in the half. The Blue Jays would stretch their lead to ten after a jump shot from Olivia Parisi at the 2:25-mark gave Johns Hopkins a 24-14 lead. In the closing seconds of the half with Hopkins leading by 14 points, Smith would connect on a jump shot with 13 seconds remaining to cut into the Blue Jays 28-16 lead at the break.
 


Each team traded points in the opening minutes of the second half as Irondi netted back-to-back free throws while junior Sarah DiLello connected on a mid-range jump shot. The Blue Jays responded with each basket from the Bears as Michaela O'Neil and Macie Feldman each knocked down jump shots to keep the lead at 12. Johns Hopkins stretched their lead to twenty over the next four minutes behind an 8-2 offensive run gave the Blue Jays a 42-22 lead at the 3:59-mark. The Bears continued to battle back scoring six consecutive points behind four straight from Irondi to cut the deficit to 14 at the end of the third quarter.
 
 

The Blue Jays nettled a free throw in the opening seconds of the final stanza, but the Bears scored four straight points to cut the deficit to 11 with 9:07 to play. Smith assisted on an Irondi mid-range jump shot and Irondi collected a steal on the following possession and returned the favor assisting on a Smith layup. Each team went scoreless over the next two minutes until Miller connected on a layup for the Blue Jays at the 7:02-mark sparking a 4-0 run. With Hopkins leading 47-32, Ursinus answered with three straight points behind a pair of free throws from Smith and junior Natalie Mehl going one-of-two from the charity stripe with 4:28 to play. Hopkins closed out the contest on a 6-2 run in route to the 53-37 conference victory.
 
 

The Bears shot 20.9% (9-43) from the field and 9.1% (1-11) from three-point range while shooting 81.8% (18-22) from the charity stripe. Olivia Parisi paced the Blue Jays offense with a game-high 16 points and seven rebounds, while teammate Greta Miller tallied six points and a game high 10 rebounds and four assists. Each team finished with 14 turnovers with the Blue Jays holding a 24-6 advantage in points in the paint and a 16-3 edge via second chance points.
 


The Bears will return to action on Wednesday as they host Bryn Mawr College for a Centennial Conference matchup at 7pm.