ASTON, Pa. – Behind a strong offensive night, the Ursinus College women's basketball team cruised to a 65-43 victory over Neumann University on Wednesday evening. 
 

With the victory the Bears improved to 3-0 to start the season, while Knights of the Atlantic East conference fall to 3-1 overall. It is the first time since at least the 2000-2001 season that Ursinus has started 3-0 and their best start to a since opening 2-0 in the 2010-11 season.

 
Sophomore Madison Smith led the Bears offensively posting her second double-double of the season behind a career-best 19 points and 10 rebounds. Senior guard Natalie Mehl tied a career-best of five three-pointers made in route to 17 points and two steals, while junior forward Chinwe Irondi was just shy of a double-double finishing with 10 points and nine rebounds.

 
The Ursinus defense forced two turnovers within the first two opening possessions and grabbed an early 2-0 behind an Ironid jump shot at the 8:54-mark. After a 6-4 Bears run, Mehl connected on her second three-pointer of the first quarter to stretch the Ursinus lead to 10-4 with 4:23 remaining in the first period. Smith and Irondi combined for the final five points of the quarter for the Bears as Ursinus held a 15-6 advantage at the first stanza. During Smith's basket, sophomore Ava Possenti snagged an offensive rebound before sending a bounce pass to Smith for an easy layup under the basket.  

 
The Bears carried the momentum in the second quarter scoring the first nine points of the quarter to extend their lead to 24-6 at the 6:28-mark. The highlight of the Bears run came when Mehl stole a Knights pass and on the fast-break, she connected for her third three-pointer of the game to stretch the Bears lead to 16. Neumann bounced back with a 6-2 run to cut their deficit to 14 with 3:10 remaining in the first half. Each team traded baskets, but it was Ursinus closing out the first half on a 9-4 run to capture a 35-16 lead at halftime.

 
Senior Alison Lisanti (Mehl assist) opened the second half with a three-pointer and after a Knights basket, Mehl (Lisanti assist) connected on fourth three-pointer of the contest to give Ursinus a 23-point advantage. Irondi and Smith combined for the next six points for the Bears as Ursinus gained their largest lead of the contest at 28 points with 4:19 remaining in the third quarter. Over the remainder of the third quarter, the Knights would cut into the Bears lead, but Mehl's fifth three-pointer of the game gave Ursinus a 52-28 lead at the end of the period. During the final stanza, Smith opened with the first six points for the Bears as Ursinus led by as much as 26 points. The Knights cut the Ursinus lead down to as low 19 points in the fourth quarter, but a three-pointer from first-year guard Erin Glanz was the final straw giving the Bears a 65-43 victory.
 
  
The Bears shot 42.6% (23-of-54) from the field, a season-high 42.1% (8-of-19) from three-point range, and 68.8% (11-of-16) from the charity stripe. Meanwhile, the Knights shot just 32.6% (14-of-43) from the field, 20% (2-of-10) from three-point land, and 59.1% from the free-throw line. The Bears defense forced 18 turnovers, 22 points off turnovers, and received a game-high 16 points off the bench.
 

The Bears return to action on Tuesday, November 21^st as they open Centennial Conference play with a matchup against Franklin & Marshall at 6 p.m.