LANCASTER, Pa. – Behind an excellent defensive showing, the Ursinus College women's basketball team earned a 53-44 victory over Franklin & Marshall in their Centennial Conference opener on Tuesday evening.
 

With the victory, the Bears are off to their best start in program history behind a 4-0 record, while the Diplomats fall to 2-1 overall and 0-1 in conference action.
 

Sophomore forward Madison Smith led all scorers with a game-high 15 points, six rebounds, and three assists. Senior Natalie Mehl tallied 14 points behind shooting 5-of-11 from the field, while junior forward Chinwe Irondi was the third Bear in double-figures with 12 points and eight rebounds.

 
Each team traded free throws to open the contest, before a three-pointer gave the Diplomats a 5-2 advantage at the 6:38-mark of the first period. Franklin & Marhsall would stretch their lead to 9-4, before a pair of free throws from Mehl and a layup from Smith cut the deficit to one with 3:38 remaining in the quarter. The Diplomats scored four of the next six points, but Grant and junior Charlotte DiLello combined for three free throws to tie the game at 13 a piece to end the first quarter. Both teams traded baskets over the opening minute of the second quarter, before Mehl connected on a jump shot at the 8:30-mark to give Ursinus a 19-17 lead. On the ensuing Bears possession, senior Alison Lisanti assisted Smith on a layup to stretch the Ursinus lead to four. After a basket from F&M at the 7:08-mark, each defense would step up as both teams went scoreless for nearly the next four minutes until a layup from the Diplomats tied the game at 21 a piece. The Bears regained a 23-21 lead at the 2:32-mark as sophomore Makenna Foder connected on both of her free throw attempts. After a Diplomats successful free throw, Mehl dribbled through the F&M defense and successfully converted a left-handed layup to give Ursinus a three-point advantage. The Diplomats collected a last second layup, but it was Ursinus leading 25-24 at the end of the first half.
 

Ursinus recorded the opening points of the second half as on the fast break, Grant found Smith for a layup to give the Bears a 27-24 advantage. After each team converted on a pair of free throws, Irondi pulled down a defensive rebound and on the fast break, she found Mehl for a layup to extend the Bears lead to 31-26. Following a Diplomats timeout, F&M responded with a three-pointer to cut the deficit to two at the 5:14-mark of the third period. Franklin & Marshall used a 3-0 run to capture a 32-31 lead with 3:54 remaining in the period, their first lead since midway through the second quarter. The Bears quickly responded as Mehl received a pass from Smith and converted a layup to regain a 33-32 lead for Ursinus. Senior Sarah DiLello scored the next three points for the Bears, behind a free-throw and a layup to stretch the lead to four with 1:48 remaining in the third quarter. The Diplomats closed out the quarter with two free throws to make the score 36-34 heading into the final stanza.
 
  
During the opening possession of the fourth, Grant and Irondi each pulled in offensive rebounds before Irondi tallied two free throws to extend the Bears lead to four. On the ensuing possession, sophomore Ava Possenti collected an offensive rebound and two more free throws from Irondi gave Ursinus their largest lead of the night at 40-34. After a Diplomats layup, Irondi connected on a mid-range jump shot to give Ursinus a 42-36 lead with 7:01 remaining in the contest. Behind a mid-range jump shot from Sarah DiLello and a layup from Smith, Ursinus increased their lead 46-38 at the 5:06-mark. Just under a minute later, the Diplomats quickly responded with a three-pointer from Hope Schreiber to cut their deficit to five. With under four minutes to play, Smith recorded an offensive rebound and found Irondi for an easy layup leading to a Diplomats timeout. With Ursinus leading 48-41, the Diplomats tallied the next three points via free throws to cut the deficit to four with 1:57 remaining. With 40 seconds remaining, Smith drove past three F&M defenders and connected on a layup to stretch the Ursinus lead to 50-44. During the final seconds, the Bears defense would stand tall while Grant would connect on both of her free throw attempts in route to the 53-44 conference victory.
 

The Bears shot just 34.7% (17-of-49) from the field while converting on 86.4% (19-of-22) of their free throw attempts. Franklin & Marshall shot 29.2% (14-of-48) from the field, 23.1% (3-of-13) from three-point range, and 72.2% (13-of-18) from the charity stripe. Ursinus collected 32 points in the paint, while forcing 17 Diplomat turnovers, and recording nine points from turnovers.
 

The Bears return to action on Tuesday, November 28^th as they host Haverford College for their Centennial Conference home opener at 6 p.m.