COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – In a tight back-and-forth contest, a last second shot stunned the Ursinus College women's basketball team as they fell to Muhlenberg College 50-49 on Saturday afternoon from Helfferich Hall.
 

With the loss Ursinus moves to 6-3 on the season and 3-3 in Centennial Conference, while the Mules improved to 8-3 overall and 3-3 in conference play. Prior to the contest, Ursinus head coach Bobbi Morgan and Associate Athletic Trainer Nicole Schulz were honored with team plaques from USA Basketball for their participation in the U16 USA women's basketball gold medal run this past summer in Merida, Mexico.

 
Junior forward Chinwe Irondi paced the Bears offense with a season-high 28 points behind shooting 12-of-22 from the field. Irondi earned her third double-double of the season behind 12 rebounds and currently is just 21 points away from the 1,000-career mark. Senior guard Sarah DiLello added nine points and three rebounds, while sophomore Madison Smith tallied six points, five rebounds, and a team-high three assists.

 
The Bears jumped on the board first in the second possession of the contest as DiLello found senior Kelly Grant for a three-pointer at the 8:09-mark. The Mules responded with a 7-2 run over the next four minutes of action to capture a 7-5 lead with 4:11 remaining in the opening quarter. After each team traded baskets, Muhlenberg ended the period on a 3-1 run and held a 12-10 advantage at the end of the first quarter.

 
In the beginning of the second quarter, Irondi connected on her first two scoring opportunities to give Ursinus a 14-12 edge at the 8:11-mark. Muhlenberg responded with five of the next seven points and regained a 16-16 advantage with 6:23 remaining in the opening half. The Bears quickly answered with back-to-back baskets from DiLello and Irondi and held a 20-17 lead at the 4:59-mark. After a Bears free throw at the 4:24-mark, Ursinus would go scoreless to close out the first half, while the Mules finished on a 9-0 run and held a 26-21 lead at the halftime break.
 

Both defenses continued to play well throughout the opening few minutes of the third quarter as Muhlenberg still held a 32-26 lead at the midway point. Irondi connected on back-to-back shots to bring the Ursinus deficit to two with 2:48 remaining in the period. Behind a three-pointer and two mid-range jump shots, the Mules used a 7-4 run to close out the third stanza holding onto a 39-34 lead. Ursinus netted the first two baskets of the fourth period as DiLello connected on back-to-back shots to bring the Ursinus deficit to one with 9:13 remaining in the contest. Each defense held the opponent scoreless for the next two minutes until a layup from the Mules extended their lead to 41-38 at the 7:16-mark. Irondi knocked down consecutive free-throws while a layup at the 3:56-mark gave Ursinus their first lead of the second half with a 42-41 advantage. Muhlenberg answered with five straight points to regain a 46-42 advantage, before three straight points from DiLello made the score 46-45, Muhlenberg. After a missed three-pointer from Muhlenberg, Ursinus regained a 47-46 advantage as Smith found Irondi in the paint for an easy layup. The Mules connected on a jump shot during the ensuing possession, but Smith answered with a mid-range jump shot to give Ursinus a 49-48 lead with 1:11 remaining. With the shot clock turned off, Muhlenberg called two timeouts before Ava Connolly knocked down a floating jump shot with .08 seconds remaining in the contest. The Bears were able to get a shot off before the clock expired but it landed off target, resulting in a 50-49 victory for the Mules.
 

The Bears shot 37.7% (20-of-53) from the field, just 8.3% (1-of-12) from three-point range, and 61.5% (8-of-13) from the charity stripe. Muhlenberg finished with a field goal percentage of 36.4% (20-of-55), shot 25% (5-of-20) from three-point range, and 62.5% (5-of-8) from the free throw line. The Mules finished with a 43-30 advantage in rebounds, while the Bears held a 19-11 edge in turnovers.
 

The Bears will rest up and return to action on Saturday, December 30^th as they will compete in the Montclair State tournament in Montclair, New Jersey at 12 p.m.