COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – Behind a fourth quarter comeback, the Ursinus College women's basketball team defeated Swarthmore College 60-56 on Tuesday evening from Helfferich Hall.
 


With the win, the Bears improved to 8-13 overall and 5-11 in Centennial Conference play, meanwhile the Garnet fell to 9-12 on the season and 7-9 in conference action.


 
Sophomore Chinwe Irondi recorded her tenth double-double season collecting a game high 19 points and a season-high 17 rebounds, while junior Natalie Mehl added 13 points and five rebounds. Junior Kelly Grant added nine points behind a perfect four-of-four from the free-throw line and chipped in with a team-high three assists.


 
Irondi got the Bears on the board first after a pass from Mehl found her open in the paint for an easy layup at the 9:27-mark. Ursinus used back-to-back three-pointers from Mehl and Grant to extend their lead to 8-2 with 7:46 to play in the opening quarter. Behind an 7-4 Ursinus run, the Bears would stretch their lead to nine as junior Alison Lisanti drilled a three-pointer from the wing at the 4:25-mark. Ursinus used a 7-2 run to extend their lead to 14 as junior Sarah DiLello scored five consecutive points to cap off the Bears run. The Garnet scored the final four points of the quarter to cut their deficit to ten, but Ursinus still held a 22-12 lead after the first quarter.

 
 
Swarthmore answered in the opening minutes of the second quarter with a 6-2 run to cut the Bears lead to six at the 7:34-mark. After a Swarthmore layup, Mehl scored five consecutive points for the Bears to increase the lead to double digits with 5:46 remaining in the half. The Garnet scored 11 straight points over the final five minutes to tie the game at 29 apiece, but a jumper in the closing seconds from Grant gave the Bears a 31-29 lead at halftime.


 
Mehl kicked off the second half with a layup stretching the Bears lead to four, but the Garnet converted on three-of-four free throw attempts to cut their deficit to one at the 7:42-mark. With Ursinus leading 33-32, Irondi collected an offensive rebound and converted an old school three-point play to put the Bears up four. Over the next two minutes, Swarthmore scored four straight points to tie the game at 36 apiece behind four straight points from Dana Bandurick. The Garnet extended their lead to three points as they converted on three free throw attempts, but the Bears responded with another Irondi offensive board and a layup at the 3:43-mark. Swarthmore scored four straight points extending their lead to five causing the Bears to call a timeout at the 2:22-mark. The Bears came out of the timeout with a 5-2 run to close out the third stanza as a Lisanti three-pointer cut the deficit to two.


 
Each team opened the final period with a turnover, but an Irondi layup tied the game at 45 a piece with 8:50 to play. Swarthmore answered with a 5-0 run over the next two minutes, but Ursinus was rewarded with an offensive rebound and a bucket from Mehl cutting the deficit to three. The Bears would cut the deficit to one at the 4:56-mark as Irondi connected on a layup, but a Swarthmore steal and fast-break layup gave the Garnet a three-point advantage with four minutes to play. Each defense stepped up over the next two minutes as neither offense scored, but an Irondi layup at the 1:49-mark cut the Bears deficit to one. With Swarthmore leading 52-51, Sarah DiLello converted on back-to-back possessions to give Ursinus a three-point cushion with 51 seconds remaining. The Bears played tough defense down the stretch to keep the Garnet off balance as Grant would convert on all four free throw attempts in route to the 60-56 Bears victory.
 


The Bears closed out the contest shooting 42.3% (22-of-52) from the field, 37.5% (6-of-16) from behind the three-point arc, and 71.4% (10-of-14) from the free throw line. Ursinus capitalized from 12 Swarthmore turnovers, scoring 16 points, while holding a slight 19-17 edge in second chance points. Dana Bandurick led the Garnet with a team-high 14 points and six rebounds while Anna Hansson and Alyssa Hayashi each contributed by scoring in double figures.
 


The Bears will return to action on Thursday as they travel to Bryn Mawr for a conference matchup scheduled for 7 p.m.