BRYN MAWR, Pa. – The Ursinus College women's basketball team led from start to finish as they swept the season series against Bryn Mawr College with a 62-18 victory.


 
With the win, the Bears improved to 9-13 on the season and 6-11 in Centennial Conference action, meanwhile the Owls fell to 3-16 overall and 0-14 in conference play. This marks the fewest points allowed in a contest for the Bears since January 2015 when they held Bryn Mawr to 19 points. 


 
The Bears jumped out to a commanding 10-0 lead over the first four minutes of action as junior Natalie Mehl recorded eight straight points for Ursinus. Sophomore Chinwe Irondi got the Bears on the board first with a turnaround jump shot at the 8:37-mark. After a steal from junior Kelly Grant, Mehl was fouled and would connect on both of her free-throw attempts to extend the Bears lead to four. Back-to-back three-pointers from Mehl stretched the Bears lead to double-digits before the Owls connected on their first basket at the 5:34-mark. Later in the quarter, Mehl and junior Sarah DiLello each collected three-pointers to give Ursinus a 16-2 lead with 3:54 remaining in the period. Ursinus closed out the period on a 7-0 run as Irondi scored her second basket and junior Alison Lisanti drilled a pointer to extend the Bears lead to 21 at the end of the first quarter.


 
Bryn Mawr collected the opening basket of the second quarter with a layup at the 9:24-mark, but the Bears would respond by shutting out the Owls for the next nine minutes of action. Irondi scored six straight points to give Ursinus a 29-4 lead with 5:19 remaining in the half. The Bears closed out the first half on a 5-0 run behind another Mehl three-pointer and a basket from first-year Madison Smith to give Ursinus a 34-4 lead at the break.


 
The Bears scored the first basket of the second half as senior Alyssa Martin netted her first points of the game with a layup at the 9:31-mark. Martin would add her second layup of the quarter at the 6:56-mark to extend the Bears lead to 34. Bryn Mawr scored four consecutive points while holding the Bears scoreless over the next four minutes, until Smith scored three straight for Ursinus with 2:01 remaining in the period. Bryn Mawr netted two late free throws in the final seconds of the third period, but the Bears led 41-10 after three quarters.


 
First-years Cassie Denning and Stephanie Donato opened the scoring for the Bears in the opening minutes of the final stanza. Denning started the 7-2 Bears run with a layup while Donato connected on a jump shot and a three-pointer to extend the Ursinus lead to 34. Ursinus closed out the contest on a 14-6 run in route to the 62-18 victory. First-years Makenna Foder and Jaycie Miller each scored baskets over the final stanza, while classmate Mel Hiotis netted five points for Ursinus.


 
The Bears shot 35.8% (24-of-67) from the floor, 38.1% (8-of-21) from three-point range, and 60% (6-of-10) from the charity stripe. The Ursinus defense was stout throughout the evening holding the Owls to shoot 14.8% (8-of-54) from the field and 0% (0-of-14) from three-point range. The Bears held a sizable 53-40 edge in rebounds while forcing 19 turnovers and scoring 15 points off the Owls mistakes.



Mehl led the Bears with 16 points behind an efficient four of seven from three-point range, while Irondi collected her 11th double-double of the season with 12 rebounds and 10 points. Smith finished with five points and seven rebounds as Donato and Hiotis each recorded five points. 
 


The Bears will return to action on Saturday as they travel to Chestertown, Maryland for a Centennial Conference matchup with Washington College at 2pm.