ALLENTOWN, Pa. – The Ursinus College women's basketball team were upended 56-36 on the road against Muhlenberg College on Tuesday evening from Memorial Hall.

 
With the defeat Ursinus falls to 10-7 on the season and 6-6 in Centennial Conference action. Meanwhile, the Mules improved to 10-7 overall and 5-7 in conference play.
 

The Mules jumped out to an early 8-2 lead through the first three minutes of action until sophomore Madison Smith connected on the Bears first basket of the game at the 6:16-mark. Muhlenberg's Ava Connolly converted on a three-pointer on the ensuing, but the Bears quickly answered when senior Natalie Mehl swished home a three with 4:56 to play in the quarter. After Muhlenberg's second three-pointer of the quarter, Irondi netted four consecutive points to bring the Bears deficit to 14-11 at the end of the first period.
 

Irondi scored the opening points of the second quarter, but each team would be held scoreless for the next three minutes of play until a layup from senior Alison Lisanti gave Ursinus a 15-14 lead at the 6:29-mark. Muhlenberg's Rachel Saxton scored five consecutive points behind a layup and a three-pointer to regain a 19-15 advantage for the Mules with 5:32 remaining in the first half. On the ensuing possession, Mehl connected on a mid-range jump shot but five straight points from Connolly increased the Mules lead to 24-17. Over the next two minutes of play, Lisanti and sophomore Ava Possenti each recorded three-pointers, but Muhlenberg's Emily Unger answered each time with a three-pointer of her own to keep the Bears deficit at seven. Each defense stepped up over the remainder of the first half as both teams were held scoreless for the final two minutes with Muhlenberg holding onto a 30-23 halftime lead.
 

The Bears defense continued to play well to open the second half as they held for the first five minutes of play, while Mehl and Irondi collected layups to bring the Ursinus deficit to three. The Mules offense woke up after nearly seven minutes of being held off the board, as Avery McNulty knocked down back-to-back three-pointers leading to an Ursinus timeout. Along with McNulty's three-pointers, Muhlenberg closed out the period on an 8-0 run and led 38-27 heading into the final stanza.
 

Muhlenberg continued the hot shooting to open the fourth period as behind a 10-0 run they extended their lead to 48-27 with 6:19 remaining in the contest. Each team traded baskets over the next three minutes of play, but Muhlenberg answered each Ursinus score and held a 54-33 lead with 2:55 remaining. Possenti connected on a three-pointer late in the period, but Muhlenberg's lead proved to be too large as they recorded the 56-36 Centennial Conference victory.
 

Ursinus shot 26% (13-of-50) from the field, 19% (4-of-21) from three-point range, and 75% (6-of-8) at the charity stripe. The Mules shot 31% (18-of-58) from the field, 29% (9-of-31) from deep, and 91.7% (11-of-12) from the free-throw line. Muhlenberg held a 39-35 edge in rebounds while forcing a total of 14 turnovers for Ursinus. Junior forward Chinwe Irondi led the team with 13 points and six rebounds, while senior Natalie Mehl added nine points and five rebounds. Connolly finished with a game-high 17 points, seven rebounds, and three assists, while Saxton added 10 points and four rebounds.
 

The Bears return to action on Thursday as they travel to Haverford, Pennsylvania for a Centennial Conference matchup against the Fords at 6 p.m.