BALTIMORE, MD. – The Ursinus College women's basketball team outscored No. 14 Johns Hopkins in the second half but were unable to overcome an early deficit falling 67-58 from Goldfarb Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon.
 

Senior guard Natalie Mehl paced the Bears lineup finishing with a team-high and career best 23 points while tying a career-high connecting on five of her ten three-point opportunities. Sophomore forward Madison Smith recorded her fourth double-double of the season behind 14 points and 10 rebounds while shooting 66.7% (6-of-9) from the field.  

 
Johns Hopkins jumped out to an early 2-0 lead after converting on a jump shot during the opening possession, before Smith's first basket of the game tied the score at two at the 9:12-mark. After an Ursinus basket, Johns Hopkins used a 15-0 run over the span of nearly six minutes to take a commanding 17-4 lead. The Bears battled back over the remainder of the first period cutting their deficit to 21-10 at the end of the first quarter. Mehl, sophomore Stephanie Donato, and junior Charlotte DiLello each connected on scoring opportunities to bring the Bears deficit to 11. Smith collected the opening basket of the second quarter, but a 10-0 run from the Blue Jays increased their lead to 31-12 with 6:27 remaining in the opening half. Smith and Mehl combined for four of the next five points to cut the Bears deficit to 16 at the 4:22-mark of the period. Johns Hopkins answered by scoring four of the next six points, until a three-pointer from Mehl made the score 36-21 with 2:34 remaining in the quarter. With under a minute remaining in the half, Mehl connected on back-to-back three-pointers to cut the Bears deficit to nine. The Blue Jays responded with a three-pointer of their own in the closing seconds and held a 39-27 lead at the halftime break.

 
After the halftime adjustments, the Blue Jays used a 7-2 run to open the second half and increased their lead to 46-29 at the 7:48-mark. Ursinus started to battle back scoring six straight points cutting their deficit to 11 with 6:12 remaining in the third period. Smith scored four straight points, while junior Chinwe Irondi collected a layup to cap the Bears' run. Each team traded baskets with Ursinus closing out the third stanza on a 5-1 run to make the score 57-46 at the end of the third period. Senior Sarah DiLello connected on a three-pointer while sophomore guard Makenna Foder closed out the period with a mid-range jump shot. The Bears scored the opening four points of the fourth quarter to cut their deficit to seven with 8:12 remaining in the final period. During the opening possession, senior Alison Lisanti assisted on a basket by Smith while Irondi converted a jump shot to make the score 57-50. After each team traded baskets, Johns Hopkins used a 6-0 run while holding Ursinus scoreless for nearly five minutes to extend their lead to 65-52. Mehl connected on two three-pointers during the final minute, but the deficit proved to be too large as Ursinus fell 67-58.
 

The Bears shot 43.4% (23-of-53) from the field, 33.3% (6-of-18) from three-point range, and 75% (6-of-8) from the charity stripe. Meanwhile, Johns Hopkins shot 37.3% (25-of-67) from the field, 27.3% (6-of-22) from deep, and 73.3% (11-of-15) from the free-throw line. Greta Miller paced the Blue Jays with a game-high 25 points, 17 rebounds, and five assists. Also, for the Blue Jays, Macie Feldman nearly collected a double-double behind 14 points and nine rebounds including five offensive rebounds.

 
The Bears return to action on Tuesday, January 7^th as they return to Helfferich Hall for a Centennial Conference matchup against Washington College at 5 p.m.