COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The Ursinus College women's basketball team rallied in the fourth quarter to overcome a three-point deficit and defeat Washington College 59-53 on Tuesday evening from Helfferich Hall.
 

With the victory Ursinus moves to 8-5 overall and 4-4 in Centennial Conference action, meanwhile the Shorewomen fall to 7-5 on the season and 4-3 in conference play.
 

Junior Chinwe Irondi paced the Bears offense finishing with a game-high 19 points and 15 rebounds to secure her sixth double-double of the season and fourth in the last five games. Sophomore forward Madison Smith tallied 11 points, six rebounds, and three assists while junior guard Charlotte DiLello collected a season-high 11 points behind a perfect 4-of-4 mark from the field. On the defensive end, sophomore guard Ava Possenti shined finishing with a career-best and team-high five steals.

 
The Bears jumped out to a 4-2 advantage at the 7:39-mark behind back-to-back layups in the paint from Irondi and Smith. After a successful jump shot from the Shorewomen, Ursinus stretched their lead to 8-4 behind back-to-back baskets from Smith and senior Sarah DiLello in the paint. The Bears scored four consecutive points from Irondi successful free throws and a Smith layup to increase their run to 8-0 and their lead to 12-4. The Shorewomen responded with their own 9-0 run to over the span two minutes to take their lead of the game at 13-12 with 2:14 remaining in the opening period. On the ensuing possession, Smith found sophomore Stephanie Donato in the corner for a wide open three-pointer to give Ursinus a 15-13 advantage. After Washington tied the contest at 15 apiece, an offensive rebound from Irondi and a buzzer beating three-pointer from senior Natalie Mehl gave Ursinus an 18-15 lead at the end of the opening quarter.

 
In the second quarter, each team traded baskets to open the stanza before a jumper from Smith gave Ursinus a 24-21 advantage at the 6:42-mark. Ursinus was held scoreless for nearly three minutes while a 7-0 Shorewomen run gave the visitors a 28-24 lead with 3:22 remaining in the opening half. Over the remaining three minutes of the first half, Ursinus used an 11-3 run to regain a 35-31 advantage at the halftime break. The Bears' run was led by Charlotte DiLello who scored nine of the final 11 points while converting on each of her scoring opportunities.

 
During the opening three minutes of the second half, Ursinus stretched their lead to as much as six, but a Washington College basket at the 6:50 mark cut the Bears lead to 39-35. Each defense stepped up over the next four minutes of play as both teams were held scoreless until two free throws from the Shorewomen at the 2:54-mark cut the lead to two. Ursinus closed out the period on a 4-2 run to capture a 43-39 lead at the end of the third stanza behind a buzzer beating three from Possenti. With the shot clock turned off, Possenti capitalized on a Shorewomen turnover and connected on a three-pointer in front of the Ursinus bench to give the Bears momentum heading into the final period.

 
In the final period, Washington College jumped out on a 5-2 run to cut into the Ursinus lead and make the score 45-44 with 8:51 remaining in the contest. The lead changed hands twice over the next three minutes until a layup from the Shorewomen gave them a 50-47 advantage at the 4:49-mark. Just under a minute later, Irondi was fouled and connected on both of her free throws from the charity stripe to cut the Bears deficit to one. Washington College converted on a layup during the ensuing possession, but it was Irondi answering for the Bears connecting on both of her free throw attempts to keep the deficit at one with 3:40 remaining in the contest. After a free throw from the Shorewomen, the Bears answered with a 5-0 run behind layups from Irondi and Mehl to regain a 56-53 advantage with 1:26 to play. The Bears defense would hold the Shorewomen scoreless over the remainder of the contest, while senior Kelly Grant and Irondi connected of three of their four free throw attempts to give Ursinus the 59-53 victory.

 
The Bears shot 40% (20-of-50) from the field, 17.6% (3-of-17) from three-point range, and 84.2% (16-of-19) of the charity stripe. For the Shorewomen, they shot 40.7% (22-of-54) from the field, 16.7% (1-of-6) from deep, and just 50% (8-of-16) from the free-throw line. Forward Kaitlyn Boggs finished with a team-high 12 points and nine rebounds, while Abby Meredith tallied 11 points for the visitors. Washington College held a 36-29 advantage in rebounds, while Ursinus held a 26-13 lead in points from their bench.
 

The Bears return to action on Thursday, January 11^th as they host Dickinson College from Helfferich Hall at 7 p.m.