COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – A 23-9 run in the third quarter sparked the Ursinus College women's basketball team to a 68-57 victory over Albright College 68-57 on Thursday evening from Helfferich Hall.
 
 
The victory marked Ursinus' fourth in their last five games and improved their overall record to 4-2. Meanwhile, Albright fell to 2-2 on the season.
 
 
Sophomore guard Colleen Blackman paced the Bears on offense, tying a career-high with 18 points and shooting 57% (4-of-7) beyond the arc. She also tied her career best in rebounds with six. Junior Madison Smith added 16 points, nine rebounds, and four assists of her own on the day. Junior Ava Possenti and senior Chinwe Irondi each tied their career-highs for a team-leading four assists a piece in the performance. 
 
 
Ursinus jumped out to a quick 10-4 lead before Albright took a timeout with 5:27 remaining in the opening stanza. Possenti and Irondi tallied five points each to guide the Bears. Coming out of the timeout, Smith added four consecutive points of her own to extend the Bears' lead 14-4. However, the Lions were able to capitalize on multiple Ursinus miscues, allowing them to end the period on a 9-4 run, but Ursinus led 18-13 at the end of the stanza. 
 

The Lions started the second quarter much like they ended the first, coming out strong to the tune of a 13-2 run. After a Bears timeout with 4:49 to go, Albright continued to dominate the quarter, gaining a 30-20 edge. Nevertheless, with just over 2:30 left, a three from first-year Delaney McCaffery, a jump shot by classmate Ruth O'Keeffe, and a free throw from sophomore Erin Glanz cut the Bears' deficit to 30-26. The Lions made a two-pointer to conclude the half with the Ursinus trailing 32-26.

 
Ursinus came out on a mission to start the second half of play, earning a 36-32 lead with 6:38 remaining in the period. Irondi sparked this comeback effort, amassing two points, one block, and three assists, two of which led to three-pointers from Blackman. Possenti connected with O'Keeffe on two exceptional passes in consecutive possessions, furthering the Bears' lead to 40-33. Blackman contributed her third three of the quarter off a Possenti pass with 3:00 on the clock to make it 45-37, Ursinus. Both teams split four points apiece to close out the period with the Bears up 49-41.
 

Both teams traded points to open the final quarter before Smith tallied five straight points to extend the Bears to a 58-47 lead. This was followed by another Blackman three-pointer and field goal to extend Ursinus' advantage, 63-49, marking their largest lead of the day. Ultimately, the Bears were able to close out the game, 68-57.  
 

Ursinus shot 49% (25-of-51) from the field and 50% (7-of-14) from three. They showcased their impressive defense by holding the Lions to 33% (24-of-72) clip from the field and 7% (1-of-14) from deep. Gaining momentum in the second half, Ursinus did not let Albright see a lead since the 7:39 mark of the third quarter.
 

The Bears look to extend their win streak to three when they travel to Penn State Brandywine for a non-conference matchup on Saturday, November 23, starting at 1:00 p.m.