POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – Behind an early first half deficit, the Ursinus College women's basketball team dropped their season opener against William Paterson University, 78-57, on Friday evening in the first round of The Hochberg Family Tip-Off Tournament.

 
With the loss, Ursinus opens the season 0-1 and will look bounce back against Misericordia tomorrow at 2 p.m. It marks as the first loss in a season opener for the Bears since dropping a 71-65 contest versus Immaculata University in November of 2021.
 

Junior forward Madison Smith paced the Bears offense with a team-high 15 points (5-of-11) and five rebounds, while senior Chinwe Irondi added 13 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. Junior guard Ava Possenti ranked second on the team with seven rounds, while tallying six points and four assists. The Pioneers were led by Renee Wells who recorded a game-high 17 points, six rebounds, and four assists.
 
 
The Bears opened with a three-pointer from Smith during their first possession, but a pair of triples from Wells gave William Paterson a 6-3 lead with 7:46-remaining in the period. Smith tallied a basket, before back-to-back scores from Irondi gave Ursinus a 9-8 lead at the halfway point of the quarter. Over the next four minutes of play, William Paterson responded with 14-1 run to expand their lead to 22-10 with 1:30 remaining in the opening period. Senior Charlotte DiLello and sophomore Colleen Blackman combined for the final four points for the Bears, but the Pioneers held a 25-14 lead heading into the second stanza.
 

William Paterson scored the first points of the second quarter, until Possenti assisted Blackman on a three-pointer to cut the Bears deficit to 30-17. Each defense stepped up over the next four minutes of play as each team went scoreless, until a layup from Irondi cut the Pioneers lead to 11 with 4:33 left in the half. After a pair of free throws from William Paterson, first-year Ruth O'Keeffe collected her first collegiate basket with a layup to make the score 32-21. Sophomore Erin Glanz connected on a three-pointer, but back-to-back baskets from the Pioneers increased their lead to 39-26 at the halftime break.
 
 
Smith opened the second half the same she opened the first half with a three-pointer cutting the Bears deficit to 39-29 at the 8:51-mark. After a Pioneer three-pointer, William Paterson used a 6-2 run to expand their advantage to 48-31 with 5:55 remaining in the third quarter. William Paterson responded with a 14-5 run behind connecting on eight of their nine free throw attempts to extend their lead to 62-36 heading into the final stanza. The Bears bounced back with a 9-2 run to open the final period and cut their deficit to 19 with 7:23 left in the contest. Ursinus cut the deficit to as small as 15, but couldn't overcome the early deficit falling 78-57 to the Pioneers.  
 
 
 
William Paterson shot 40% (26-of-65) from the field, 42.1% (8-of-19) from deep, and 90% (18-of-20) from the charity stripe. Meanwhile, the Bears shot 33.9% from the field (19-of-56), 33.3% (5-of-15) from three-point land, and 56% (14-of-25) at the free-throw line. The Pioneers capitalized off a total of 25 Ursinus turnovers resulting in 29 points, while each team collected 10 second chance points.
 
 
 
The Bears will return to action tomorrow as they face Misericordia University in the consolation final of the Hochberg Family Tip-Off Tournament starting at 2 p.m.