COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – Behind a career night from junior Ava Possenti, the Ursinus College women's basketball team cruised to an 80-52 victory over Haverford College on Wednesday evening from Helfferich Hall.
 

With the victory, Ursinus improved to 7-2 overall and open Centennial Conference play 1-0, while the Fords fall to 3-4 on the season and 0-1 in conference action. Possenti netted a career-high 21 points along with a game-high five steals, four rebounds, and three assists. She shot an efficient 52.9% (9-of-17) from the floor and finished three of four from three-point range. Senior Chinwe Irondi matched Possenti with 21 points behind shooting 76.9% (10-of-13) from the field along with adding four assists and five rebounds. Sophomore Colleen Blackman tallied 14 points and extended her hot streak from deep with four three-pointers which marks her fifth consecutive contest with three or more triples.

 
Haverford jumped out to an early 7-4 lead, before a Blackman three-pointer lifted Ursinus to an 11-0 run and a 15-7 lead with 3:51 remaining in the first period.  The Bears' run was fueled by their defense as three consecutive steals, triples from Blackman, and junior Madison Smith led to a Fords timeout. Haverford scored four of the next six points, but a layup from Irondi closed out the quarter with Ursinus leading 19-11. Possenti opened the second stanza with a layup and a three-pointer to extend the Bears lead to 26-14, before five straight points from the Fords cut their deficit to seven with 6:16 to play in the half. On the ensuing possession, Irondi recorded an offensive rebound and a layup sparking the Bears to a 10-0 run to extend their advantage to 36-19. During the Ursinus run, Irondi added five points while a Possenti three-pointer gave Ursinus a 17-point lead with less than four minutes remaining in the half. Ursinus ended the second quarter on a 7-6 run to increase their lead to 43-25 at the halftime break.
 

Each team traded three-pointers to open the second half, but a layup from Irondi, and a Blackman three-pointer extended the Bears' lead to 51-28 at the 7:09-mark. Later in the period with Ursinus leading 57-35, Possenti closed out the quarter with seven straight points to increase the Ursinus advantage to 64-35 at the end of the third quarter. She added a pair of rebounds while an assist from Irondi led to the first basket, and sophomore Erin Glanz assisted on Possenti's three-pointer with four seconds remaining in the period. Ursinus carried the momentum into the final stanza as senior Charlotte DiLello and Possenti combined for six straight points to increase the Bears lead to their largest spread at 35. Haverford cut their deficit to 72-45 with a 10-2 run, but a 7-2 run gave Ursinus a 79-47 lead with 2:56 to play. The Fords connected on a three-pointer and a layup to close out the contest, but the lead proved to be too large leading Ursinus to a 80-52 victory.
 
 
Ursinus shot a stellar 54% (34-of-63) from the floor, 64.3% (9-of-13) from beyond the three-point line, and 42.9% (3-of-7) at the charity stripe. Haverford connected on 38.2% (21-of-55) of their attempts from the field, 30.8% (8-of-26) from beyond the arc, and 40% (2-of-5) at the free throw line. The Bears defense forced 21 total turnovers, converting 27 points off those turnovers, and collected 46 points from within the paint.
 

The Bears return to action on Saturday, December 7th as they travel to Westminster, Maryland for a Centennial Conference matchup against McDaniel College at 1 p.m.