HAVERFORD, Pa. – A fast start propelled the Ursinus College women's basketball team to a 75-64 victory over Haverford College on Wednesday evening from Gooding Arena.

 
With the victory, Ursinus earns their third consecutive victory collecting the season sweep over the Fords and improved to 10-5 overall and 4-1 in Centennial Conference action. Meanwhile, the Fords fall to 8-7 on the season and sit at 2-3 in conference play.
 

The Bears had four starters reach double figures as senior forward Chinwe Irondi led the team with her 11th 20-point performance finishing with 20 points (9-of-11 FG), eight rebounds, and two assists. Sophomore Colleen Blackman added 15 points behind connecting on five three-pointers which marks her fourth game this season with five or more threes. Junior Ava Possenti recorded her second double-double of the season behind 14 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, and three steals. Meanwhile, classmate Madison Smith tallied 11 points, five assists, and five rebounds.
 

The Bears raced out to a quick 10-0 lead through the first two minutes of play as Possenti connected on a pair of three-pointers and Irondi knocked down two free throws and a layup. Just under a minute later, Smith found Blackman wide open in the corner for her first three-pointer leading to a Fords timeout with Ursinus ahead 13-0. The Bears extended their lead to as high as 20-0, until Haverford recorded their first basket with 4:04 remaining in the first period. After a Fords 7-0 run, Ursinus closed out the period on a 7-0 run highlighted by a Blackman three-pointer and held a 27-7 lead at the end of the first quarter. Irondi connected on the opening shot for the Bears of the period, before an 8-2 run from the Fords made the score 31-15 at the 8:00-mark. Each team traded baskets until the Bears closed out the first half on a 7-2 run behind a three-pointer from sophomore Erin Glanz to give Ursinus a 42-24 halftime lead.
 

The Bears defense forced three turnovers to open the second half, while three straight points from Smith extended the Bears advantage to 45-24 with 7:21 remaining in the quarter. After four straight points from Haverford, Ursinus answered with back-to-back three-pointers from Possenti and Blackman to increase their lead to 51-28. The Bears carried the momentum throughout the remainder of the third period closing on a 10-5 run to capture a 61-33 advantage heading into the final quarter. After a basket from the Fords to open the fourth quarter, Ursinus responded with five straight points to capture their largest lead of the contest at 66-36 with 7:54 to play. Haverford stormed back over the remainder of the contest cutting their deficit to single digits, but Ursinus connected on their free throws enroute to a 75-64 victory.
 

Ursinus shot 50.8% (30-of-59) from the floor, 45% (9-of-20) from three-point range, and 46.2% (6-of-13) at the charity stripe. Meanwhile, the Fords shot 40.7% (24-of-59) from the field, 37.5% (9-of-24) from beyond the arc, and 70% (7-of-10) from the free-throw line.
 

The Bears will put their three-game winning streak on the line as they host No. 11 Gettysburg on Saturday at 1 p.m. from Helfferich Hall.