COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The Ursinus College women's basketball team battled throughout, but eventually fell to No. 11 Gettysburg College, 60-53, on Saturday afternoon from Helfferich Hall.
 

With the defeat, Ursinus sits at 10-6 overall and 4-2 in Centennial Conference action. Meanwhile, the Bullets improved to 15-1 on the season and 5-0 in conference play. Junior Madison Smith and senior Chinwe Irondi led the Bears' scoring attack with 13 points apiece, while Irondi added her eighth double-double of the season with 13 rebounds. Junior Ava Possenti added 11 points, five rebounds, three assists, and four steals.

 
Ursinus jumped out to an early 7-2 lead as Irondi connected on consecutive layups and a three-pointer from Possenti gave the Bears a five-point lead at the 8:28-mark. Gettysburg responded with a 9-0 run including holding Ursinus off the board for seven minutes of game time to regain an 11-7 lead with 1:07 remaining in the first quarter. Smith tallied a pair of free throws over the remainder of the quarter as Ursinus trailed 11-9 heading into the second stanza. Smith opened the second period by knocking down two free throws to tie the contest at 11 at the 9:43-mark. After a Gettysburg layup to regain the lead, Possenti collected her second three-pointer of the first half to give Ursinus a 14-13 lead. The Bullets responded with an 8-2 run to capture a 21-16 lead with 6:35 remaining in the first half. The Bears cut their deficit down to three via an Irondi layup, but an 11-4 run by the Bullets gave the visitors a 32-22 advantage with 3:20 left in the quarter. Sophomore Erin Glanz knocked down a three-pointer while a free throw from Possenti cut the Bears deficit to 32-26 at the halftime break.

 
Gettysburg opened the second half with a 5-0 run to increase their lead to 11, but a three-pointer from sophomore Colleen Blackman made the score 37-29 with 7:47 remaining in the period. Both teams traded baskets and free throws over the remainder of the period as Gettysburg held a 45-38 advantage heading into the final period. The final eight points of the quarter for the Bullets came at the free throw line as they combined to hit eight of their 10 opportunities. Both defenses stood tall to open the final stanza as neither team scored until Smith hit a jump shot at the 7:45-mark. Smith added a pair of free throws, while a layup from Blackman cut the Bears deficit to 45-44 with 6:27 remaining in the contest. Gettysburg answered with a 7-0 run to extend their advantage to eight, before a three-pointer from Smith made the score 54-49 with 2:16 remaining. The Bears once again continued to battle as Blackman collected two free throws and a jump shot from junior Makenna Foder cut the Ursinus deficit to 54-53 with 1:33 to play. Unfortunately, Gettysburg closed out the contest with a 6-0 run to capture the 60-53 road victory.
 
 
Ursinus shot 30.2% (16-of-53) from the field, 33.3% (5-of-15) from three-point range, and 88.9% (16-of-18) at the free throw line. Gettysburg shot 38.9% (21-of-54) from the floor, 27.8% (5-of-18) from beyond the arc, and 76.5% (13-of-17) at the charity stripe.
 

The Bears will return to action on Wednesday, January 22nd as they host Franklin & Marshall College for a Centennial Conference matchup starting at 8 p.m.