COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The Ursinus College women's basketball battled throughout but eventually fell 77-69 against Franklin & Marshall College on Wednesday evening from Helfferich Hall.
 

With the loss, Ursinus now sits at 10-7 overall and 4-3 in Centennial Conference action. Meanwhile, the Diplomats improved to 12-6 on the season and 3-4 in conference play. Senior Chinwe Irondi led the Bears with her ninth double-double of the season behind 19 points and 14 rebounds. Junior Madison Smith added 15 points and nine rebounds, while classmate Ava Possenti tallied 15 points, seven assists, and five steals.
 

Both teams started hot from the floor as three-pointers from Smith and sophomore Colleen Blackman tied the contest at eight apiece with 6:56 remaining in the opening stanza. The Bears followed up with layups from Irondi and Smith to stretch their lead to four, but F&M answered with a three-pointer to cut the lead to one at the 5:02-mark. Later in the period, Possenti connected on a three-pointer, while Blackman added six straight points, but the Diplomats answered with each opportunity as Ursinus held a 25-22 lead at the end of the quarter. F&M opened the second stanza with a 4-0 run to regain a 26-25 advantage, but a layup from Irondi gave Ursinus a one-point lead with 8:15 remaining in the half. Both teams connected on their next three scoring chances as the Diplomats extended their advantage to 36-33 with 4:45 left in the quarter. After a timeout from Ursinus, the Bears responded with back-to-back three-pointers from Possenti to regain a 39-36 advantage with 3:10 remaining in the first half. During the Bears run, senior Charlotte DiLello snagged an offensive rebound for a second chance opportunity on the first three-pointer, while Possenti was credited with a steal leading to the Bears go ahead basket. At the 2:36-mark, Possenti dished an assist to DiLello who used a reverse layup to put Ursinus ahead 41-38. Both defenses stepped up over the next two minutes of play, until DiLello grabbed an offensive rebound and tipped in the final basket of the half as time expired to give Ursinus a 43-38 halftime lead.
 
 
Franklin & Marshall opened the second half on a 10-4 run to capture a 48-47 advantage with 6:04 remaining in the period. The Diplomats hit a pair of three-pointers during the run, but a pair of Irondi free throws gave Ursinus a one-point lead at the 5:24-mark. After two minutes of scoreless action, F&M used a 9-2 run to extend their lead to 57-51 with less than two minutes remaining in the quarter. The Bears responded with a layup from Irondi and Possenti, but a jump shot from the Diplomats closed out the quarter with F&M leading 59-55. The Bears battled throughout the final quarter cutting their deficit to as low as two points but could never regain the lead, falling 77-69.
 

The Diplomats were led by season-high shooting performance ending the contest at 50% (32-of-64) from the floor and 42.1% (8-of-19) from the field. Meanwhile, Ursinus shot 45.2% (28-of-62) from the field, 43.8% (7-of-16) from beyond the arc, and 60% (6-of-10) at the charity stripe. Franklin & Marshall's Lizzie Neville led all scorers with 27 points and four steals.
 

The Bears will return to action on Saturday, January 25th as they travel to Bryn Mawr College for a Centennial Conference matchup starting at 1 p.m.