SWARTHMORE, Pa. – Behind a stellar shooting performance, the Ursinus College women's basketball team cruised to a 72-43 victory over Swarthmore College on Wednesday evening.
 
 
With the victory, Ursinus improves to 12-7 overall and 6-3 in Centennial Conference action. Meanwhile, the Garnet fell to 6-12 on the season and 2-7 in conference play. Tonight's victory marks the Bears fourth straight victory over Swarthmore and largest margin of victory since winning 79-53 in February of 2018.
 

Sophomore Colleen Blackman posted her 10th game this season with four or more three-pointers, connecting on five of her seven attempts to score 17 points and collecting two assists. Senior Chinwe Irondi earned her 11th double-double of the season behind 18 points and 13 rebounds. Her performance marked her fourth straight double-double and 15th game this season with 18 or more points. Junior Ava Possenti tallied 15 points (6-of-8), six assists, and tied her career-high with seven steals. Possenti currently leads the Centennial Conference with 78 total steals and ranks fourth in Division III.
 
 
Ursinus jumped out to a quick 8-0 lead through the first two minutes of play as Blackman connected on a pair of three-pointers and junior Madison Smith added two free throws. After a Garnet basket, Ursinus used a 4-2 run to capture a 12-4 advantage with 6:06 remaining in the opening period. Each team went scoreless for the next three minutes, until Ursinus recorded consecutive layups from Irondi and Possenti to stretch their advantage to 18-4 at the 1:56-mark. Swarthmore totaled just one basket over the final six minutes of the quarter and Ursinus held a 19-6 lead heading into the second period. The Bears carried the momentum into the second stanza using a 12-0 to extend their lead to 31-6 with 6:03 remaining in the half. During the Bears run, Irondi netted four points, while a three-pointer from Blackman, and a jumper from sophomore Erin Glanz capped the streak. Swarthmore connected on a trio of three-pointers leading to a 9-0 run to cut the Bears lead to 31-15 with 3:06 to play in the half. Ursinus quickly responded with a 10-2 run over the remainder of the half to extend the Bears advantage to 41-17. Ursinus collected layups from Irondi and senior Charlotte DiLello, while back-to-back three-pointers from Blackman ended the first half. Both of Blackman's triples came off assists from DiLello, while Irondi forced a turnover to lead to the Bears final basket.
 
 
Each team scored a basket to open the second half, but both defenses stood tall throughout the opening as Ursinus held a 43-19 lead at the 6:40-mark. Shortly after, Swarthmore tallied a pair of free throws and a three-pointer, but each scoring chance was answered by a layup from Irondi. Both teams went scoreless for the next three minutes until a layup from Irondi at the 2:48-mark stretched the Bears lead to 49-24. With under a minute to play in the quarter, junior Makenna Foder and Possenti combined to go four-of-four at the free throw line to keep the Bears lead at 53-30 with one quarter to play. Smith and Possenti opened the final stanza with back-to-back layups, before Swarthmore answered with a pair of jump shots to keep the Bears lead at 23. At the 7:24-mark, Possenti recorded a layup and a three-pointer to extend the Bears lead to 28. Both teams traded shots over the remainder of the final period, but the lead proved to be too large as Ursinus earned the 72-43 victory.
 
 
Ursinus shot 52.8% (28-of-53) from the field, 50% (6-of-12) from three-point range, and 62.5% (10-of-16) at the free throw line. Meanwhile, the Garnet were held to shoot 28.1% (16-of-57) from the floor, 22.7% (5-of-22) from three-point range, and 66.7% (6-of-9) at the charity stripe. The Bears held a 38-29 lead in rebounds and converted 27 points off 21 Garnet turnovers.

 
The Bears will return to action on Saturday, February 1st as they host Dickinson College for a 3 p.m. start from Helfferich Hall.