COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – A strong second half push was not enough as the Ursinus College Women's Basketball fell against Widener University, 70-65, in non-conference action on Saturday afternoon from Helfferich Hall.

 
Senior Chinwe Irondi led all scorers with 24 points behind shooting an efficient 12-of-18 from the field and tallying her sixth straight 20-plus point performance. Meanwhile, sophomore Colleen Blackman recorded 18 points and junior Ava Possenti collected 16 points, a career-high seven assists, and a career-best seven steals. For Blackman, she was stellar from deep connecting on four of her nine three-pointers which marks her seventh game this season with four or more three-pointers.

 
Irondi opened the quarter with the first six points for the Bears, but Widener connected on each of their first five possessions to earn an 11-6 lead at the 6:24-mark. On the ensuing possession, Possenti dished a pass to Irondi for a layup marking her third assist of the opening stanza and cutting the Bears deficit to three. Each defense stepped up and held the opposing offenses scoreless for the next two minutes, until senior Charlotte DiLello and junior Madison Smith combined for three free throws to make the Bears deficit 13-11 with 3:19 remaining in the first period. Widener closed out the period on an 8-4 run behind a pair of three-pointers, while Irondi scored the final four points for Ursinus. Blackman tallied four of the first six points for Ursinus in the second stanza, but Widener answered each scoring chance with a basket and held a 30-22 lead with 3:29 remaining in the first half. The Pride stretched their lead to double-digits behind a pair of free throws, but Ursinus answered with a Blackman three-pointer and a free throw from DiLello as they entered halftime trailing 34-28.

 
Each team opened the second half with a layup apiece, until a 6-0 run from the Pride stretched their lead to 42-32 with 6:53 left in the period. Ursinus cut their deficit to five as Possenti connected on a pair of jump shots, while a Blackman three-pointer swayed the momentum into the favor of the Bears. Trailing 44-39, Possenti swung a pass to Blackman, and she drilled her second three-pointer of the quarter to cut the Bears deficit to 44-42. Widener regained the momentum as a 11-6 run closed out the period and gave the visitors a 55-48 lead heading into the final period. Irondi sparked a 6-2 Bears run to open the final quarter to bring the Ursinus deficit to 57-54 with 7:33 remaining in the contest. During the run, Irondi connected on three consecutive layups, while the Bears defense were credited with two turnovers. Widener responded with back-to-back steals and fastbreak layups to stretch their lead back to 61-54 with six minutes to play. Widener stretched their lead to nine, until consecutive layups from Possenti and a pair of free throws from Smith made the score 68-65 with 50 seconds left in the contest. The Bears defense pressured Widener over the remainder of the contest, but unfortunately were unable to complete the comeback falling, 70-65.
 
 
Ursinus shot 39.7% (25-of-63) from the field, 38.5% (5-of-13) beyond the three-point arc, and 62.5% (10-of-16) at the charity stripe. The Pride shot 49.2% (29-of-59) from the floor, 31.3% (5-of-16) from three-point range, and 100% (7-of-7) at the free throw line. Widener held a 38-36 lead for points within the paint, while the Bears totaled 16 points off 25 Pride turnovers. Widener's Mia Robbins finished with a team-high 20 points and 10 rebounds marking her sixth straight double-double.
 

The Bears return to action on Wednesday, January 8th as they return to Centennial Conference play by hosting Muhlenberg College at 5:00 p.m. from Helfferich Hall.