COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – Three Bears recorded double-doubles leading the Ursinus College women's basketball team to a 78-56 wire-to-wire victory over Muhlenberg College on Wednesday evening from Helfferich Hall.
 

With the victory, Ursinus snaps a three-game skid improving to 8-5 overall and 2-1 in Centennial Conference action while the Mules fall to 11-2 on the season and 2-1 in conference play.

 
Senior forward Chinwe Irondi paced the Bears offense with her seventh straight 20-plus point performance and seventh double-double of the season behind 26 points and 12 rebounds. Sophomore Colleen Blackman added 17 points and three assists while tallying her eighth game of the season with four or more three-pointers. Junior Madison Smith collected her fourth double of the season behind 11 points and 12 rebounds, while classmate Ava Possenti recorded her first career double-double with 10 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, and a team leading four steals. Possenti continues her stellar defensive season as she has tallied two or more steals in every contest this season and currently leads the Centennial Conference averaging 3.6 steals per game.

 
Ursinus jumped to an early 11-0 lead through the first four minutes of play as Irondi connected on the first two baskets, before a three-pointer and jumper from Blackman led to a Mules timeout. The Bears carried the momentum over the remainder of the quarter as they took a 15-4 lead into the second stanza. During the Ursinus run, they recorded seven offensive rebounds while the defense forced three turnovers to give the Bears an 11-point advantage. The Bears tallied an offensive rebound and a basket to open the second stanza, before a 6-0 Muhlenberg run made the score 17-10 with 7:29 remaining in the first half. The Bears quickly responded with an old fashioned three-point play from Smith, while consecutive three-pointers from sophomore Erin Glanz gave the Bears a 26-12 lead at the 4:31-mark. The Mules responded with a 9-4 run to close out the first half, but still trailed 30-21 heading into the halftime break.

 
The Bears opened the third quarter with back-to-back three-pointers from Smith and Possenti to increase their advantage to 36-23 with 7:48 remaining in the stanza. Each team traded baskets over the next three minutes as Ursinus responded during each Muhlenberg basket and held a 42-27 lead at the halfway point. The Mules connected on a pair of three-pointers over the remainder of the quarter highlighting a 15-8 Muhlenberg run to erase the Bears lead to 50-42 heading into the final stanza. Ursinus stretched their lead back to double digits as a pair of Blackman three-pointers and a layup from Irondi extended the Bears' advantage to 58-44 with 8:21 remaining. During the Bears' 8-2 run, they totaled five offensive rebounds leading to the extra chance opportunities. Muhlenberg responded with a three-pointer of their own, but Ursinus closed out the contest on a 20-9 run enroute to the 78-56 Centennial victory.
 
 
Ursinus shot 40% (30-of-75) from the field, 37.9% (11-of-29) from three-point range, and 58.3% (7-of-12) at the charity stripe. Meanwhile, Muhlenberg was held to shoot 37.5% (21-of-56) from the floor, 30.8% (8-of-26) from deep, and 54.5% (6-of-11) at the free-throw line. The Bears outrebounded Muhlenberg 54-31, and 22-5 on the offensive end en route to the victory.
 

The Bears will return to action on Saturday, January 11th as they host Washington College for a 3 p.m. start from Helfferich Hall.