ALLENTOWN, Pa. – Behind an incredible performance from the Bears and senior forward Chinwe Irondi, the Ursinus College women's basketball earned a 66-55 victory over Muhlenberg College on Wednesday evening.
 

Irondi secured her 13th double-double of the season, posting 31 points and 16 rebounds. She shot an efficient 12-of-18 from the field and surpassed 1,000 rebounds in her career. The Waldorf, Maryland native currently ranks second all-time with 1,006 career boards. Irondi sits just 25 rebounds shy of tying Molly Guntli's program record of 1,031 rebounds and also ranks second all-time in career points with 1,797. Junior Madison Smith finished just shy of a double-double collecting 13 points, nine rebounds, and three assists, while sophomore Colleen Blackman added nine points and two rebounds. For Muhlenberg, Emily Unger finished with a team-high 23 points behind hitting five three-pointers.

 
With the victory, Ursinus improves to 16-8 overall, 10-4 in Centennial Conference play, and secure the No. 3 seed in the conference playoffs. Meanwhile, the Mules fall to 15-9 on the season and 6-8 in conference action. The victory marks as the most wins for the Bears since finishing with a 17-10 mark during the 2018-19 season.

 
Ursinus jumped out to a quick lead as Blackman and Smith each connected on three-pointers to give the Bears a 6-0 lead at the 8:45-mark. After trading baskets, Muhlenberg used a 6-4 run to cut their deficit to 12-8 with 4:39 remaining in the first quarter. The Bears bounced back with an 8-3 run to close the quarter and held a 20-11 lead heading into the second period. Irondi scored four of the eight points for the Bears, while layups from sophomore Erin Glanz and Blackman capped off the run. The Mules responded with a 5-2 run to open the quarter, but three straight points from Irondi kept the Bears lead at 25-16. After consecutive baskets from the Mules, Smith connected on her second three-pointer to give Ursinus a 28-20 lead with 4:22 remaining in the first half. Each team traded baskets over the remainder of the half, but a three-pointer from Muhlenberg closed out the first half with Ursinus leading 32-27.

 
Irondi secured one of her eight offensive rebounds to open the second half and converted on a pair of free throws to stretch the Bears' advantage to seven. The Mules cut their deficit to four on consecutive possessions, but a three-pointer from Smith sparked a 9-2 Bears' run to capture a 45-34 lead. After two minutes of scoreless action, Ursinus closed out the third period on a 9-4 run to earn a 54-38 lead heading into the final stanza. With under 20 seconds left in the period, Irondi assisted on a three-pointer by Glanz to extend the Bears' lead to 16 at the break. Irondi scored the first four points of the final period to push the lead to 20, but a jumper and three-pointer from Muhlenberg made the score 58-43 with 6:45 remaining. The Mules cut their deficit to as low as nine points, but the Bears answered each opportunity en route to the 66-55 victory.


The Bears shot 39.4% (26-of-66) from the field, 26.3% (5-of-19) from beyond the arc, and 69.2% (9-of-13) at the free throw line. Meanwhile, Muhlenberg shot 36.2% (21-of-58) from the floor, 26.9% (7-of-26) from three-point range, and 85.7%% (6-of-7) at the charity stripe.
 

The Bears return to action on Saturday, February 22nd at 2 p.m. for their regular season finale on the road at Washington College.