COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – Lydia Konstanzer can probably get used to being in the starting lineup.
The freshman forward exploded for a career-high 32 points, the most in program history by a rookie, in her first start to power the Ursinus College women's basketball team to a 64-47 Centennial Conference victory over Swarthmore on Wednesday night. Konstanzer, who matched her jersey number in points, finished 13 of 22 from the field and 6 for 8 at the line, adding ten rebounds for her second double-double in three outings and giving the CC single-game freshman scoring record (35) a serious run.
Behind Konstanzer's monster night, Ursinus (4-4, 3-2) won at home for the first time this season after a pair of close league losses in the past two weeks. The Bears had massive advantage in points off turnovers (24-5) and second-chance points (23-5) in stretching their home winning streak over the Garnet (1-7, 1-4) to four and matching their highest scoring output of the season. Ursinus snared 20 offensive rebounds and forced 23 turnovers while committing only six of its own, easily a season low. Junior Rachel Guy had ten points and seven rebounds, but this night belonged to the Bears' freshman phenom.
Konstanzer, whose point total is the highest by a Bear since Shana Goane '00 tallied 33 against Lincoln in 1998, rewarded head coach Margaret White's move with a sensational performance, starting with the game's first two baskets to give Ursinus an early 4-0 lead. The rookie had eight points and five rebounds in the first quarter and went into halftime with 18 points and seven rebounds, already a career high in scoring.
Konstanzer's hot start did not portend first-half dominance, however, as the lead changed hands six times alongside five ties before the Bears took a 29-27 edge into intermission. The biggest lead of the first two periods came on a jumper by junior Rachel Guy that made it 13-8 late in the first quarter, but a score by Audra Woodside preceded back-to-back layups from Elizabeth Stiles as the visitors went up 14-13 at the end of the first period.
Ursinus used missed free throws to gain a modicum of separation late in the second quarter, senior captain Libby Lannon grabbing a pair of offensive rebounds that led to four points during a 6-0 run that handed the home side a 29-24 lead. Lannon found Konstanzer for a field goal inside and, after a foul shot by freshman Marisa DiLeo, the senior hauled in another missed freebie. This time she got it back, receiving a bullet pass from Konstanzer off a back cut and banking in a layup to stretch the margin to five before Swarthmore's Melanie Ackerman buried a right-wing 3-pointer.
After Raina Williams pulled Swarthmore within 31-30 on a three-point play, freshman Paulina Boyer gave the Bears a spark with a straightaway 3 and a step-back from the right elbow to open up a six-point lead, the largest of the night. Konstanzer then corralled her own miss and put it back plus a foul, her own three-point play forcing the Garnet into a timeout and a 39-30 hole.
The deluge continued later in the third, when Guy's steal and layup and another bucket by Konstanzer, set up by freshman Toni Suler after an offensive board, extended the spread to 48-35 and led to another Swarthmore stoppage with 2:03 remaining in the period.
The lead never slipped below double digits again, and Konstanzer added five more points in the fourth quarter to finish with 31.
Melanie Ackerman paced the visitors with 11 points and Lindsay O'Sullivan finished with nine points and 11 rebounds, with Elizabeth Stiles pitching in nine points and four assists.
Lannon collected six rebounds and a game-high six assists in addition to four points, and Suler gave the Bears her typical intimidating interior presence with five blocks and six rebounds, not to mention three assists. Lannon and sophomore Brielle Clarke each had three steals as Ursinus finished with 11 swipes. The Bears held Swarthmore scoreless for the first five-plus minutes of the first and fourth quarters.
The Bears head to two-time defending CC champion Muhlenberg on Saturday for their final CC contest of 2016.
