COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The Ursinus College women's basketball team opened its Centennial Conference slate with a 51-37 loss to Haverford on Tuesday.
Things started a bit slow for the Bears (2-2, 0-1), as they fell behind 14-3 in the first quarter, but the offense began to figure things out early in the second. The Fords' full-court press gave Ursinus issues until freshman guard Maya Kornfeld entered off the bench.
Kornfeld's high-energy style of play allowed her to slice through the Haverford press, allowing the offense to get into its setup. A little run started on a coast-to-coast lay-in from Kornfeld. Shortly after, she found sophomore Lydia Konstanzer for a turnaround jumper at the elbow to pull the Bears to within seven at 14-7.
Coach Margaret White preaches strong defense, and freshman Aliyah Stephens showed that the lesson had caught on, as she was able to tip a pass on the defensive end, chase it down and lay it in. Konstanzer would drill another turnaround jumper to pull the Bears to an 18-9 deficit.
Haverford's Samantha Wetzel gave the Bears fits all night, grabbing eight rebounds and scoring six points in the first 20 minutes. Half of Wetzel's boards came on the offensive end, providing the Fords (4-0, 1-0) several second-chance baskets. Her defensive prowess prevented Konstanzer from getting good looks throughout the contest. Wetzel finished the contest with a double-double, scoring 16 points and pulling down 13 rebounds.
Wetzel's presence limited Konstanzer for most of the game, but junior guard Kaci McNeave began to heat up for Ursinus in the third quarter. McNeave sank a 3-pointer to open the Bears' scoring in the second half, pulling the score to 24-14. The basket came on a third chance following a pair of offensive rebounds from sophomore Toni Suler, who wrapped up the day's events with six rebounds, two assists and three blocks.
McNeave would record a layup before nailing another 3-pointer to cap an 8-2 run by Ursinus, pulling the squad to a 26-19 deficit. Like her first 3-point basket, McNeave's second came off an offensive rebound, this time from freshman Sydney Fail.
Anna-Sophia Capizzi drilled a triple on the ensuing possession, and the Haverford lead never dipped below double digits the rest of the way.
McNeave made another 3-pointer in the fourth quarter, finishing the game with a team-high 11 points –all in the second half – while freshman Marisa Morano came off the bench to drop a pair of her own 3-pointers.
Konstanzer and Morano each scored six points while Kornfeld chipped in four.
The Bears are back on the floor of Helfferich Hall on Saturday with a matchup against Albright.