COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The Ursinus College women's basketball team cruised past Washington College on Tuesday night, 67-36, thanks to a stout defensive effort and an all-around successful day on the offensive end.
The Bears (7-6, 4-4) came out playing with their hair on fire, putting together a 14-2 run through the first five minutes of play. Sophomore Toni Suler hit the first basket of the game from inside the paint before junior Kaci McNeave drilled a 3-pointer. Suler completed the run with another bucket from near the rack.
A pair of baskets from sophomore Lydia Konstanzer grew the lead to 13 before the Shorewomen (4-8, 2-5) made one free throw, making it 20-8 through the first 10 minutes of play.
Freshman Maya Kornfeld opened things up in the second half, recording a steal before heading coast to coast and finishing with a nifty reverse layup. She'd add another lay-in with less than 30 seconds to go in the half, putting the Bears up 36-17. Kornfeld opened the quarter with an assist on a 3-point basket from senior Rachel Guy.
Ursinus kept the train rolling in the second half, thanks to a strong effort from Konstanzer. The reigning Centennial Conference Rookie of the Year racked up 24 total points in the game, nearly outscoring the Shorewomen by herself until well into the fourth quarter. Konstanzer, who made her first eight shots, came up one rebound shy of a double-double and added two assists and two steals to her line before the final whistle.
Suler – who was on triple-double watch early in the contest – finished with six points to go along with a game-high ten boards and five blocks. It's the fifth time this season that Suler has racked up five or more blocks in a game.
Kornfeld also had a strong showing, scoring 11 points to go with five rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals. Fellow freshmen Marisa Morano and Syndey Fail each netted six points off the bench, as did Guy.
The Bears' defense had an even better day than the offense, as the unit forced 17 Washington College turnovers and held the Shorewomen to just 23.8-percent shooting from the floor. Seven players recorded a steal in the contest, while five players assisted on at least one score.
Ursinus is back in action Thursday when Dickinson comes to town. The Bears then travel to Philadelphia on Sunday to play Gettysburg at The Palestra.