Thanks to a strong finish – and a little bit of luck – the Ursinus College women's basketball team is back in the postseason.
The Bears are the number five seed in the Centennial Conference tournament and will head to Baltimore to open the postseason at fourth-seeded Johns Hopkins in the first-round clash. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
Gettysburg is the number one seed and tournament host. The Bullets will host the winner of the first-round contest on Friday, while second-seeded Muhlenberg and third-seeded Haverford square off in the other semifinal. The winners advance to Saturday's championship game.
Three weeks ago, Ursinus was mired in a four-game losing streak that dropped its league record to a meager 6-9. With their playoff hopes on life support, the Bears rose up and played some of their best basketball of the year, winning their next four games and getting enough help from elsewhere to offset a 76-60 setback to first-place Gettysburg. Now, despite finishing five games behind the fourth-place team in the top-heavy CC, Ursinus gets its chance to make some postseason magic.
Ursinus made CC history in 2007, becoming the first team to capture the league title after playing in the first-round game. The Bears qualified for the playoffs in 2011 and 2012, but are still searching for their first postseason victory since that stunning run from number four seed to conference champion more than a decade ago. To get it, they'll have to overcome a Johns Hopkins squad that largely dominated the regular-season series.
The Blue Jays, who finished 15-5 in CC play to return to the playoffs for the second straight season, outscored Ursinus by a combined 48 points in sweeping the two meetings between the teams. The Bears shot just 25.6 percent from the field in those games, which included a 68-39 setback in Baltimore on January 6. Ursinus was much more competitive in the return game in Collegeville, but a two-point halftime lead quickly vanished as Hopkins rolled to a 70-51 decision.
Johns Hopkins is a perimeter-oriented squad with an impressive trio of junior guards in Lillian Scott (14.0 points per game), Sophia Way (13.2 PPG), and Lexie Scholtz (10.2 PPG), all of whom average double figures. The Blue Jays lead the CC in 3-point attempts (19.4 per game) and rank second in 3-pointers made (5.8); Way (39), Scott (36), and fellow junior Madison McGrath (32) all rank in the top 10 in the conference in treys.
Junior center Rory Cole, who had 11 points and 12 rebounds against Ursinus in the last meeting, is sixth in the conference at 9.2 boards per game.
Johns Hopkins comes in on a three-game winning streak and has won its last eight home games.
Since losing defensive stalwart Toni Suler to a season-ending injury five weeks ago, the Bears have relied on sophomore star Lydia Konstanzer and freshman phenom Aliyah Stephens to carry the load offensively.
Konstanzer – the reigning CC Rookie of the Year – averages 16.4 points and 9.6 rebounds per game to rank third in the league in each category. She has 12 double-doubles and leads the conference with 58 steals. Konstanzer struggled against the Blue Jays this season, shooting 27.2 percent from the field in the two meetings.
Stephens, meanwhile, has come on strong in an increased role since Suler's injury. She is averaging 14.5 points and 6.7 rebounds per game over her last six contests, and has provided 13 blocks during that span.
Fellow rookie Maya Kornfeld has done a bit of everything for Ursinus, averaging 6.4 points and 3.5 rebounds to go with a team-leading 2.8 assists per game. Senior Rachel Guy, getting her first look at playoff action, averages 6.7 points per game and shoots a team-high 32.4 percent from 3-point range.
Freshman Marisa Morano has given the Bears a tenacious defensive presence, tying for fifth in the conference with 42 steals.
Should the Bears get the best of Hopkins on Tuesday, they would face red-hot Gettysburg in the semifinals. The Bullets have won 13 straight games, including Saturday's 76-60 victory in Collegeville, and are ranked sixth in the Mid-Atlantic Region. Gettysburg is 24-2 overall and established a new historic standard with a 19-1 mark in CC play.
The Bullets boast the reigning CC Player of the Year in senior forward Emily Gibbons (13.5 PPG, 11.4 RPG), who put 27 points and nine rebounds over the weekend. Junior guard Emma Dorshimer is leading the team at 14.8 points per game, and sophomore Ashley Gehrin adds 12.0 markers per contest.
Ursinus is making its ninth playoff appearance all-time. The Bears are in the first-round game for the fourth time, going 1-2 in those games, and are 6-6 overall in the CC tournament.
Ursinus is 1-3 all-time against Johns Hopkins in the playoffs, but the programs have not faced off in the postseason since 1998.