COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The Ursinus women's basketball team forced Haverford into 22 turnovers but couldn't overcome the Fords' strong shooting as the Bears fell, 55-44, in the Centennial Conference opener at Helfferich Hall.
Sophomore Maya Kornfeld led Ursinus (2-2, 0-1) in scoring with 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting. The guard was joined by freshman Gabby Downs, the only other Bear in double figures with ten points.
Haverford (4-0, 1-0) stayed at a distance from the Bears with timely shot-making and by connecting on 44 percent of its attempts from the field. The Fords worked the ball into the paint with successful cuts in the lane. They also added five triples on 15 attempts and were 6-of-8 from the free throw line. Haverford also held an edge on the glass, outgaining Ursinus by a 38-28 margin.
It was tough sledding for the Bears as the Fords utilized a tight zone defense and a stingy half-court press that stymied the offense, forcing 19 turnovers and Ursinus into many tough shots. The Bears shot just 32.7% (17-of-52) from the field, 18.8% (3-of-16) from 3-point land, and 7-of-13 from the charity stripe.
The Bears found themselves in the game for much of the night despite cold shooting and miscues, but Haverford responded with runs of its own to cruise in the latter stages of the fourth quarter, at one stage leading by 16 points.
Leading the Fords' scoring threat were Megan Furch and Macy Goldbach. Furch was an efficient 7-of-10 with two 3-pointers for a total of 15 points. Furch hit all four of her shots for nine points in the first half. She also grabbed seven rebounds and collected four steals. Goldbach added 12 points – 10 of them after halftime – and six rebounds.
Haverford's Katie Cook handed out a game-high six assists, while Maddie Gallic retrieved a game-high nine rebounds. Off the bench, Hannah Zoll contributed solid minutes in a reserve role. In the first half, Zoll played five minutes and picked up five points along with six rebounds (three on the offensive end).
The Fords got out to an 8-2 lead when Cook found Anna-Sophia Capizzi for a breakaway layup. The Bears struggled to hit the mark in the opening quarter, putting just eight points on the board as Haverford led by seven (15-8) after one quarter.
Ursinus put a together a better second quarter but was unable to make a dent in the visitors' lead as Haverford took a 29-21 edge to the break.
In the middle of the third quarter, the Bears cut the margin to 35-30 on a pair of free throws from junior Toni Suler, who was making her first appearance since January following a season-ending injury. Goldbach then hit with a 3-pointer to respond for the Fords, but Downs followed it by hitting a long-range shot of her own to keep the game within six at 39-33.
An Ursinus turnover led to a fast break for Goldbach. She missed the initial lay-up but followed up her miss to make it 41-35. Haverford's Julianna Clark made a clutch 3-pointer, her only made shot of the night, at the third-quarter buzzer to extend the lead to 44-35.
Goldbach pushed the lead to 47-35 with her second triple of the game early in the fourth, and the Bears never got back within single-digits.
In the first half, Ursinus shot 9-of-33 (27.3%) from the field and Haverford went 12-of-27 from the floor (44.4%).
After the holiday break, the Bears travel to preseason CC favorite Gettysburg on Tuesday, November 27 at 7 p.m.