COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The Ursinus College women's basketball team led wire to wire for a 72-42 Centennial Conference victory over Bryn Mawr at Helfferich Hall on Tuesday night.
Ursinus (12-5, 9-3) extended its winning streak to three games. After starting 0-2 in the CC, the Bears have now won nine of their last 10 conference games.
Contributing toward the Bears' victory was the duo of sophomore Aliyah Stephens and freshman Maddy Sorokanych. Stephens scored 12 of her game-high 14 points on 5-for-7 shooting in the second half to register her 12th double-figure scoring game.
Sorokanych put together quite the fourth quarter on her way to doubling her previous career high of six points. The rookie did some solid work in the post, making 4-for-5 shots for eight points in the last stanza. She also tied a career-best mark of seven rebounds.
The Bears held the Owls to just 25.5-percent shooting for the game. Ursinus, meanwhile, was red-hot in the first half before fizzling a bit down the stretch. The Bears made 19 of their 28 shots for 67.9 percent in the first half before finishing the game at 47.5 percent (29-for-61).
A minute in, Stephens registered the game's first points after she jumped the passing lane and took a steal the other way for an easy solo fast-break layup.
Ursinus started the game on a 9-0 run in the first few minutes as the Bears ramped up the defensive intensity and made it difficult to get the ball across half court, causing five early Bryn Mawr turnovers.
Laya Paladuga made a 3-pointer at the top of the key to give the Owls their first basket just under four minutes in. The Bears quickly scored two buckets to push the lead to 14-3.
Sophomore Maya Kornfeld handed out nifty dimes to freshman Gabby Downs on back-to-back possessions to go up 15 points in the middle of the first quarter.
Left open at the top of the key, Downs drained a 3 to close out the first quarter with the Bears up 23-11.
The Bears were able to pull away in the second quarter as they singed the nets with an array of shot types in the second quarter, totaling an impressive 10-for-12 (83.3%) mark. Ursinus forced the Owls into 20 percent shooting (3-for-15) in the quarter.
In the second quarter, junior Toni Suler finished an old-fashioned three-point play from a dish by Stephens to start a hot stretch for the Bears. To go up 20 points, Sorokanych made a jump shot.
Stephens powered home a basket off the window with two Bryn Mawr defenders in the lane, and Morano's long pass down the court to Stephens put the Bears up 41-19 with four minutes to play before halftime.
Junior Francesca Bogiatzis ended the half on a running layup in the paint to give the Bears a 25-point lead at 46-21.
The Owls were limited to just seven made field goals on 27 shots in the first two periods. Ursinus doubled up Bryn Mawr on the glass, 20-10, in the first half.
Sorokanych's four baskets in the paint gave the Bears their largest lead at 72-40 in the late stages of the game.
Sophomore Marisa Morano scored nine points on the night, making her first four shots to extend her streak to nine field goals in a row dating back to last game.
Kornfeld handed out a game-high seven assists to go with eight points and four rebounds. Suler (3) and junior Lydia Konstanzer (2) combined for five blocks, while Stephens swiped three steals. Morano and Konstanzer each dished out three assists.
Bryn Mawr (1-15, 0-11) did not have a scorer in double figures. Leading scorer Halena Martin was held to 2-for-13 from the field for five points and committed six turnovers. Lipi Paladuga led the visitors with eight points.
The Bears outrebounded the Owls, 40-28. Ursinus owned the turnover department as well, 19 to 13.
Ursinus shot 26-for-61 (47.5%) overall, 6-for-21 (28.6%) from 3-point territory, and 8-for-11 (72.7%) from the free-throw line. The Bears' six triples were their most since hitting seven in an overtime win over F&M on January 5.
Bryn Mawr shot 12-for-47 (25.5%) from the field, 3-for-11 (27.3%) from beyond the arc, and 15-for-18 (83.3%) from the charity stripe.
After continuing its unbeaten 54-0 record over Bryn Mawr, the Bears find themselves on the other side of a streak when they travel to Muhlenberg on Thursday. The Bears are looking to snap a 20-game winless drought against the Mules, with the last Ursinus victory coming in 2008 in Allentown.