GWYNEDD VALLEY, Pa. – After a narrow loss to No. 3 Scranton on Friday, the Ursinus College women's basketball team (1-2) bounced back in the consolation game of the Gwynedd Mercy Tip-Off tournament, defeating Pitt-Bradford, 80-44. The Bears' 36-point win marks the team's largest since beating Alvernia, 80-28, in last season's opener.
The Bears came out hitting on all cylinders in the first quarter as they jumped out to a commanding lead. Ursinus started the game on an 11-0 run sparked by back-to-back baskets from Lydia Konstanzer. Leading, 8-0, Gabby Downs fired a trey to put Ursinus up double-digits. Behind Aliyah Stephens' eight points in the opening frame, the Bears led 28-7.
Stephens and the Bears didn't let up in the second quarter. The junior guard made a lay-up out of the break and then cashed in on a three-point play to put the Bears up 35-9. Stephens kept it going as she hit an open Erin Devine beyond the arc to finish an 8-2 run. Ursinus started the quarter on an 8-2 run and that's how it would finish it to go into the half, 50-14.
A 3 by Downs in the third quarter put the Bears up by 40 as they headed into the final frame, leading by a count of 68-26. Pitt-Bradford went on a 9-2 run to start the fourth, but the Bears closed out with an 80-44 win to take the consolation game.
The Bears had three players in double-digit scoring: Stephens (13), Maya Kornfeld (11), and Konstanzer (10), who made all five of her attempts from the field. Kornfeld also handed out a game-high five assists.
Francesca Bogiatzis had a team- and career-high nine rebounds, while Devine finished with nine points after going scoreless in the first two games. Alyssa Martin netted seven points, the first of her career, and was matched by Maddy Sorokanych in the scoring column. Haley Bestrycki and Margrett Brown also opened their collegiate accounts with two points apiece, and Elizabeth Burke netted her first two points of the season.
Ursinus is back in action on Thursday when it begins Centennial Conference play against Washington College.