COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – Suffocating second-half defense and a heavy dose of free throws by senior guard Alyssa Polimeni (Berkeley Heights, N.J./Governor Livingston Regional) kept the Ursinus College women's basketball team flying high. The home side held visiting Dickinson to just 5-of-27 (18.5%) from the field after intermission and Polimeni made 14 of her 16 attempts at the charity stripe as the Bears won their third straight game, 59-49, and matched their best Centennial Conference start in five years.

Polimeni, who came in leading the CC in free throws made and attempted by a wide margin, continued her recent tear, getting to the line 12 times in the second half to help Ursinus (3-3, 3-0) keep the Red Devils (3-4, 0-3) at arm's length. The senior finished with 20 points, matched her career high with nine rebounds for the second straight game, and handed out four assists with three steals in another all-around performance for Ursinus, which moved to 3-0 in the conference for the first time since 2010-11.

Senior forward Jessica Porada (Morristown, N.J./Morris Catholic) produced 19 points for the second time in as many outings, adding seven rebounds. Frontcourt mate and fellow senior Elana Roadcloud (Roslyn, Pa./Springside School) controlled 13 caroms for the second consecutive contest, matching a career benchmark. The Bears won the rebounding battle by double digits again (41-30) and attained a 34-22 advantage in points in the paint.

The first half was an evenly matched tug-of-war, with six ties and six lead changes. Dickinson led 13-12 after the first quarter, and pulled into a tie for the last time at 5:24 of the second, when junior guard Mary Martin drove the lane for a lay-up to knot it at 22. Roadcloud gave the Bears the upper hand for good with a put-back, Porada sunk a pair at the line, and Polimeni converted a swipe into a breakaway at the other end to supply a six-point margin.

Trailing 31-27 at the break, the Red Devils got within one twice in the third quarter, a free throw cutting the Ursinus edge to 36-35 at 2:40. Senior forward Caroline Shimrock (Lansdale, Pa./Gwynedd-Mercy Academy) played run-stopper, knocking down challenged jumpers in the lane on back-to-back possessions to restore some breathing room, and Polimeni hit a pair of foul shots with 2.9 ticks remaining to make it 43-37 after three. The lead never dipped below that again, and the Bears led by as much as 12 before the final buzzer sounded on another impressive triumph.

Sophomore guard Mackenzie Skerritt paced Dickinson with 13 points, senior guard Sam Kennedy pitched in nine, and Martin finished with eight.

Ursinus shot 40.4 percent for the game (19-of-47) and held the Red Devils, who entered Thursday's game second in the league in 3-pointers made, to just five triples on 18 attempts (27.8%).

Shimrock scored eight points and made both of her free throws, helping Ursinus shoot a robust 87.5 percent from the line (21-of-24). Polimeni's 14 made foul shots were the most by a Ursinus player since Shana Goane in 2000 (19) and more than the Bears hit as a team in all but two games a year ago. The 16 attempts were the most since Porada matched that number against Washington College on February 5, 2014.

Ursinus will go for its first 4-0 CC start since 1996-97 on Saturday, December 5, when the Bears continued a four-game homestand against Johns Hopkins at 1:00 p.m.