COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The Ursinus College women's basketball team's twin freshman towers stood tall on both ends of the floor in a 58-44, wire-to-wire Centennial Conference victory over Johns Hopkins on Saturday.
Lydia Konstanzer and Toni Suler combined for 35 points and 24 rebounds for Ursinus (6-6, 4-3), which knocked off Johns Hopkins (4-7, 3-4) for the second time in three meetings and picked up a crucial league triumph. Konstanzer continued her run of remarkable play with 26 points and a career-high 15 rebounds, while Suler provided nine points, nine boards, six blocks, and four steals.
Konstanzer, who posted her third double-double of the season, was a monster from start to finish. The rookie had a three-point play on the Bears' first possession and scored the first seven points of the contest, putting the home side ahead for good. Konstanzer, who also had three assists and three steals, netted 16 points after halftime and had a hand in every Ursinus marker during a 12-4 burst bridging the end of the third quarter that gave the Bears enough separation to cruise to the finish.
Suler was her usual dominant self on the defensive end. Ranked seventh in Division III in blocks and blocks per game, she added six more to her CC-leading total (44), five of them coming in the second half. Senior Libby Lannon registered eight points, six rebounds, and three assists for Ursinus, while junior Rachel Guy matched her with eight points.
Ursinus held Johns Hopkins well below its season average of 71.2 points per game and put up a fence around the 3-point line, where the visitors were a paltry 4 for 22 (18.2 percent) despite coming into the weekend with the most triples in the conference. Lexi Scholtz and Lillian Scott finished with ten points each for the Blue Jays, who committed 14 turnovers and shot just 29.8 percent for the game (17 of 57).
Ursinus held a 32-18 advantage in the paint, a 12-5 edge in second-chance points, and outrebounded Johns Hopkins by a 45-32 count.
The Blue Jays tied the game for the third and final time on a 3-pointer by Caroline Corcoran on the first possession of the second half, but consecutive buckets by Lannon, Konstanzer, and Guy pushed the Bears back out to a six-point lead. Konstanzer scored back-to-back baskets to close the quarter, handing Ursinus a 39-32 edge heading into the fourth frame.
Konstanzer picked up right where she left off, sealing her defender and finishing a feed from Guy before scoring inside on a dish by Lannon as the Bears went ahead 43-32. Johns Hopkins closed to within five at 44-39 and had a good look at a 3-pointer that would have cut it to two, but it went begging and Suler's lay-up keyed a 7-0 run that put the game out of reach.
Konstanzer has scored in double figures in seven straight games and is averaging 20.0 points and 9.1 rebounds since her insertion into the starting lineup five games ago. She leads all CC freshmen in scoring.
The women's basketball team heads to Maryland for a conference clash with Washington College on Tuesday.
