CHESTERTOWN, Md. – Another prolific outing from Lydia Konstanzer was not enough for the Ursinus College women's basketball team at Washington College on Tuesday night, as the surging Shorewomen built a double-digit lead in the second half and staved off a late rally by the Bears to post a 63-59 victory in a clash of Centennial Conference playoff contenders.
Three days removed from a 26-point, 15-rebound performance versus Johns Hopkins, Konstanzer went off for 27 points and 12 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season. Fellow freshman Toni Suler had a career-high 15 points and 10 boards for her third double-double and sophomore Brielle Clarke chipped in with 10 points for Ursinus (6-7, 4-4).
It was mostly a one-woman show for Washington College (7-5, 4-3), which backed up a monumental upset at defending conference champion Muhlenberg with its fourth consecutive victory behind 24 points from Ali Grundy. The Shorewomen's point guard finished 8 of 14 from the field and 4 for 6 from 3-point range, adding four critical free throws in the final minute.
The conference's reigning co-players of the week went at it from the opening tip, heating up in the second quarter of a contest that featured five early lead changes. The Bears jumped out to a 10-2 lead thanks to a pair of baskets by Suler and a 3 from sophomore Kaci McNeave, but the Shorewomen closed the period on a 7-0 run.
Washington College went ahead 26-18 on a triple by Jordan Weir midway through the second quarter before Konstanzer and Clarke mounted a rally. The dup scored all 14 Ursinus points in the stanza, including an immediate 9-0 run that Clarke polished off with a trey and lay-up. Grundy answered with a deep ball and lay-in of her own to give Washington College the lead for good.
The Shorewomen turned a slim 31-30 lead in the opening minute into a 13-point bulge with a 10-0 burst highlighted by two Grundy 3-pointers. Katherine Moore's bucket made it 47-34 with 3:49 to play in the third, and the home side still led by a dozen with 5:50 remaining before Ursinus clawed back.
Suler and Konstanzer evenly split a 10-0 response that trimmed the lead to 57-55 with 1:22 to go. A free throw by Caitlyn Clark stopped the bleeding or the Shorewomen, and the Bears were forced to foul after a turnover on the other end. Grundy stepped to the line and knocked down a pair to stretch the margin to five and, after a put-back by Konstanzer, sank two more with 24.5 ticks left to ice it.
Konstanzer (10 of 18), Suler (6 for 12), and Clarke (4 for 6) combined to go 20 for 36 (55.6 percent) from the field and scored all but seven points for the Bears, who dominated on the glass (44-24) and in the paint (38-18). Senior Libby Lannon stuffed the stat sheet with five rebounds, five assists, and three steals, while Suler put up three assists, two steals, and two blocks.
Konstanzer has scored at least 20 points in three straight games and ran her streak of double-figure outputs to eight.
Ursinus travels to Carlisle to challenge first-place Dickinson on Thursday.