CARLISLE, Pa. – The Ursinus College women's basketball team picked up a huge Centennial Conference victory Thursday, going to Dickinson and pulling out a thrilling 52-51 decision over the first-place Red Devils. Junior Rachel Guy's lay-up with 13 seconds to play proved the winning basket in the Bears' biggest result of the season.
Freshman Lydia Konstanzer had another huge night with 22 points and eight rebounds and notched a critical steal on Dickinson's final possession to help Ursinus (7-7, 5-4) hold on. Guy finished with 12 points, freshman Toni Suler registered eight boards and six blocks, and senior Libby Lannon stuffed the box score with six points, seven rebounds, four steals, three assists, and a pair of rejections.
Mary Martin paced the Red Devils with 20 points, including a key jumper during a 7-0 run that culminated in Hannah Heiring's go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:16 remaining. The two sides traded turnovers before Guy's clutch drive, and Konstanzer's steal foiled Dickinson's plans for a winning shot of its own.
The Bears shot 50.0 percent (13 of 26) from the field in the first half, leading by as many as ten points on three separate occasions. Konstanzer scored eight points in the second quarter, including an interior basket that stretched the visitors' advantage to 30-20 with 1:14 to play in the first half.
Dickinson answered with two quick buckets before the break and rattled off the first six points of the third quarter to pull into a 30-30 deadlock. The lead switched hands five times before freshman Paulina Boyer connected on a 3-pointer that sent the Bears into the fourth quarter with a 40-38 edge.
Guy opened the final frame with a trey of her own, and added two free throws during a 9-4 run capped by Konstanzer's lay-up that made it 49-42 with 6:28 left. Ursinus made only one field goal from that point on, but it was all the Bears needed.
Sophomore Kaci McNeave had five points and three of ten steals for the Bears, who held Dickinson to just 30.9-percent shooting (17 of 55) and only 3 for 12 (25.0 percent) from downtown. Ursinus, conversely, shot a season-high 40.4 percent (21 for 52) and scored 19 points off 19 Red Devil turnovers. The Bears limited Dickinson's leading scorer, Helen Roberts, to only five points.
Konstanzer, who played all 40 minutes, made it four consecutive outings with 20-plus points and extended her CC-leading streak of double figure outputs to nine. She was 9 for 16 from the field and 4 of 5 from the free-throw line.
Suler, who came in ranked seventh in all of Division III in blocks and blocks per game, matched her career high in rejections and collected at least four swats for the eighth time this season. She has multiple blocks in every game but the season opener. Guy reached double figures for the fifth time this year.
With the victory, Ursinus moved into sole possession of fifth place in the packed CC standings. The Bears aim for another signature victory on Saturday, when they welcome second-place Gettysburg to Helfferich Hall.