COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – After struggling for three quarters against a plucky Washington College squad, the Ursinus College women's basketball team owned the final frame and pulled away for a 67-55 victory in Thursday night's Centennial Conference opener.

The Bears (2-2, 1-0) trailed by five late in the third before running off a 12-0 run bridging the end of the period and dominated from there in stretching their home winning streak over the Shorewomen to ten.

Aliyah Stephens led all scorers with 17 points, including eight during the fourth quarter as the home side outscored Washington College by a 19-7 count in crunch time. Maya Kornfeld chipped in with 16, including some critical baskets down the stretch, and Lydia Konstanzer finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds for her second double-double of the season.

The Bears' conference lid-lifter was a nip-and-tuck affair for much of the night. Washington College (4-1, 1-1), fresh off a win over Muhlenberg in its own CC debut, jumped out to a 17-10 lead and still led by five late in the second quarter before Ursinus embarked on a 9-0 run to nose in front. Gabby Downs buried a long 3 to knot the contest at 27 before two free throws from Konstanzer and a driving bucket by Kornfeld made it 31-27 in favor of the Bears.

Emily Helms nailed a pair of 3-pointers as the Shorewomen responded with an 8-0 run to grab a four-point advantage, but Kornfeld knocked down a mid-range jumper to slice the deficit in half heading to the break.

Caitlyn Clark and Emilee Cramer drilled back-to-back triples to give Washington College a 48-43 lead just shy of two minutes remaining in the third. Their backs to the wall, the Bears turned to their defense to get them out of trouble, holding Washington College off the scoreboard for nearly seven minutes as they turned a five-point deficit into a seven-point advantage. The 12-0 run was keyed by Kornfeld, who converted a three-point play before Downs used a nifty move to get free on the baseline for an easy lay-in and a 55-48 spread with 7:50 to play.

The Shorewomen got to within five, but Stephens blocked a 3-pointer on one end and leaked out on the break for a lay-up to make it 58-50 to keep Washington College at bay. After a basket for the visitors, Stephens used a devastating spin move to free herself for a lay-in off the glass to restore an eight-point margin.

Ursinus limited Washington College to just 2-for-13 from the field in the fourth quarter, also forcing five turnovers. After making 7 of their first 12 from beyond the arc, the Shorewomen misfired on their final six attempts.

The Bears shot 45.0 percent overall and owned a 45-28 discrepancy on the glass, leading to 14 second-chance points. Ursinus had 17 offensive rebounds on the night, with Stephens (seven boards) and Marisa Morano (five) supporting Konstanzer's yeoman's work. Morano conducted the offense to perfection in the early going, dishing out four assists.

Maddy Sorokanych gave the Bears a big lift in the second quarter, scoring six points and making three of her four attempts from the field.

Ursinus committed just 10 turnovers, half of their early-season average.

The Bears resume conference play at Haverford on Saturday.