COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The Ursinus College Women's basketball team (5-3, 4-1 CC) won their third straight game in Centennial Conference action, defeating McDaniel, 79-64. Lydia Konstanzer had a season-high 27 points in the win.
The Bears picked up where they left off on Wednesday, starting the game on a 7-2 run. Aliyah Stephens led the way with back-to-back lay-ins and capitalized on an 'and-one' on her way to five straight points. The two sides matched each other basket for basket the rest of the way in the opening ten minutes with the Green Terror pulling within two after consecutive makes from beyond the arc. Lydia Konstanzer capped off a double-digit first quarter with a lay-up in the final minute to give Ursinus a 25-20 lead going into the second.
McDaniel pulled back within two but after a Gabby Downs trey gave Ursinus a 34-27 lead, it would be the last time the Green Terror would come within one score. Konstanzer kept dominating from inside the paint as she shot five-of-six from the floor in the game's second quarter.
After a neck-and-neck opening frame, the Bears used an 8-2 run to go up by double-digits, 39-29. A pair of free throws from Stephens and a lay-in from Konstanzer in the final seconds gave the Bears a commanding 49-32 lead as the first half came to a close.
The Green Terror outscored Ursinus 19-15 coming out of the half as the Bears shot just 35.3% from the field. After McDaniel pulled back within 10, Maya Kornfeld sparked Ursinus' biggest run of the day with a half-court heave as time expired in the third frame to make it 64-51.
The Bears used Kornfeld's last-second shot in the third quarter to go on what was a 10-2 run into the fourth. Stephens put Ursinus back up by 18 with a three-pointer of her own to cap off the run. The Green Terror again came back within ten, but the Bears kept their distance.
Ursinus out-shot McDaniel 52.7% to 40.3% from the field on the day and earned 29 shots from the charity stripe to the Green Terror's 10.
Individually, Konstanzer led the Bears scoring as she controlled the paint with a season-high 27-points on 11-of-16 shooting to go with three blocks and nine rebounds.
The senior's 53 combined points from the last two games ties her second-highest two-game output in her career. Konstanzer last had a 53-point two-game stretch during her freshman season which she then bested last year after scoring 59 combined points against Franklin & Marshall and McDaniel.
Additionally, the senior forward eclipsed the 20-point mark for a third-straight contest against the Green Terror. After being held to eight points against McDaniel her sophomore year, Konstanzer has scored 28, 23, and 27 for an average of 26 points per game.
Stephens surpassed the 20-point mark as well for a second consecutive game, scoring 21 with three steals.
The Bears will have a week off before traveling to Miami for the HoopMIA D3 Shootout where they'll play a pair of contests against Widener and Williams on December 18 and 19. Ursinus doesn't play at home again until January 11.