COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The Ursinus College women's basketball team (6-7, 5-3 CC) fell short in a low-scoring battle against Dickinson on Saturday afternoon. In a game in which both defenses held the opposing offense to under 30% shooting, the Bears went down 51-45. Saturday marked the first time this season that the Red and Gold offense was held under 50 points.
A slow start for the Bears led to an 8-0 deficit out of the gates. Points would not come easy for either side as Ursinus missed its first six shots in the opening 4:15 before Aliyah Stephens broke the scoreless run with a hard-earned lay-up.
The Stephens lay-up paired with tough defense on the other end allowed the Bears to end the first quarter on an 11-0 run. Lydia Konstanzer cashed in on an 'and-one' for a three-point play, bringing Ursinus back within one and then a pair of Margrett Brown free-throws gave the team its first lead of the game at 9-8. Stephens tallied the Bears' first points of the quarter and she would get the last, putting Ursinus up 11-8 after the opening 10 minutes.
Despite the Red Devils taking an early 8-0 lead to open the game, neither side would lead by more than five until late in the third quarter.
After going 7:13 without a basket, Dickinson began the second quarter with a jumper to break its scoreless run. However, the Bears offense kept up the pressure as Konstanzer hit just her third three of the season from the right-wing to put Ursinus up by five, 21-16.
With defense being the theme of the game, the Konstanzer trey was the final make by either side for over three minutes. After a pair of Dickinson free throws, Stephens scored on a fast break to put Ursinus back up by five. The Red Devils would close out the half on a 4-0 run as Ursinus held on to a narrow 23-22 lead going into the locker room.
After beginning the second half with 2:30 of scoreless play, Dickinson took its first lead since the opening quarter with a pair of makes from the charity stripe. The Red Devils would not trail again. Struggling to find a rhythm on offense, the Bears fell behind by nine with 3:33 to go in the frame. Finally, with a minute to play, Marisa Morano went 2-for-2 at the line before a Konstanzer steal and fast-break lay-up cut the deficit to 36-32 going into the fourth quarter.
Both sides traded baskets to open the final 10-minutes before the Red Devils again extended their lead to nine. The Bears fought back to cut the lead to five after a Konstanzer fast-break lay-up, making it 47-42 with 54 seconds to play. Dickinson, however, kept its distance after a lay-up and pair of free-throws to go up by nine for the fourth time in the quarter. With the game all but over, Gabby Downs made a buzzer-beater three as the Bears fell 51-45.
Leading the Bears was Konstanzer who accounted for 44.4% of the offensive output with 20 points. It's the sixth time this season and third consecutive game that Konstanzer has hit the 20-point mark. The senior also added 10 rebounds to record her sixth double-double of the season. Her 10 rebounds give her 816 for her career which ties her for fifth all-time in program history. On the defensive end, Konstanzer poked away a season-high six steals.
Stephens hit double-digit points as well with 16. The junior also added a team-high five blocks to go with seven rebounds.
Ursinus continues Centennial Conference action on Wednesday when it hosts Muhlenberg (5-8, 3-5 CC).