MIAMI, Fla. - The Ursinus College women's basketball team closed out the HoopMIA D3 Holiday Shootout on Thursday against Williams. The Bears trailed by as much as 15 in the second half and were down eight with two minutes remaining but came back within one point after a Maya Kornfeld three-pointer with 14 seconds left. Having just two seconds on the clock, Kornfeld went 1-of-2 at the line with a chance to tie as Ursinus was edged, 68-67.
Entering the week, Williams received votes in the national polls for the top-25 after a hot 8-0 start and defeated Delaware Valley, 98-50, the day before.
That didn't seem to matter for the Bears in the early-goings. With the help of six points from Aliyah Stephens, Ursinus came out of the gates on a 10-3 run. The junior put the Bears up by nine at 14-5 with a pair of makes from the charity stripe before the Ephs closed on a 7-0 run as the two sides headed into the second frame all knotted up at 16 apiece.
The back-and-forth trend would continue throughout the rest of the half. After the Bears took a 21-16 lead on a Kornfeld trey early in the second quarter, the Ephs came back to tie the game at 23. Williams then went on a 10-0 run to go up 33-25, but the Bears cut the deficit to four on a Lydia Konstanzer jumper right before the half. Neither team seemed to be able to take control without the other answering.
That changed in the second half.
The Ephs came out with consecutive makes from beyond the arc to go up by double digits and then a 7-2 run put the Bears down by 15 at 48-33 halfway through the third frame. Ursinus trailed 50-35 with 4:50 remaining in the third quarter before it started to claw back. A three by Stephens cut the Ephs lead to 11 and then a jumper from Gabby Downs made the deficit single digits for the first time since early in the quarter. With time expiring, Kornfeld found netting on a jumper as the Bears went into the final frame down by just seven, 55-48.
Ursinus kept its momentum going into the final quarter. A Stephens lay-in brought the Bears back within four at 55-51 and then made it a one-score game after cashing in on a pair of free-throws. However, Williams managed to keep its distance. The Ephs responded with a three to go back up by five before another three with a little over two minutes remaining made it 65-57. While that three seemed like the dagger, the Bears kept fighting back. Stephens assisted on a Konstanzer lay-up to put Ursinus down two once again, but the Ephs answered with a lay-in of their own with 18 seconds remaining.
Trailing by four, Kornfeld found netting for her second three of the game to make it just a one-point game with 14 ticks left on the clock. In fouling territory, Williams went 1-for-2 at the line to take a 68-66 lead with eight seconds still to play.
With one last chance to tie, Kornfeld was fouled and made the first of two free throws to make it 68-67. The junior would miss the second as the Bears just ran out of time in their late comeback attempt.
Ursinus out-shot Williams 50% to 40.9% from the field but went 3-8 from beyond the arc to Williams' 8-21.
The big three of Korneld-Konstanzer-Stephens combined for 63 points with Stephens leading the way with 23. Konstanzer also hit the 20-point mark as she recorded a double-double with 11 rebounds.
The Bears will now have a two-week break when they get back in action after the New Year. Ursinus will travel to Gettysburg on January 4 as it continues Centennial Conference action.