Bears Hold Off Garnet
SWARTHMORE, Pa. - Ursinus senior Mary Kate Daley scored a team-high 19 points to lead the Bears past Swarthmore 67-55 in Centennial Conference (CC) women's basketball action on Saturday in Tarble Pavilion. In a game that features the two top scorers in the CC, Garnet junior forward Karen Berk stays on top with 21 points and 14 rebounds for her fifth consecutive double-double--13th of the season.
Eight other players scored for the Bears (8-7, 5-4 CC), including nine points apiece from Sarah Hennessey and Kate McMahon to help Ursinus complete the regular-season sweep of the Garnet (4-12, 1-10 CC).
With just a four-point lead at halftime, the Bears managed to outscore Swarthmore 37-29 on 50 percent shooting from the floor in the second to record their fifth conference win of the season.
Ursinus did not waste anytime after the break, darting out to a 10-point lead on layups from Molly Guntli and Carolyn Konstanzer combined with a three-point from Hennessey to make it 37-27 in the first two minutes.
The Garnet got within two on three occasions with the last coming at the 9:52 mark after Costello drained a trey at 44-42.
Ursinus' three-point shooting helped get back its double-digit lead, getting two from McMahon and one from Daley. Dana Alf then drove in for two straight layups to make it 59-48 with 5:03 left to play.
The first half proved to be a sea-saw battle with eight lead changes and two ties. The Bears grabbed the early lead with a jumper from Daley and Hennessey, while Stephanie Cavalier made her first of two from the line for a 5-0 edge.
Swarthmore used a 5-0 spurt of its own to knot it at 5-all thanks to a jumper by Lisa Schumacher and Berk's three-point play. Konstanzer made one in the paint to regain the lead momentarily, but Costello nailed a three-pointer for an 8-7 advantage.
Ursinus pulled ahead 17-14 behind six points from Daley and a good trey from Laura Krieger. The Garnet responded with a 6-0 run, taking a 20-17 lead. Berk went to the line twice and made all four free throws, while senior Jessica Fuhr connected on a layup with 7:39 left in the half.
Neither team held more than a three-point lead until the final five minutes of the half. Laura Popovics '08 hit two from the charity stripe to put Swarthmore up 24-19, but Daley started an 11-2 run for the Bears with three straight baskets to help the Bears to end the half with a 30-26 lead.
Berk was 9 of 11 from the free throw line and now only needs 30 points to amass 1,000 for her career. Freshman forward Pam Costello went 3-for-5 from behind the arc for 11 points. Fuhr ended the night with 10 points and two steals while guard Melissa Grigsby handed out a game-high five assists.
The Garnet return to action on Tuesday, January 23 when the team travels to the Main Line to face Bryn Mawr at 7:00 p.m.