(Carlisle, Pa.) – The Dickinson women's basketball team turned in a great performance to knock-off Centennial Conference front-runner Ursinus College, 62-51, on Tuesday night. The Red Devils built a lead in the second quarter and held off a second half rally to hand the Bears their first conference loss of the season.

Both teams came out with solid defense in the first quarter, playing to just a 6-6 tie in the opening 10 minutes. The Red Devils held a 14-11 advantage on the boards, led by junior Helen Roberts (Oakton, Va./Oakton) with four.

Roberts opened the second half with a quick jumper to put Dickinson on top. They would build a 15-6 lead as the Devils held the Bears scoreless for a 10 minute stretch, carrying over from the first period.

Caroline Shimrock snapped the drought for Ursinus with just 2:16 remaining in the first half. Junior Mary Martin (Honesdale, Pa./Honesdale) hit a jumper and added a pair of free throws to give the Devils their biggest lead of the night, 20-8, with 1:05 to play in the half.

Ursinus came alive with a 6-0 run to close out the half, cutting the Red Devil lead to 20-14 at the break.

The Devils held the Bears to just 12.5 percent shooting in the first half, extending their rebound margin to 26-16.

The third quarter saw significantly more offense right from the start. First-year Jackie Joyce (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) hit a three-pointer to stretch the lead to 25-16. The Bears used a 9-4 run to pull with four at the 5:07 mark. Dickinson answered with back-to-back scores from Jennifer Smith (Short Hills, N.J./Millburn) and Joyce for a 33-25 advantage.

Ursinus would keep chipping away, pulling even and taking a 37-35 lead into the final quarter. Sophomore Mairead Donahue (Trumbull, Conn./St. Joseph) hit two free throws and knocked down a big jumper to put the Devils back on top.

The Bears would get to within one on three more occasions in the final eight minutes, but the Devils would not relinquish the lead. Donahue hit another big shot and Roberts closed out the scoring with two free throws with 18 seconds to play for the final of 62-51.

The Red Devils dealt Ursinus its first conference loss of the season as the Bears slip to 6-1 in the CC and 7-6 overall. Alyssa Polimeni led the way with 21 points and nine rebounds, adding four assists and three steals.

Roberts led the charge for Dickinson, scoring 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the line, and controlling five rebounds. Martin reached double-figures with 11 points while Kassidy Lesher (Shoemakersville, Pa./Hamburg) grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds to go with six points and a pair of blocked shots. Smith tallied nine points, three rebounds and three assists on the night.

The Red Devils improve to 6-6 overall and claim a second straight conference win to improve to 3-4 in the Centennial. They are on the road for the rest of the week, traveling to Swarthmore on Thursday and then to Haverford on Saturday afternoon.