COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. - Junior guard
Clair Marion posted her first double-double of the season finishing with a game-high 26 points and pulling down ten rebounds as the Dickinson women's basketball team pushed their win streak to four with a dominating 73-43 Centennial Conference win on Thursday night over the host Ursinus College Bears at Helfferich Hall.
Things could not have begun better for the Red and White as a pair of Marion layups and an elbow jay for
Victoria Zerbe made it 6-0 two minutes in. The home side finally hit the board at the 2:13 mark when Natalie Mehl stuck a three, but a bucket from
Mia Chapman along with two on the line by Marion pushed the margin to 10-5. However, five consecutive points by Alison Lisanti knotted the score 10-10, but
Caitlin Blackman,
Jenna Weinstein and Marion answered with triples to reclaim a 19-10 advantage at the 8:28 mark. A pair of Chinwe Irondi free throws stopped the romp for a second, before
Molly Heron knocked down a shot on the baseline. The scoring appeared to be done with just seconds left as Marion missed a jumper, fortunately, though for the Devils the ball kicked out to
Lindsey Hollenshead who drilled an off-balance three for a 24-12 lead after one.
The opening couple of minutes of the second went by with minimum scoring as a layup for Hollenshead and foul shots from Irondi, Marion and Mehl left things at 28-15. A triple out of the hands of Stephanie Donato began a 5-0 UC push to cut the margin down to 28-20. Dickinson responded with the next nine points thanks to
Abby John, Blackman, Marion and Zerbe to grab a sizable 37-20 advantage leading to an Ursinus timeout at the 8:27 mark. The Bears recorded the final point of the period when Charlotte DiLello split a pair on the stripe to make it 37-21 at the break.
It took just 13-seconds for the home side to hit the bottom of the net through Irondi, before Blackman delivered from deep twice over two minutes later extending the lead to 43-23 with 6:43 left. Seven of the next nine belonged to the hosts as Madison Smith and Irondi tallied closing to within 45-28. Marion brought an end to the UC charge by burying a three off a nice dish from Blackman, which was then followed by buckets for Chapman and Marion making it 53-30. Dickinson continued to add-on with
Indatou Ali-Goukoye finishing off a contested layup, before Collen Blackman knocked down one-of-two to end the period at 55-33.
Mehl kicked off the scoring in the fourth with a layup, but a beautiful passing play between Hollenshead and Marion ended in a score with just a little over two minutes off the clock. Four more by Marion extended the gap to 61-39, before
Clare Cronley and Weinstein added to the tally for a 67-41 advantage. Then at the 7:17 mark,
Gabby Smelcer posted a collegiate first when she knocked home a triple from the far corner, which was then followed by baskets for
Ella Smith and Ali-Goukoye to set the 73-43 final.
Red Devil Leaders
Points - Marion (26), Blackman (11)
Assists - Marion (5), Zerbe (3)
Rebounds - Marion (10), Hollenshead (9), Blackman (6)
Bear Leaders
Points - Irondi (13)
Assists - Grant (4)
Rebounds - Smith (8), Irondi (6)
Next on the Court
Dickinson (9-4, 6-2 Centennial) will finish up a busy three-game week on Saturday when the Washington College Shorewomen come to the Kline Center for a 2pm tipoff.
