Box Score

IMMACULATA, Pa.- The Immaculata women's basketball team got a pair of double-doubles from seniors Brittany Merkle and Sara Smith to lift them to a 69-55 victory over visiting Ursinus (3-6) in non-conference action.
 
Merkle tallied the eighth double-double of her career with a season-high 19 points and 10 rebounds on 9-of-11 shooting from the field, while Smith notched the fifth double-double of her career with 18 points and 12 rebounds.  Senior Adriana Sciascia had nine points and senior Mackie Fitzgerald chipped in with eight.
 
The Mighty Macs had a big advantage on the boards with 44 compared to just 28 for Ursinus.
 
Immaculata was in control much of the way as they grabbed a 7-6 lead at the 13:46 mark of the first half and never looked back.  Each team started slow as they traded buckets early, but the Mighty Macs ripped off a 14-2 run over the next 3:23 to take a commanding lead.  Merkle scored three buckets in the run, while Fitzgerald and Smith knocked down three balls around two free throws by senior Lindsay Cras (5 points).
 
Immaculata got their lead up to twelve points at 27-15 with 5:21 to go in the first half and then ripped off an 8-0 run that swelled the lead to twenty points at 35-15.  Senior Meghan Gallagher (4 points) hit a lay-up, Fitzgerald knocked down a pair of free throws, and Merkle finished off a strong first half with two more buckets that gave her 13 first half points.
 
Ursinus would get a bucket before the half, but the Mighty Macs took a convincing 35-17 lead into the locker room.  They held the Bears to just 25% (7-for-28) shooting in the first half.
 
To start the second half, Ursinus went on a 7-2 run to make it 37-24 with 17:37 to go, but the Mighty Macs got buckets from Smith and Merkle to keep the Bears from getting any closer.  Cras would knock down a triple and a lay-up from Smith extended the advantage back to 19 points at 49-30 with 12:44 to go in the game.
 
Ursinus would never get closer than 13 points the rest of the way, and they extended their lead all the way up to 23 at one point before closing out the Bears by a score of 69-55 behind Smith, who had 15 second half points.
 
The Mighty Macs will now have a couple weeks off for the holiday break before heading to Madison Square Garden in the commemoration of the first women's basketball game played at the World's Most Famous Arena against Queens on Sunday, January 4^th at 10:30 a.m.