COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The Albright women's basketball team opened up the 2021-22 season with a dominant 71-46 win at Ursinus on Wednesday night.
 
With the win, the Lions begin the season on a high note with a 1-0 overall record. Meanwhile, the Bears fall to 0-2 overall.
 
It was a total team effort as the Lions saw four players reach double figure scoring. Senior Gabby Boggs tallied a double-double with a game-high 16 points on 8-of-9 shooting from the field and 11 rebounds. Boggs also added three steals, two assists, and one block. Senior Maggie O'Hare followed with 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field and 2-for-4 from beyond the arc. Senior Brady Wassel netted 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field and went 2-for-5 from beyond the arc. Senior Amina Rauf added 11 points on 4-of-12 shooting from the field and 3-of-8 from the three-point line. Senior Abby Gaffney also added a game-high six assists and netted seven points.
 
Albright came out of the gates with the first five points of the game, sparked by a free throw from O'Hare, and capped off with a layup from Boggs. Ursinus got on the board at the 5:57-mark of the first quarter with a layup to bring the score to 5-2. The two teams continuously traded baskets, but Ursinus got within three with the final bucket of the quarter to put the score at 15-12 in favor of Albright. The Lions brought the energy in the second quarter, scoring 12 unanswered points in the first five minutes of action. Ursinus finally snapped Albright's run with a pair of free throws at the 4:28-mark, bringing the score to 27-14. O'Hare scored the final bucket of the first half to give the Lions a 32-18 lead entering the break.
 
The two teams traded baskets in the first two minutes of the third quarter, but Rauf sparked an 11-3 run at the 4:29-mark as she drained back-to-back threes. O'Hare capped off the run with another three-pointer from downtown to give Albright a 23-point lead with 1:53 left in the third quarter. Ursinus tallied back-to-back baskets, but a layup from Gaffney and a buzzer beater from senior Emma Blewett would put the Lions in front by 23 again with a score of 53-30 entering the fourth quarter. Wassel opened up the final stanza with an and-one play to give the Lions their largest lead of the game at 26. Ursinus attempted to chip away at their deficit, going on a 16-6 run over a span of 2:51. However, Albright shut down any hopes of a comeback as they closed the game out with nine unanswered points to solidify their 71-46 win over Ursinus.
 
Albright shot 30-for-56 (53.6%) from the field, 9-for-22 (40.9%) from beyond the arc, and 2-for-4 (50.0%) from the charity stripe. The Lions converted 29 points off the Bears 22 turnovers and tallied 38 points in the paint. Meanwhile, Ursinus shot 19-for-46 (41.3%) from the field, 4-for-15 from beyond the arc, and 4-for-7 (57.1%) from the free throw line. The Bears tallied 24 points in the paint and converted ten points off caused turnovers.
 
The Lions return to action as they open up the Jean Beamer Tip-Off Classic against Shenandoah on Saturday at 8 p.m.