BALTIMORE, MD – The Johns Hopkins women's basketball team hosted Ursinus in the Centennial Conference Tournament semifinals Friday night, punching their ticket to Sunday's Championship game with a 66-45 win over the Bears. The Blue Jays led just 18-15 at the end of the first, but outscored the Bears 39-8 in the second and third quarters to put the game away in front of a raucous home crowd.
 
Three Hopkins players got into double figures, headlined by a game-high 14 points in just 18 minutes from Jadyn Murray. The junior was joined by Macie Feldman (12) and Elisabeth Peebles (11), with Layla Henderson's eight leaving the freshman just short of her fifth game in double digits. Greta Miller led the way in both rebounds (11) and assists (6), while Feldman and Kendall Dunham shared the team-lead with three steals apiece.
 
Friday's contest started firmly in the Blue Jays' (24-2, 19-1 Centennial) favor, with a layup by Murray kickstarting a game-opening, 11-2 run capped off by a layup from Feldman. Hopkins got its lead to as much as 10 on two occasions before Ursinus used a strong finish to the frame to tighten to contest, with a 7-0 run in the final 1:17 making it 18-15 after one.
 
The Jays held the Bears scoreless for more than five minutes to open the second quarter and used a Miller jumper and back-to-back layups from Feldman and Michaela O'Neil to extend out to a 24-15 lead. The Bears were within 26-19 after a Sara Dilello jumper, but a Kara Milliken three-pointer and a late O'Neil jumper gave Hopkins a 31-19 lead at the break.
 
Any hopes for an Ursinus comeback were dashed in the third quarter as the Blue Jays scored 22 of the first 24 points in the period to push their lead to 53-21.  Six different players scored during the run for Johns Hopkins with Feldman and Murray scoring six points apiece to fuel the spree.  The Blue Jay defense forced seven Ursinus turnovers and held the Bears to just 2-of-13 shooting in the game-deciding third quarter.
 
The Bears closed strong by outscoring the Blue Jays 22-9 in the final period to account for the 66-45 final. 
 
Next up for Hopkins is a date with destiny, as they will take on Gettysburg in the Centennial Conference Championship for the third season in a row. Scheduled to begin after the conclusion of the men's game, tip-off is set for 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 25.