While most of the student body was at home last month celebrating the holidays and ringing in the New Year, the women’s basketball team was on the court running its record to 9-7 overall on the season. While the team currently sports a winning record, it is seeking some consistency in the coming weeks.

The squad went into break looking to capitalize on two big wins at the end of last semester. Just as finals week rolled around, the Cardinals made short work of both the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and Springfield College, beating the former on the road and the latter at home. However, they were unable to triumph in their first two games of 2009, slipping up against Wheaton College before losing in a heartbreaker to NESCAC and Little Three rival Amherst by a 57-54 tally.

The losses, however, set the stage for one of the most impressive victories in the program’s history. Entertaining Williams College at Silloway Gymnasium, the Cardinals soundly defeated the Ephs, opening with an early 20-0 run to lead the game 24-3 by the end of the first quarter. Instrumental in the win were Lucy Sprung G’08, Meredith Lowe ’09, and Ali Fourney ’09, who together tallied 20 of those first 24 points. Building a lead that was insurmountable, Wesleyan never let up. At one point, the lead ballooned to 48 points at 77-29 before the final score of 86-45. Every Cardinal played in the game, one that will be remembered in Middletown for a long time to come.

The celebration, however, was short-lived. The Cardinals went on to lose their next two games against NESCAC rivals. The first was another rough battle with Amherst, as Wesleyan came out on the wrong side of a 75-65 final. The second was indeed a tough one to swallow, as Trinity was able to sneak away with a 55-54 victory, snapping an eight-game losing streak to the Cardinals. The Bantams were able to hit a couple of key free throws late in the game, and Wesleyan was unable to score the potential winning shot in the hectic final seconds.

Continuing their rollercoaster year, the Cardinals were able to rebound with a strong overtime victory against Montclair State. Trailing most of the game by double digits, a furious rally led by Sprung and Fourney kept Wesleyan in it long enough to make something happen. Sprung tied the game on a layup with 1.1 seconds left, putting the game into overtime, where the Cardinals never trailed on their way to a 100-94 victory. Fourney had a career high 29 points with 17 coming in the second half, and Sprung dropped 35 with an amazing 26 coming in the second frame. In addition to carrying the team to victory, Sprung also tied the all-time single game mark for points in a game, which she now shares with Allison Palmer ’95.

Last weekend saw the Cards go 1-1. Wesleyan took down Middlebury on the road, while Williams was able to avenge its loss from ten days earlier. Wesleyan is now sitting at 9-7 overall with a 1-3 NESCAC mark, something the team looks to improve this weekend when the Cards travel to Tufts and Bates on Friday and Saturday. What is a big weekend for the team could also be special for Fourney on an individual level. She is just 42 points away from eclipsing Angie Palmer ’95 as Wesleyan’s all-time scoring leader, a feat that is certainly attainable if the ball bounces the right way for the Cardinals this weekend.