Taking the road this weekend for two important NESCAC contests, the women’s basketball team came away with one win and one loss, falling Friday in Boston at Tufts University 75-63 before beating Bates College in Lewiston, Maine by a 75-74 final. The weekend moved the Cardinals’ record to 10-8 with a 2-4 NESCAC conference mark.

Facing seventeenth-ranked Tufts on Friday, it was an up-and-down battle for the Cardinals. At one point, the score was 30-20 in favor of Wesleyan before Tufts was able to cut the lead to 3 at halftime. As the second half started, the Jumbos picked up where they left off, scoring the next nine points to turn a ten-point deficit into a six-point cushion before Wesleyan was able to score their next hoop.

The Cardinals would not go quietly, though, as they cut the lead to one at 36-35 on consecutive baskets by Meredith Lowe ’09 and Sam LaCroce ’12. Tufts, howver, was able to slowly pull away from that point, leading by as many as 18 before the final was settled at 75-63. Ali Fourney ’09 led the Cardinals with 14 points, with LaCroce adding 13 and both Lowe and Lucy Sprung ’08 contributing 13.

“The Tufts game was a tough one,” Fourney said. “We’ve been struggling with them the last two years. They’re a very good team and we played them hard; we just came up a little short.”

Traveling to Bates on Saturday, it was a different game for the Cardinals. In a back-and-forth contest—one that saw 13 ties and the biggest lead by either team at only 8 points—the Cardinals were able to come out on top by a 75-74 score.

The first half was a tight one that saw the Cardinals jump out to their biggest lead of 8 points at 29-21 after Sprung connected on a jump shot that capped an 8-3 run. The Bobcats clawed their way closer before the half expired, however, getting to within 2 at 35-33 as the teams entered the locker rooms.

The second half saw more of the same back-and-forth action. Bates started the half strong and took its biggest lead of eight at 49-41 after a three-point shot. However, the Cardinals were able to get back into it, and the score was deadlocked at 73 after Sprung tied it with a layup with 38 seconds remaining. The Bobcats jumped on top by one, though, after hitting a free throw with seventeen ticks reaming. This set the stage for some last-second heroics, and Wesleyan did not disappoint its fans as Lowe hit a jump shot with four seconds remaining to give Wesleyan a 75-74 road victory.

“It was a much needed win,” Fourney said. “Bates is another good team as well, and as we all knew, driving all the way up to Maine and coming home with a loss would have been tough, so it was good to win such a close game on the road.”

Sprung led the Cardinals in scoring at Bates with an impressive 26, while Fourney chipped in 17 to bring her career total to 1,404—just 13 away from surpassing Angie Palmer ’95 and setting the Cardinals’ all-time career scoring record. Fourney said that she tries to stay away from the talk of it, however, instead focusing on the team’s success.

“I really try not to pay too much attention to it,” Fourney said. “People talk about it a lot and I know it would be a great accomplishment, but I just try and play my game and have it come naturally.”

The squad’s next tilt is Wednesday when they pay a visit to Emmanuel College. Wesleyan jumps back into NESCAC action on Saturday with a trip to New London to face Connecticut College.