In an impressive home-opening display, the host Lady Cardinals defended the floor of Silloway Gymnasium against two non-NESCAC opponents to capture the “Courtyard by Marriott” Tournament in convincing fashion.  In the first game, Wesleyan ran up the score against hapless Maine-Presque Isle (76-32) and then followed it up with a dismantling of Anna Maria College (MA) by a score of 58-29. Wesleyan senior Emily Lippe was named the tournament MVP. She was one of a handful of Cardinals who could have taken home the honors, as Wesleyan put on a full team clinic throughout the tournament. Amber Wessells ’14 was also named to the all-tournament team.

The Cardinals opened the tournament with their biggest win this year, as they came out firing against an inferior Maine-Presque Isle squad.  The Cardinals played with an incredibly balanced attack, and eight different players scored six points or more. Wesleyan was paced by forward Kendra Harris ’13 and guard Miller Hartsoe ’15, both of whom contributed 10 points to the cause. The game was essentially over by halftime, at which point the Cardinals were already leading by 21 points. The game would end with Wesleyan winning by 44 points, which is 10 points more than Maine-Presque Isle scored all game.

It is rare for a team to follow-up such a lopsided defeat with another of the same variety, but that is exactly what Wesleyan did against Anna Maria College. As before, Wes jumped out to a huge halftime lead of 16 points, and closed strong to push that discrepancy to 29. Lippe had a huge game as she shot just under 50% from the floor, and scored 13 points to lead the team. She added four blocks, four steals, and five rebounds from the small forward position for good measure.  Starter Sam Lacroce ’12 led the team in rebounds with eight on the day, and, along with Lippe, helped provide a strong senior presence to encourage and lead Wesleyan’s young squad.

With a strong 4-1 record, Wesleyan now looks towards the future. The next few weeks will be devoided of in-conference play as Wesleyan tunes up for NESCAC competition with a bevy of tough games in the future, the next of which will be Tuesday, Dec. 6 at Western New England University.