On Saturday, Jan. 26, in New London, Conn., Wesleyan women’s basketball downed the Conn College Camels in the last seconds of a veritable roller coaster ride. While the Cardinals were ahead by as many as 12 points with less than 15 minutes remaining in the second half, the Camels bounced back with a dominant streak to claim a narrow lead as the clock wound down. However, with Conn leading by one point with 1.8 seconds left in the game, Amber Wessells ’14 netted a driving lay-up for a 47-46 Wesleyan victory.

Wesleyan started the afternoon off on the right foot, building up a nine-point lead less than seven minutes into the game. On the strength of consistent scoring and stalwart defense from the starting five and the bench, the Cardinals were able to keep Conn at an eight-point distance with a 24-16 lead as time expired in the first half. Noteworthy defensive performances include Dreisen Heath ’15, who managed four defensive rebounds and two steals, and Jess Cherenza ’15, with two blocks and two defensive rebounds. On offense, captain Kendra Harris ’13 led the team with six points while Jackie Browne ’16 managed five, including a three-pointer at 14:58 to widen the Cardinal lead early on.

The beginning of the second half brought more of the same. Although Conn made a jumper and a layup during the first five minutes of the frame, Wes managed to expand its lead to 12 points with the help of a layup from Wessells and jumpers from Cherenza, Heath, and Harris. However, the Camels turned the tables on the Cardinals with a dominant 16-3 scoring run over the next nine minutes to take a 36-35. Over the next five minutes, Conn widened that margin to four, taking a 45-41 lead with only 1:14 remaining.

Although they had lost a sizable advantage and were now fighting from behind, Wesleyan refused to yield. Following a jumper by Harris at 1:00 and two timeouts, Heath tied the game at 45 apiece with a layup with 14 seconds left. On their counterattack, the Camels drew a foul and two free throws, of which they made one. However, with no time to spare, Wessells received the inbound pass and sprinted up the right side for the game-winner.

Harris led the team with 12 total points, while Wessells scored 11. Heath followed them up with eight points, while also leading the team with eight total rebounds.

The win, the Cardinals’ first since their Jan. 8 game versus Simmons College, puts an end to a four-game skid. Hopefully, Wesleyan will be able to harness some momentum from the victory for the upcoming game at Amherst on Tuesday, Jan. 29.