Sunday’s matchup between Wesleyan and Hamilton women’s basketball promised to be an intense one: entering the third-to-last game of the season with respective NESCAC records of 2-5 and 1-6, the Cardinals and the Continentals knew they would both be vying for a shot at one of the last spots in the conference tournament. As it turned out, the contest lived up to expectations, turning out to be a back-and-forth battle between two evenly matched squads. Unfortunately for the Middletown faithful, the Cards came out on the wrong side of things, falling to Hamilton by a score of 57-46.

Wesleyan found its way into a hole early on, as Hamilton capitalized on several steals in rapid succession to go up by a score of 9-2 just five minutes into the first half. However, the Cardinals bounced back from there, going on a 7-2 run over the next three minutes to bring themselves within two points. The Continentals responded with a couple of jumpers of their own, but Wesleyan kept it close with solid team defense and scoring from start

ers Jess Cherenza ’15 and captain Kendra Harris ’13, with Miller Hartsoe ’15 and Jackie Browne ’16 contributing off the bench. Hartsoe hit a layup with only three seconds remaining before the break, giving Wesleyan its first lead of the afternoon and finishing the half up 20-19.

Unfortunately for the Cardinals, their lead would prove to be short-lived. Following back-and-forth scoring in the first five minutes of the second half, the Continentals scored 10 unanswered points with the help of effective rebounding and accurate shooting to build an eight-point lead with just over 10 minutes left in the game. From there, they were able to keep Wesleyan at arm’s length, and by the time the clock expired, they led by 11.

In spite of the disheartening outcome, several individual performances by Wesleyan players deserve praise. Coming off the bench, the rookie Browne led the team in points with 12, nine of which she scored in the second half. Cherenza scored eight points for the second-highest tally by a Cardinal, while leading Wesleyan in rebounds with 11.

Wesleyan women’s basketball closes out its season at home this weekend with a Friday, Feb. 8 game versus Bowdoin (3-5 NESCAC, sixth in the conference) and a matchup on Saturday, Feb. 9 against Colby (1-7 NESCAC, 11-seed). The Cardinals, currently seeded 10th in NESCAC, need to crack the top eight in the conference when the weekend is through in order to make the playoffs, which means Wesleyan must win to stay alive.