The Cardinals dribbled their way to a 3-3 record as they prepare for a weekend Little Three bout with Williams.

The Wesleyan women’s basketball team finished a grueling 10-day stretch, splitting four games to remain at .500 on the season. The Cardinals had a strong home opener in the Courtyard by Marriott tournament against Newbury College, picking up their second win over the Nighthawks on the season. The Cards then dropped a nail biter to SUNY New Paltz by two in the finals of the tournament. Continuing the non-conference schedule the following week, the Cardinals were dominated by a strong Vassar team, but rebounded nicely with a solid win over University of St. Joseph (CT).

As the Redbirds stepped onto their home court in front of the home crowd, better known as the Silloway Sillies, for the first time this season, there was no sign of overconfidence coming off the dismantling of the same Newbury College team the weekend before.

Cherkira Lashley ’15 echoed these sentiments before the game in an email to The Argus.

“We’ve already beaten the team we’ll play on Friday, so we need to make sure we don’t get cocky and stay focused, humble, and competitive,” Lashley said.

In just 12 minutes on the floor, sophomore Brenna Diggins absolutely dominated down on the block, with 12 points and 14 boards. But like the last tilt with the Nighthawks, it was a team effort on Wesleyan’s part. Each Cardinal played at least nine minutes and scored. The drubbing ended with a final score of 75-42.
In the Courtyard by Marriott final, the Cards found themselves trailing 41-24 before mounting the comeback of the early season.

Co-Captain Miller Hartsoe ’15 wrote in an email to The Argus about how the Birds were able to turn it around.

“We were able to get defensive stops in a row and turn our defense into easy offense and scores,” she wrote.

With stout defense and some efficient scoring, Wesleyan capped off the 24-7 run with two free throws from Diggins in the final minute. New Paltz responded with a timeout to set up its offense. With 12 seconds on the clock, New Paltz sophomore Courtney Irby secured an offensive rebound off a missed jumper and went up strong immediately, drawing a foul. Irby stepped to the line and poured in two confident free throws. Trailing by two, Jackie Brown ’16 put up a final prayer from 15 feet. The ball clanked off the back of the iron and fell into the hands of Captain Jess Cherenza ’15 as time expired.

Despite the loss, Hartsoe was able to draw positives.

“We had periods where we played really well and it’s exciting to see our potential,” Hartsoe wrote.

Following the heartbreaker to New Paltz, the Redbirds trekked to Poughkeepsie, NY on Tues., Nov. 25 to take on a talented Vassar squad. Despite double-doubles from both Cherenza and Diggins, a measly 5 for 40 from the field for the Cards in the first half wasn’t going to get it done against the Brewers. Wes finished the game shooting just under 20 percent from the field. The Cardinals closed the gap to eight points with just over 14 minutes remaining in the contest, until Vassar churned out a 31-14 run to close out the game. Wesleyan fell by a final score of 64-39.

The seasoned Redbirds had a six-day layoff before their next game, but they didn’t let the two-game losing streak fester.

Cherenza had strong opinions about how to prepare for St. John’s.

“In order to be successful, we need to have more patience working through our secondary offensive sets and look for the best available shot,” Cherenza said.

Wes responded to its captain’s wishes and put together one of its most offensively efficient games this season. However, this tilt was highlighted by the emphatic return of Kaylie Williams ’16. Williams, recovering from an injury this fall, led the team with 12 points and ripped down eight boards.

Wesleyan sits at 3-3 on the season as the conference games approach. Next up, Wes takes on Little Three rival Williams on Sat., Dec. 6 in Williamstown. The Cardinals then follow with a three-week break, before traveling to Daytona, Fla. Waiting back in Connecticut for the Cardinals will be a difficult conference schedule. Both captains reflected on the team’s upcoming conference games.

“NESCAC games are the most important part of the season, so we expect to take the lessons learned during non-conference games and improve and become competitive in the conference,” Hartsoe wrote. “The biggest goal is to build a winning record in the conference so as to advance to the NESCAC tournament and get a home tournament game.”

“This first semester has been a learning experience and highlighted the specific areas we need to fine tune in order to be successful for the future,” Cherenza wrote. “If we keep improving and working hard in practice there is no doubt we’ll be successful in our conference.”