Jonas Powell, Photo Editor
The women’s basketball team fell just short of snapping their losing streak last weekend against Williams, falling 65-63 to the Ephs in overtime. It was never going to be an easy matchup for the Cards, as the Williams squad has found much more in-conference success than Wesleyan this season. The Cards continued to play focused and tenacious basketball against the Ephs, unfazed by their superior standing.
Danielle Gervacio ’17 led the way for the Cards with 17 points including going five of nine from behind the three-point line. Maeve Vitale ’18 added 11 and also contributed with five assists, four rebounds, and three steals. The Cards struggled against the Williams starting five, with four of the opposing five tallying double digits. It was a definite tough battle, and a tough way to lose, but positives continue to stack up for the Cards.
Wes has dropped six games in a row, but all of them have been tightly contested. If a few key possessions in these games had worked out differently, a few of them could easily have swung the Cards’ way. Teams with a young roster like Wesleyan’s could just coast through the final stretch of the season and prepare for next year. But the Cardinals have shown countless times that they will not lie down against anyone.
“A lot of the motivation in the last few games has been to play for our seniors,” said Madeline Bledsoe ’18. “They have given so much to our program and as a team we all want to make these last few games as good as possible.”
The senior leadership certainly has played a role in the way Cards have fought through these last few battles, and the team’s positive mentality flows through them.
“No matter what we want to give ourselves a chance to win every game,” Vitale said. “Even if things aren’t going our way we can still play hard and play for each other because that will only help us in the future.”
This season has afforded the underclassmen on the team great game experience. The younger players have had countless opportunities to play serious minutes and face a variety of in-game situations. These experiences will certainly pay dividends in the future.
“For the majority of the team that is returning, we are all going to be together next year and every game is an opportunity to get better together and fight for each other,” Bledsoe said.
Vitale and Bledsoe have seen their roles significantly increase on the court, are grateful for the experience.
“Our role last year was definitely to push people in practice and be supportive teammates,” Bledsoe said. “None of that has changed this year, but we have more opportunities to make impacts in games.”
It has been an immediate improvement for the two sophomores. Both have improved in virtually every category in their second year, including minutes and points.
“I think during each game we have improved, individually and as a team,” Bledsoe said.
The duo also expressed their eagerness for the future of Wesleyan basketball.
“I’m excited to see how much better we can get in the offseason and then put that into use for next year,” Bledsoe said.
“After this season we’ve definitely adjusted to playing at the college level and are excited to keep improving individually and as a team in the next two years,” Vitale said.
It is nice to see that the Cards have their head in the right place. The positivity that runs throughout the team should serve it well for the remainder of the season. With many of the players returning to the team next year with another full season under their belt, the future looks bright.
There are two games left in the season for the Cards. Both are at home, which will give the seniors a chance to close out their careers in front of a home crowd. The squad hosts Bowdoin on Friday and Colby on Saturday with a chance to preserve a winning record at home and climb the NESCAC rankings. The Polar Bears enter with a 6-2 record in the conference, while the Mules enter at 5-3. But better records have never much bothered the fighting Cardinals, and the Silloway Gymnasium still stands as one of the loudest gyms in the NESCAC conference. There’s no doubt the place will be rocking this weekend.