The women’s basketball team met Little Three rival Williams at Saturday’s senior honors game and served the Ephs with a lovely parting gift: a loss of 68-53. The Cardinals’ win along with a triumph over Middlebury the night before puts the women in a four-way tie for second place in the NESCAC. The win improved their record to 16-3.
The last time the women met Williams, the Ephs came away victorious. The Cardinals let go of a hard-earned lead in the later stages of that game and watched heartbroken as the clock expired. This time, the squad was not ready to hand over the game. Pumped up from a 70-57 win over the Middlebury Panthers on Friday night, the Cards came out cheering and rowdy for Williams.
Besides this being a big game for the team, it was an especially important game for the seniors.
“I was very happy for the seniors and proud of the entire team in their efforts on Saturday’s win against Williams,” said head coach Kate Mullen. “Each of our four seniors contributed in the victory and their families and our fans’ support made it that much more special for everyone.”
As the Cardinals took the floor, honor and appreciation were showered onto the seniors that have been a part of the program their whole time at Wes. Liz Walsh, Meeghan Ward, Amy Posocco, and Ashley Elia all took center court for the second-to-last home game of their careers, a game that turned out to be thrilling for the Cards.
“Saturday’s game was a great achievement for our team,” said tri-captain Liz Walsh ’04. “We played extremely hard and wanted to respond from our previous lose to them. We knew we were up against a talented team but we also knew if we played together and were focused on us our team would succeed. We knew that beating Williams was going to be a challenge but with great preparation from Coach Mullen and our determination to win we were able to accomplish our goal.”
The Ephs came out strong, capturing an early lead. Wes was not about to let this stop them and worked throughout the first half to close the gap. Once they succeeded in overtaking the Ephs, the Cards never let go of the momentum or their lead.
“We did a good job of getting it to the inside and creating opportunities for our forwards,” said guard Virginia Hermann ’07. “We weren’t going to give them any room to fight back.”
A large contributor to the Cards’ drive was forward Ashley Mastrangelo ’06 who had a double-double in the game. Scoring twelve points and grabbing fourteen rebounds, Mastrangelo was a major concern for the Ephs.
“We all played great in what was probably the best game of the season for us,” Mastrangelo said. “The seniors led the team and really stepped it up against Williams. We all just worked extremely well together and finished with great results.”
The Cards entered the half up 29-24, but had to remain focused. Trouble usually sets in during the second half for Wes allowing close games to slip through their fingers in the final stretch. Steady foul shooting and consistent defense helped them maintain control of the game. The Ephs were certainly hurt by the coverage that their leading scorer, Colleen Hession ’06, was receiving. The Williams’ star scored nineteen points against the Cards in their initial meeting, so the Cards realized a key to success would come in shutting her down. Great defensive play led by forward Walsh and guard Kelly Bowman ’07 held Hession to 1 of 7 on three-point field goal attempts and eleven points in the game.
As the game progressed, so did the crowd’s enthusiasm and excitement. By the second half, the crowd was on their feet and the gym was echoing with the tones of the Wesleyan fight song.
“It really pumped us up,” Hermann added. “The fans definitely added to the thrill of the game.”
In the final minutes of the game, the Cards were hit with a surge of intensity and pulled ahead, increasing the margin of their lead from three to 13 in a matter of minutes. The game ended with Wes upending the Ephs 68-53. The Cardinals improved to a 5-2 record in the NESCAC.
The final games of the regular season will be played on the road at Amherst and Trinity, but first the Cardinals meet Fitchburg State College at home on Tuesday, Feb. 10.
“We’re playing with more confidence and a stronger sense of purpose as we head into this important part of the season,” Mullen said.
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