If great teams win great games, then the Wesleyan women’s basketball team is on their way to greatness. Tuesday, the Cardinals knocked off the Williams Ephs 65-64 in overtime, improving to an impressive 15-1 record and avenging their only loss on the season, a 66-45 disaster in Williamstown two weeks ago. That win followed a weekend of basketball that saw the Cardinals take out the Trinity Bantams in overtime on Saturday and demolish Little Three rival Amherst 64-54 on Friday.
“It feels amazing to be 15-1,” said Hannah Stubbs ’06, who is the team’s leading scorer.
“I am really proud of our team and how much work and effort we have put in this season. It’s not the record that I am most proud about though. I think that this team has improved a lot since the beginning of the season and every practice we are still trying to get better.”
With less than 30 seconds to go in the game, the Cardinals trailed by two. Meghan Robinson ’06 found Ashley Mastrangelo ’06 under the basket and the ensuing lay-up sent the game to overtime. Mastrangelo continued her great play in the extra session, scoring all eight Cardinal points as she led her team to a one-point victory.
“Our only loss was a huge disappointment,” Robinson said. “But it did get us fired up to come back and really compete last night. The first loss really made this win last night so much sweeter. I was extremely excited about Ashley’s play last night. She remained calm and confident throughout the game and really got the job done when it mattered. Whenever we pass the ball to her, good things always seem to happen.”
Mastrangelo led the Cardinals in scoring with a career high 24 points. Stubbs added 14 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists and Robinson finished with 6 points, 10 boards and 5 assists.
“Our play in overtime was great,” Mastrangelo said. “Everyone played tough and it just came down to our will being stronger than theirs. Meg is a great passer, and was able to give me some great passes going to the basket. She made it easy for me to convert.”
Mastrangelo has developed a flair for dramatic plays. With 2:14 to go in the game, the Cardinals and the Trinity Bantams stood tied, 58-58, and she stood at the free throw line and drilled the biggest of her 97 free throws of the season, breaking the tie and putting the Cardinals ahead for good. Stubbs, the team’s leading scorer, led the way with 22 points and threw in 8 rebounds against Trinity. Mastrangelo and Robinson each put up double-doubles and combined for 22 of Wesleyan’s 48 total rebounds. Captain Nora Bowman ’05 chipped in 10 points of her own and played all but two minutes of the game, especially impressive after logging 38 minutes in Friday’s contest as well.
“Every NESCAC game is guaranteed to be competitive,” Bowman said. “Coming out with two wins in a weekend is always something to be proud of. It was tough to lose to Williams on the road, but [Tuesday] night’s game was a chance for us to redeem ourselves and I’d definitely say that we accomplished that in the end.”
The Cardinals opened the season with one win after another, winning the Nancy K. Selinski tip-off tournament at Eastern Connecticut by beating Bridgewater State and the host school. The ladies also sent Wesleyan’s Alumni Athletic Center out in grand fashion, ending the buildings 73-year history with a twenty point drubbing of Springfield College in early December. The Women opened the 2005 calendar year with four wins, putting their record to 11-0, before they fell to Williams in Williamstown in their NESCAC opener. Four straight wins over conference rivals Middlebury, Amherst, Trinity and Williams helped the Cardinals get over their one loss.
“The Williams loss was very tough on us, but good in some respects to show us what we needed to work on to improve our game,” Stubbs said. “It felt great showing them that we are a much better team than how we played them the first time. Even though it was a close game, towards the end, I was never worried. Our team knows how to step it up in close games and make those important baskets. We often practice time and score situations like last night.”
After two straight 20-plus win seasons, the Cardinals appear on the verge of another. Thus far, the team has proven they can win games close and they can win games big, but most importantly, they can win the big games.
“I am so proud of all of my teammates not just for how they play in games but also for how hard they work in practice,” Bowman said. “Every player on our team has stepped up. We’ve had injuries and people have stepped up, we’ve had close games and someone has stepped up, and we’ve needed an energy lift and someone has stepped up.”
The Cardinals will be on the court again at 7 p.m. Friday at Tufts, looking to improve to 16-1.
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