Coming off only its second loss of the season against Bates, the women’s basketball team rebounded with a solid 50-42 victory over Amherst. The Cardinals now stand at 17-2 on the season, and will look to prove the strength of their record in a huge Friday night match-up with the top women’s basketball team in Division III, Bowdoin.
The win over the Lady Jeffs was the Cardinals’ second in 2005 and came on the road at Amherst, a traditionally tough venue for the women. With a 3-1 record in Little Three play, the team is assured of at least a share of the Little Three Championship.
“The Little Three games are so competitive and the caliber of the teams is so good, so I’d say sharing the Little Three title is an accomplishment, although I’d much rather be the sole winners,” said guard Nora Bowman ’05.
Wesleyan opened the game firing on all cylinders and at one point during the first half held a 21-6 lead over the Lady Jeffs. The women headed for the locker room satisfied with a 31-25 half time lead on their rivals.
Amherst opened up the second half of play with a 9-5 run on the Cardinals, narrowing the lead to a mere two points. But a pair of Meghan Robinson ’06 jumpers buoyed the Wesleyan lead back up to six and the Lady Jeffs would get no closer.
“Amherst got hot and shot their way back into the game,” Bowman said. “But we really stuck to our game plan and got some easy inside baskets. I thought Meg hit some key shots right when we needed them. She is a really smooth player and we ran plays that got her the ball in the places she likes to score from.”
When the final buzzer sounded, the Cardinals had earned a 50-42 victory. Robinson and Hannah Stubbs ’06 each posted 16 point nights to lead the Cardinals in scoring. Bowman added 13 of her own in a gutsy 38 minutes of play. Stubbs also grabbed 10 boards for her 10th double-double on the year.
“Amherst is a good team,” Bowman said. “When it came down to it, we just played together as a team better than they did. I am more proud of how we won than the plain fact that we beat them again.”
Friday night, the Cardinals host the top ranked Bowdoin Polar Bears at home. When the two teams clashed last year, the Cardinals left Brunswick, Maine smarting after a 55-43 defeat at the hands of the eventual NESCAC champs. In fact, Wesleyan has come out on the wrong end of this conference duel for the past nine years, taking home their last W in the 1991-1992 season. Adding to the drama of the game, the same night Wesleyan dispatched with Amherst, Bowdoin dropped only its second game of year, its lead in the NESCAC and probably its top ranking in D-III to Bates. Certainly, these are two very good and very hungry squads.
“We all definitely know it is a big game,” Bowman said. “We have two practices to prepare for them but it really will just come down to who wants it more. I’m excited to see where that gets us.”
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