It was an up-and-down weekend for the women’s basketball team, as the Cardinals won big at Tufts and lost big to a powerhouse team from Bates. The Cardinals now stand at 16-2 on the season and 4-2 in conference play, still in good position in the NESCAC going into a game against Amherst tonight.
In Friday night’s game at Tufts, the Cardinals knocked the Jumbos around to the tune of a 74-62 victory. Ashley Mastrangelo ’06 and Hannah Stubbs ’06 led the way, with 20 and 18 points, respectively. Another 16 points came from guard Sue Frost ’05, a somewhat unexpected surprise. Frost is averaging only nine points per game and had not scored in double figures in the past two weeks.
“Sue is a pure shooter,” said Mastrangelo. “She can shoot from anywhere on the court and make it, it was no surprise that she shot as well as she did against Tufts.”
On Saturday in Lewiston, Maine, the women’s basketball team ran into one the best teams in NESCAC and all of Division III hoops, and the Bates Bobcats dismantled the Cardinals, taking home their 18th victory of the year.
“We did not do anything particularly well in the Bates game,” Mastrangelo said. “We did not play our team defense, and unfortunately we could not match their intensity.”
The story of the game can be told in the difference of shooting percentages from the floor and the free-throw line. Both teams hit around 50 percent in the first half; however, the Bobcats threw up more shots. From the bonus stripe, Bates nailed nine of their eleven attempts, while the Cardinals were only three of six in the first half. In the second half the Cardinals shot only 26.9 percent, while the Bobcats still hovered around 50 percent.
“I think we probably rushed some shots,” said Nora Bowman ’05. “Maybe we forced some that weren’t open since we were down by so much.”
Only two Cardinals scored in double figures. Stubbs led the way with 15 points and ten boards and Meghan Robinson ’06 added ten points of her own but turned the ball over eight times against only two assists. Mastrangelo, who had had the hottest hand on the team in recent weeks, shot only three of eight from the floor and managed just seven points.
“It was a learning experience,” Mastrangelo said. “We now know that teams are going to prepare for us and we have to expect that. Our offense stems from our defense and our defense was not very good, making our shooting percentage not good either. Going into the second half was rough, but we have won games from being down more than that, so we were all optimistic. Unfortunately we could not pull out a great half.”
Tonight, Wesleyan will travel to Amherst to take on the Lady Jeffs. Last time the two teams met, the Cardinals beat the Jeffs by ten points in Middletown.
“Amherst is a very good team and Little Three games are always competitive,” Mastrangelo said. “We are going to be more than ready to play with the Bates game still in our minds. We will not let another Bates game happen to us.”
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