WORCESTER, Mass. – There’s plenty to like in the performance turned in by the Wesleyan women’s basketball team on Tuesday night in the final tune-up before Thanksgiving as the Cardinals dispatched Clark in a 92-73 road win. Wesleyan improves to 3-1 on the season while the Cougars (4-1) see their unbeaten run to the season come to an end.
 
Leading by six at halftime, Wesleyan outscored Clark 49-36 (+13) in the second half to account for the 19-point win in Worcester. This came following a back-and-forth first half that saw the lead change hands seven times while the score was tied five times.
 
Wesleyan shot at least 50 percent from the floor in three of the four quarters, shooting 34-for-65 (52.3 percent) from the floor for the game. The Cardinals hit their free throws as well, going 18-for-24 (75 percent) as a team from the charity stripe including a 10-for-14 showing from the line in the third quarter alone.
 
Leading the Cardinals was Olivia Quinn ’26 who finished with new career-highs in points (23) and rebounds (11) as this marked the first double-double in her career. The 23 points bested her previous career-best of 21 established last season at Williams while the 11 rebounds easily sets a new personal record which previously stood at eight. She also added four assists which is a new season-high and just one off her career-high.
 
Four other Cardinals scored in double figures including Tori DaCosta ’25 who scored 17 on 8-for-11 shooting with six rebounds in just 25 minutes. Maggie Lee ’23 scored 10 of her season-high 15 points in the first quarter alone. Alana Jones ’24 was all over the stat sheet with 13 points, six assists, four rebounds, and four steals in 34 minutes. Felicia Fongemie ’27 came off the bench and finished with 11 points, four assists, and four rebounds.
 
The two sides traded blows in the first quarter, which the largest lead being just five points as Clark led 10-5 after three minutes had passed. Wesleyan followed with a 7-0 run to retake the lead which continued to change hands several times before the quarter ended with the Cardinals up 21-20. Lee (10) and Quinn (7) combined for 17 of the Cardinals’ 21 points in the quarter.
 
Wesleyan created some separation in the second quarter, establishing a low post presence through DaCosta to build the six-point halftime lead. DaCosta scored seven points in the stanza while Jones added six as the Cardinals outscored the Cougars 22-17. Jones hit a three-pointer 55 seconds in to give the Cardinals a 26-20 lead. Wesleyan’s lead grew to 11 after a DaCosta jumper, as the Cardinals went on a 14-4 run to open the quarter. The Cougars fought back, cutting the deficit to one, but Wesleyan dominated the final 2:16 with five unanswered points including a three-point play from Jones.
 
The Cardinals put together another successful quarter in the third, holding the Cougars to their worst shooting quarter of the game, going 6-for-20 (30 percent). Wesleyan also recorded their lowest shooting percentage in any quarter of the game at 40 percent but hit on 10-of-14 free throw attempts to take a 12-point lead into the fourth.
 
Clark tried to make a game of it, cutting the margin down to single digits in the first three minutes, but a 15-3 Cardinal run through a five-minute period in the fourth quarter made it 89-68 Cardinals with 2:08 left. Quinn (8), DaCosta (6), and Fongemie (6), combined for 20 of the 26 points scored by Wesleyan who closed out the game with a 11-for-17 (64.7) showing from the floor in the fourth.
 
Wesleyan improves to 5-13 all-time versus Clark, winning five straight games against the Cougars after going winless in their first 13 attempts dating back to 1977.
 
Next up for the Cardinals is a trip to York College in Jamaica, New York on Tuesday at 6 PM.