Springfield, Mass. - The Wesleyan women's basketball team fell to Springfield College 51-66 in the opening game of the 2016 Hampton Inn West Springfield/Naismith Classic on Saturday afternoon in Blake Arena.
Springfield improves to 7-2 win the win, while Wesleyan dropped to 6-3. The Pride will play again on Sunday at 3:00 pm when it hosts 15th-ranked Tufts, while Wesleyan will play Plattsburgh at 1:00 pm.
Junior Ava Adamopoulos led all players as she produced 18 points, six boards, and four assists in 17 minutes of action off the bench. Senior Emily Gins chipped in 12 points and five steals, while Sophomore Heather King added a game-high 13 rebounds to go along with eight points and four steals.
The visiting Cardinals were led by Junior Brenna Diggins, who netted 15 points. Junior Danielle Gervacio tallied eight points off the bench, and Freshman Tara Berger pulled down a team-best eight rebounds. Sophomores Maddie Bledsoe and Maeve Vitale also contributes seven points a piece. The difference in the game proved to be the second and third quarters, in which the Pride outscored Wesleyan, 40-19.
Wesleyan put together a strong opening quarter in which they led by by as many as 12 after Gervacio drilled a three from the left wing to push the score to 16-4. The Cardinals defense played exceptionally well as the Pride struggled offensively, going just 4-of-19 from the field. Wesleyan held a 18-8 advantage after 10 minutes of action.
Springfield took control of the second quarter from the onset, going on an 8-0 run in the opening 4:47 to close within 18-16 on a transition bucket from King before Sophomore Christa Brent knocked down a jumper from the elbow to give Springfield a 23-22 cushion. A runner by Freshman Chelsea McAllister in the waning seconds gave the hosts a 27-26 lead heading into the break.
Wesleyan was outscored 21-11, in the third quarter. Springfield's lead grew to 46-37 after a pass from Adamopoulos led to a corner three by Junior Molly McCausland with 1:50 left in the third, forcing a Wesleyan timeout.
After Wesleyan closed within 52-45 with 7:50 on the clock, Springfield used back-to-back triples by McCausland and Junior Lexi Windwer and a great inside finish by Adamopoulos to cap off a 10-0 run and expand its lead to 62-45 with 5:12 left in regulation. The Cardinals would get as close as 11 only to have Springfield close out its fifth-straight victory.
Recap Courtesy of Springfield College Athletics
