MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – Caleigh Ryan dropped 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting but the Wesleyan University women's basketball team dropped its NESCAC opener on Friday night against Little Three rival Williams College, 83-62.

With the loss, the Cardinals fall to 6-4 overall and 0-1 in conference play. The Ephs, who were led by the hot shooting of Emily Chang, improve to 7-5 and 1-0. Chang was 7-of-11 from 3-point range and finished with 25 points, while also pulling in a game-high seven rebounds.

FIRST HALF HIGHLIGHTS:

• Knotted up at 4-4, a 3-pointer by Chang followed by a layup from Lauren Vostal gave the Ephs a 9-4 advantage, and they never looked back.
• Williams continued to increase its lead and at the 1:35 mark of the first quarter, a basket by Mikaela Topper put the visitors up 23-12. Neither team would score the rest of the quarter.
• The next 10 minutes featured back-and-forth action and with 6:05 left in the half, a 3-pointer by Olivia Gorman cut the deficit to single digits as the Cardinals trailed 27-19.
• However, it proved to be the closest Wesleyan would get the rest of the way and another trey by Chang with eight seconds to play gave the Ephs a 40-28 lead at the break.

SECOND HALF HIGHLIGHTS:

• Williams began to pull away early in the third and opened on an 8-0 run as a layup by Katie Brule at the 8:05 mark put the Ephs up by 20 (48-28).
• The Cardinals rallied with a 6-0 run but it wasn't enough. With the clock ticking down, Chang connected on another 3-pointer as Williams took a 63-40 lead into the fourth quarter.
• Wesleyan came out strong early in the fourth and a layup by Ryan capped off a 12-2 run as the home team got within 13 with 7:03 to play.
• The Cardinals were unable to cut the deficit any further, however, as Williams pulled away down the stretch.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Despite the loss, Wesleyan held a slight 41-40 edge in rebounding and its bench outscored the Ephs' bench, 20-18.
• Gorman led the Cardinals in scoring with 16, and Chynna Bailey and Tara Berger led the team with seven rebounds each. Ava Tompkins had a team-high three assists and Marina Petruzzi led the bench with nine points.
• Three players scored in double-figures for Williams. In addition to Chang's 25, Vostal added 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting and Topper scored 16 off the bench, while pulling in seven boards. Lexi Jones led all players with four assists.

UP NEXT:

• Wesleyan is back in action tomorrow and will host Middlebury at 3 p.m. in a rematch of last year's NESCAC Quarterfinal game.