SELINSGROVE, PA – Women's basketball drops their season opener to Mary Washington 72-69. This was the first round of the Susquehanna Tip Off tournament. The trio of Maddie Clark '22, Caleigh Ryan '22, and Brooke Guiffre '23 combined for 51 in a losing effort for the Cardinals.
The opening loss will put the Cardinals at 0-1 on the young season. The win for Mary Washington will improve their record to 2-0 going into the championship of the Susquehanna Tip Off tournament.
 
FIRST HALF HIGHLIGHTS:

• Mary Washington jumped on Wesleyan right away, draining a pair of threes on way to a 8-0 run in the first two minutes of the game. The run was quickly answered by a Wesleyan run of their own to trim the lead to one, 8-7
• It was a back-and-forth end of the first quarter which ended with two free throws from Mary Washington's Tory Martin to cut the deficit to one
• The 2^nd quarter started with Wesleyan making a small 5-0 run to take a six-point lead. The run was countered with a Mary Washington 12-0 run on the back of Sydney Sherman
• Wesleyan recovered well, Marina Petruzzi '22 canned her only triple of the night to end the half. This three sent the Cardinals into the locker room up six

 
SECOND HALF HIGHLIGHTS:

• Caleigh Ryan's short jumper kept the lead at six three minutes into the second half. The Cardinals managed to hold a two-possession lead for more than halfway through the third quarter
•  Mary Washington hung in, but the duo of Ryan and Clark led a 7-2 Wesleyan run to extend the Cardinals lead to nine with only 2:30 remaining in the quarter
• Wesleyan saw their seven point 4^th quarter lead disappear, as Mary Washington opened the quarter with a 12-0 run to take back the lead 63-58.
• The Eagles suffocating defense held the Cardinals to just 11 4^th quarter points, however the Cardinals still managed to fight their way back into this one as they retook the lead with 1:54 remaining
• Mary Washington's free throw shooting was the deciding factor down the stretch as they made seven of eight in the final two minutes to hold off the Cardinals

 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• The trio of Clarke, Ryan, and Guiffre combined for 51 of Wesleyan's 69 points
• Bench points were a big story as Mary Washington's bench outscored Wesleyan's 29-5
• Emma Kiernan '24 brought down a team high 12 rebounds in her Wesleyan debut
• Caleigh Ryan ties her career high with five steals

 
UP NEXT:
Wesleyan will play again Sunday afternoon when they clash with William Paterson at 1pm in the consolation game for the Susquehanna Tip Off Tourney. William Paterson (0-1) dropped a game to the host, Susquehanna, in the first round of the tourney 59-56.