MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – Despite leading by as many as 13 in the first half, the Wesleyan women's basketball team saw their lead slowly dwindle and Maci Dorantes came up with a huge go-ahead three-pointer with 52 seconds left that put the Anchormen up for good in a 66-62 come-from-behind win for Rhode Island College on Sunday afternoon from the Silloway Gymnasium. Wesleyan (3-3) drops their second straight and first at home this season while RIC (4-3) is now unbeaten in their last three.
 
HIGHLIGHTS:

• Wesleyan relied on steady defense to build an early 17-11 lead as the Anchormen were held scoreless for the final 4:08 of the opening quarter. In that 4+ minute span, Wesleyan managed six unanswered points to build the six-point lead after one.
• RIC's scoreless drought continued into the second and Madi Gomez '24 hit a triple, followed by a couple of free throws from Lena Benway '25 pushed Wesleyan's lead to its largest of the game at 24-11.
• Jeniyah Jones broke the scoreless streak for RIC that lasted more than seven minutes with a fastbreak layup but Wesleyan held serve off the jump shot of Caleigh Ryan '22 who scored 16 of her game-high 20 points in the first half alone.
• The Cardinals led 30-18 with 4:08 left in the second quarter but RIC made a strong push, scoring 11 unanswered at one point to cut the margin all the way to just three at the half as Wesleyan led 34-31 after Ryan sunk another jumper in the closing seconds of the frame.
• An entertaining third quarter saw three ties and four lead changes as Wesleyan led by as many as five but the Anchormen went on a 6-0 spurt midway through the quarter to bounce back. It wasn't until the closing minute where Maggie Lee '23 hit a baseline jumper and Alana Jones '24 hit a last-gasp, buzzer-beating three-pointer from halfcourt that gave the Cardinals a 51-46 advantage heading into the fourth.
• In the fourth, Wesleyan extended their lead to seven and still led by three midway through the frame but shooting woes ensued as the Cardinals went just 3-of-16 from the floor in the quarter while RIC didn't do much better overall (6-for-19) but crucially went 3-for-5 from three-point range. Those key threes came in the closing two minutes as Maddie Clark '22 swished a pair of triples from the wing that gave Wesleyan a two-point lead both times, only to see Antonia Corsinetti and Dorantes answer with a three on RIC's next trip down the court to retake the lead. With 38 seconds left, Ryan's fallaway jumper from the top of the key hit rim and Clark later missed a potential game-tying triple with 21 seconds left as the Anchormen closed the game with free throw makes down the stretch.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Ryan (20) and Clark (20) accounted for 40 of the Cardinals' 62 total points in this one
• Ryan stuffed the stat sheet with 20 points (9-20 FG), six rebounds, three assists and three blocks in 38 minutes
• Clark also contributed across the board with 20 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals in 33 minutes
• Emma Kiernan '24 tallied a game-high 12 rebounds, which marks the fourth time the sophomore forward has grabbed 12 rebounds in a game this season
• As a team, Wesleyan went 5-for-26 (19.2 percent) from three while RIC owned a +14 advantage in rebounding (53-39)
• Dorantes came off the bench and scored 19 crucial points for RIC, hitting 5-of-6 from three-point range in just 28 minutes
• Jeniyah Jones added 14 points and nine rebounds while Willcia McBorrough tallied 12 points and nine rebounds off the bench

 
UP NEXT:
Wesleyan has a quick turnaround with a trip to Keene State on Tuesday. Tip-off is set for 7 PM.