KEENE, NH – A big game from Caleigh Ryan '22 was enough to push Wesleyan past Keene State Tuesday night. Ryan put together an 18-point, 16 rebound performance that included bringing down the game sealing rebound in the final seconds. She was joined in double figures by Maddie Clark '22 with 14 and Marina Petruzzi '22 with 10. The Cardinals were able to hang on in the final seconds, forcing two misses on the final possession to come home with the narrow victory. Wesleyan snaps their two game losing streak, improving to 4-3 on the year, while Keene State loses their second straight to fall to 3-4 on the year.
 
HIGHLIGHTS:

• Keene State jumped out to a five-point lead to begin the game, holding the lead until nearly halfway through the first quarter. A Maggie Lee '23 fast break and-one layup shifted the momentum and gave the Cardinals their first lead, a lead in which they would keep for the remainder of the game
•  Madi Gomez '24 came in off the bench and delivered with a triple, extending the Cardinals' first quarter lead to 10. A Jenny Freedman midrange jumper would put an end to Wesleyan's 8-0 run to finish the quarter
• Wesleyan's defense held the Owls to only 24 first half points. A very defensive 2^nd quarter saw few field goals go through the net, however, Caleigh Ryan was able to go on personal 5-0 run to end the half giving Wesleyan their largest lead of the contest at 13
•  After a solid start to the second half for Wesleyan, Keene State slowly started to chip into the lead late in the 3^rd. A shooting drought in the final five minutes of the quarter saw only one Cardinals' field goal go through, and their 13-point halftime lead was down to eight going into the final 10 minutes
•   Alibrandi hit another three to open up the 4^th and the Owls were back within two possessions. The 4^th quarter only had six combined field goals from the two teams, and after a pair of Hailey DeRosia made free throws the Owls found themselves once again only down five with 1:35 remaining
• The following possession, Keene State switched into a zone defense out of the timeout which surprised the Cardinals ultimately leading to a shot clock violation. The Owls executed their ATO play on the other end resulting in Albandi's third triple of the night, trimming the lead to two. After a Wesleyan timeout, the Owls this time came out in a 1-3-1 zone which forced another turnover. They came back down the other way but missed a contested layup at the rim and a short jumper wouldn't go for DeRosia off of the offensive rebound. Ryan secured her 16^th board of the night and the Cardinals came away with the win

 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Caleigh Ryan had her 4^th double-double of the year
• Maddie Clark has had 20 or more points in four of the past five games
• This was the first matchup ever between these two schools in women's basketball
• Wesleyan made 14-16 FT, a season best 87.5% from the line

 
UP NEXT:
Wesleyan will return home Friday to face in-conference opponent No.8 Amherst at Silloway Gymnasium. Tip is set for 7 PM.