MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – The Wesleyan women's basketball team paid the ultimate price for a slow start, as the University of New England led wire-to-wire in a 76-68 win over the Cardinals in the final game of the Courtyard by Marriott Classic held over the weekend in Silloway Gymnasium. Wesleyan drops to 1-1 on the season while the Nor'Easters improve to 2-1.
 
A night removed from scoring 102 points against Rosemont, just one off the school record, the Cardinals had difficulty getting anything going as Wesleyan didn't make a field goal until more than five minutes had gone by since tipoff. UNE, meanwhile, took full advantage and scored eight unanswered points before taking a 17-3 lead. The Nor'Easters' lead held at double digits for the remainder of the first quarter as Wesleyan trailed 24-13 after one.
 
The Cardinals bounced back with a strong second quarter, cutting the deficit down to just four points after a 7-0 run that featured an Alana Jones '24 draining a three-pointer before scooping a steal and scoring a layup on the fast break. UNE answered right back with a 7-0 run of their own, reclaiming an 11-point advantage, before play stabilized in the remaining 3+ minutes as the Nor'Easters led 38-30 at halftime. The backcourt combination of Jones (seven) and Felicia Fongemie '27 (eight) combined for 15 of the Cardinals' 17 points in the frame.
 
Wesleyan drew even closer to the lead early in the third quarter, as Olivia Quinn '26 hitting a three that made it 40-37 UNE, but the three-point deficit was as close as Wesleyan would get in the quarter as the two sides traded baskets for most of the frame.
 
Trailing by six entering the fourth, Wesleyan was handed a major blow to their comeback bid as UNE opened the quarter on an 11-2 run as the Nor'Easters held their biggest lead of the game at 65-50. A last ditch attempt to get back in the game came late as Fongemie made baskets on back-to-back trips to make it 69-63 UNE.
 
Later trailing by five with 1:08 left, Wesleyan found an open look for Quinn from behind the three-point line but her attempt missed. Securing the rebound and the game was UNE as the Nor'Easters buried their free throws down the stretch to land the 76-68 win.
 
UNE won despite losing the turnover battle, committing 27 turnovers for the game compared to 21 for the Cardinals. The Nor'Easters dominated the boards, finishing +14 (42-28) in the rebounding battle, and hit seven more free throws in a game that UNE led wire-to-wire.
 
Leading the Cardinals for the second straight game in scoring was Fongemie who finished with 19 points (9-16 FG). Jones joined her in double figures with 14 points while Quinn had 11 with seven rebounds, three assists, and a career-high six steals.
 
Maggie Lee '23 recorded nine points, four rebounds, two assists, and two steals while Kate King '27 came off the bench and totaled eight points, six rebounds, four steals, two blocks, and two assists.
 
Next up for the Cardinals is a trip to Wellesley on Saturday at 1 PM.