ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The Wesleyan women's basketball team heads into Christmas break and the New Year flying high as the Cardinals defeated Rhodes, 74-64, in the St. Pete Classic on Wednesday afternoon from the campus of Eckerd College. Wesleyan (7-3) has won three straight games, are 6-1 away from home this season, and have scored 70+ points in four straight games heading into 2024. Rhodes (4-4) loses for just the second time in the past six games.
The NESCAC's highest-scoring offense was at it again on Wednesday, reaching the 70-point plateau for the seventh time in 10 games this season, as the Cardinals' 75.9 points per game average sits atop the league rankings.
Felicia Fongemie '27 led the way with a game-high 20 points, going 9-for-10 from the free throw line as the first-year finished with her first career 20-point game.
Olivia Quinn '26 stuffed the stat sheet with 16 points (6-12 FG, 3-4 3FG), 13 rebounds, and three blocks in 35 minutes. The 13 rebounds for Quinn are a new career-high while this marks her fourth double-double on the season.
Other key contributors included
Maggie Lee '23 with 12 points (5-10 FG) in 33 minutes.
Tori DaCosta '25 went for eight points, five rebounds, two assists, two blocks, and three steals despite fouling out in just 25 minutes.
Alana Jones '24 matched her career-high with eight assists against just one turnover in 30 minutes.
Kate King '27 and
Alli Jones '27 both netted seven points off the bench.
A high-scoring first quarter saw the two sides combine for 43 points, with Wesleyan taking a 24-19 lead after one. The Cardinals shot 9-for-15 (60 percent) from the floor in the opening stanza, with Quinn leading the way with nine points as she was a perfect 3-for-3 from the floor with two made three-pointers.
The score was tied at 29 apiece midway through the second quarter before the Cardinals took complete control of the game and went on a 14-0 run over the remaining 4:29 of the first half to take a 14-point lead into halftime. Four different Cardinals scored in the run while Wesleyan held Rhodes to 0-for-6 shooting and three turnovers in that sequence.
Wesleyan took their largest lead of the game on a DaCosta layup in the paint early in the third quarter that made it 47-29, but the Lynx went on a 10-2 run of their own to cut into the deficit and make it a 10-point game. However, the closest Rhodes would get to the lead in the remainder of play was eight points as Wesleyan leaded on free throw shooting, going 11-for-17 (64.7 percent) in the second half, to close the door on a 10-point win. Fongemie was the key player down the stretch as she scored 11 of the Cardinals' 31 second half points.
The Cardinals have more than three weeks before their next game which is slated for January 5-6 with a NESCAC-opening road weekend series in Maine. Wesleyan first plays Bowdoin on January 5 at 7 PM before traveling to face Colby on January 6 at 3 PM.
