WILLIAMSTOWN, MA. – The Wesleyan women's basketball team could not complete their comeback attempt against NESCAC opponent Williams Saturday afternoon, falling 84-76. Going on the road, Wesleyan found themselves down by 14 heading into the final quarter. They were able to trim the deficit to as close as five late in the 4^th, but the Ephs closed the door with some made free throws down the stretch. The Cardinals drop to 10-12 (3-5 NESCAC) on the year, while Williams improves to 16-7 (7-2 NESCAC).

Wesleyan was led on the offensive end by the trio of Olivia Quinn '26, Maggie Lee '23, and Abby Gray '24. The freshman Quinn scored a career-high 21 points on an efficient 7/11 from the field. Lee was able to put together a solid game herself, scoring 17 points on 5/9 shooting (2/5 3pt) and bringing down six boards. Gray tied a season-high with 16 points (6/13 FG) herself, while also contributing six boards. Brooke Guiffre '23 was impressive on both ends of the floor, putting through 12 points (5/10 FG) while having three steals as well. Alana Jones '24 had three steals to go along with six rebounds and three assists.

Williams opened the game on fire from the field, resulting in them getting out to a big lead early. The Ephs scored the first nine points of the game, ultimately forcing a Wesleyan timeout. Williams was able to maintain their lead for the entirety of the first quarter, extending it to as much as 13 at one point. Guiffre came up with a huge steal in the final minute leading to a Gray layup on the other end. The Cardinals would follow that with a stop and Quinn score to end the quarter to trim the deficit to nine going into the first break.

The second quarter was back and forth throughout the first four minutes with the score differential staying fairly consistent at around a 10 point advantage for the Ephs. Quinn made a layup with 5:41 left in the half that was followed by a Guiffre triple and Gray free throw to get the Cards the closest they have been since early in the first quarter, just down five. Williams responded with a 7-0 run that pushed their lead back out to double figures with less than three minutes remaining in the half. Quinn was able to put through a buzzer-beating layup to send the Cards into the break only down by 10.

Both teams shot well in the 3^rd quarter, keeping the Williams lead at double digits for most of the period. The Ephs were able to create their largest lead of the game late in the 3^rd on a Maddy Mandyck triple to extend the lead to 15. Williams held strong in the final minutes of the quarter to go into the final 10 minutes with a 14-point advantage.

Gray opened the final quarter with a layup to trim the deficit to 12 and it was quickly answered with a pair of Ephs free throws. This was a theme for the first five minutes of the quarter, as Williams always seemed to have the answer to every Wesleyan bucket in the 4^th. Mandyck was able to capitalize underneath the bucket at the 5:33 mark and their lead was back up to 16. Just when it looked like the game was over, Lee and Quinn combined for three big baskets in a row to get back within seven with 1:37 left. Williams hit some free throws and got the lead back up to 10, but Wesleyan had one more run in them. Quinn hit a three, then a pair of free throws to cut it to six. Then Gray made a layup after Williams split a pair of free throws and it was down to five with 11 seconds left. The Ephs would close it out with some free throws down the stretch and come away with the 84-76 victory.

Williams finished the game shooting 47.5% from the field, making 6/18 shots from beyond the arc. Wesleyan was able to shoot 44.1% from the field, knocking down six of their 14 triples. Williams was led by Devin Biesbrock who finished with 23 points. She was aided by Ryann Taylor with 18 and Cortland McBarron with 15 and seven boards.

Wesleyan will look to get back on track Friday February 10^th where they will go on the road to take on Tufts.