NORTHAMPTON, Mass. – Leading by 14 at the half, the Wesleyan women's basketball team looked well on their way to a win, but the Cardinals were outscored 46-22 in the second half as Roger Williams came roaring back for a 70-60 win on Monday night in the Smith College Holiday Tournament. Wesleyan drops to 4-5 on the season while the Hawks are winners are four straight, improving to 6-3 overall.
 
The Cardinals utilized the three-point shot to build a double-digit lead just over six minutes into the contest, going 4-for-8 from three-point territory in the first quarter. Meghan Kirck '28 hit her second three-pointer of the stanza to make it 18-7 Cardinals and later Olivia Quinn '26 hit her second three to make it 21-9.
 
Wesleyan continued to rely on the three-point shot in the second quarter, going 3-for-6 from deep with Quinn making two more from long range. The Cardinals defense, meanwhile, locked down Roger Williams and held the Hawks to just 10 points with six turnovers in the second quarter alone. Taking a 38-24 lead into halftime, the Cardinals were shooting just under 50 percent from the floor while holding Roger Williams to 27.6 percent shooting.
 
Five minutes into the third quarter, Wesleyan still held a comfortable 13-point lead as Kirck converted a layup to make it 44-31 Cardinals. Kirck hit again from deep, her third triple of the game, that made it 47-36 late on in the third before the Cardinals went into the fourth quarter holding an eight-point advantage.
 
It was 53-48 in favor of Wesleyan with 5:57 remaining before a devastating 15-0 Roger Williams run in a span of just 3:32 flipped the game on its head. The Cardinals cut the Hawks' lead down to five points with 1:34 left, but the damage had been done and free throws down the stretch closed a come-from-behind win for Roger Williams who outscored Wesleyan 29-11 in the fourth quarter.
 
Wesleyan finished 9-for-19 from three in the game but struggled with 19 turnovers which led to 21 points off turnovers for the Hawks.
 
Kirck led the Cardinals with 16 points, going 4-for-5 from three-point range, to go along with six rebounds. Tori DaCosta '25 added 13 points and nine rebounds while Quinn finished with 12 points, four rebounds, and three steals.
 
Wesleyan is back in action on Tuesday at 1 PM with their second game of the Smith Holiday Tournament, a neutral site showdown with Oswego State.