MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – In need of a win to keep their postseason hopes alive, the Wesleyan women's basketball team turned in their best performance of the season in a 73-61 Friday night win over the reigning NESCAC Champion Tufts from Silloway Gymnasium. A landmark victory for the Cardinals (11-10, 2-7 NESCAC) marks the team's first win over the Jumbos (11-11, 3-6 NESCAC) since 2006, snapping a 21-game losing streak.
 
The win looms large for Wesleyan's postseason hopes as the Cardinals now need a win over No. 25 ranked Bates at home on Saturday, combined with a Trinity win over Tufts, and Wesleyan will have earned a spot in the 2024 NESCAC Tournament.
 
Wesleyan's triumph at home gives the Cardinals a signature win on the season, as Tufts is coming off a 24-win season in 2022-23, having won the NESCAC Championship and advancing to the Elite 8 of the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
 
A back-and-forth first quarter saw six lead changes and 40 combined points as Wesleyan hit three three-pointers while Tufts shot over 50 percent from the floor in the frame. Incredibly, 29 of the 40 points in the opening period were scored by two players as Fongemie scored 12 of her career-high 28 points in the first while Tufts' Maggie Russell went 8-of-9 from the floor, scoring 17 of the Jumbos' 21 points.
 
Wesleyan made their move in the second quarter, flipping the script and playing stellar defense, holding Tufts to just 3-of-20 shooting (15 percent) and 1-of-7 from three as the Jumbos scored just seven points. Wesleyan, meanwhile, saw three players combine for 16 points as Wesleyan took a 35-28 lead into halftime. Neither side scored for the opening 3:14 of the quarter and Tufts' first field goal in the period didn't come until 4:51 had elapsed in the frame. An 8-0 Wesleyan run late in the quarter gave the Cardinals their first double-digit lead of the game.
 
The Jumbos cut the deficit to just three points midway through the third quarter, but Wesleyan answered back and scored six points off three straight Tufts turnovers to make it 45-36 Cardinals. Wesleyan eventually stretched their lead to 54-40 late in the third on an Olivia Quinn '26 three-pointer, taking a double-digit lead into the fourth.
 
Tufts again made a move early on, lowering the deficit down to six points with 7:29 remaining, but it was Fongemie's five-point spurt that made it 63-52 Cardinals less than three minutes later. The Jumbos could only get to within seven points of the lead for the remainder of play as Wesleyan went 10-of-13 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter, icing away the big home win.
 
Fongemie's 28 points easily surpasses her previous career-best of 20 points which came against Rhodes back on December 20 in Florida. The first-year shot 9-of-16 overall, 4-of-5 from three, and 6-for-6 at the free throw line to give her the highest point total by a Cardinal this season.
 
Quinn finished with 15 points while Maggie Lee '23 grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds to go along with 14 points for her first career double-double.
 
Tufts was led by Russell's 28 points (12-19 FG) and nine rebounds while Sofia Gonzalez totaled 17 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and nine steals. The Jumbos went just 3-for-23 from the three-point line and committed 19 turnovers.
 
The Cardinals are back at home for the final time in 2023-24 as Wesleyan plays host to Bates in a must-win game to keep their NESCAC Tournament hopes alive.