WORCESTER, Mass. – Trailing by seven in the fourth quarter and by as many as 14 points in the second half, the Wesleyan women's basketball team saw Meghan Kirck '28 bury four threes in the fourth quarter including a go-ahead triple with 15 seconds left, to complete the comeback in a 71-70 win over Clark on Tuesday night.
 
Contributions up and down the lineup aided in the comeback, highlighted by Kirck who scored 14 of her 17 points in the fourth quarter alone. Olivia Quinn '26 finished with 19 points, 10 rebounds (five offensive), three steals, and two blocks, putting up 12 of her 19 points in the first half. Madie Dayton '28 scored a career-high 14 points on 4-of-8 shooting from deep. Samaya Lovett '29 came off the bench and played 29 minutes, finishing with five assists and no turnovers, including the assist on Kirck's game-winning three in the final minute.
 
As a team, Wesleyan went 13-of-30 from three, signaling the most made three-pointers in a game by the Cardinals since the team made a single-game team record 17 against Framingham State back on December 30, 2021.
 
Clark came out firing, opening a 12-2 lead less than four minutes into the game, stretching their advantage up to as many as 13 points in the opening frame. Withstanding the barrage of points, the Cardinals found some success towards the end of the quarter and with a three from Dayton in the final minute, the deficit was 23-16 after one.
 
The Cougars continued to lead by a healthy margin throughout most of the second quarter, with the hosts' lead swelling to as many as 14 points, but the Cardinals continued to hang in and baskets from Aviva Schnitzer '28 and a Quinn three-pointer with three seconds left made it just a six-point game at halftime.
 
Wesleyan saw the Clark lead jump to 49-35, their largest of the game, with 6:55 left in the third quarter. Following a timeout, the Cardinals hit back with a 10-2 run and again closed out the quarter strong, getting a Dayton triple and Quinn hit a layup on the fastbreak in the final second as the Clark lead shrunk to 55-52 heading into the fourth.
 
Clark scored the first four points of the fourth quarter, only to see back-to-back threes from Kirck and Dayton kickstart a 10-0 run as the Cardinals took a 62-59 lead, holding a lead for the first time since the first quarter. Neither team led by more than three points for the final 6+ minutes of the game, as the lead changed hands five times while the score was also tied twice.
 
Atiya Watson sent Clark into the lead at 70-68 with 24 seconds left, but the Cardinals continued to ride the hot hand with Kirck hoisting up the go-ahead three with 15 seconds left, sending Wesleyan out in front 71-70. The Cougars had one last possession, but Cyriah Coleman missed from the paint even though Olivia Shipley grabbed the miss, she immediately turned the ball over with four seconds left.
 
Clark didn't manage to foul the Cardinals in the final seconds, giving Wesleyan (3-2) a huge come-from-behind win over the previously unbeaten Cougars (6-1).
 
The Cardinals are back in action on Sunday with a 3 PM tilt at Williams in a non-league Little Three showdown in Williamstown.