MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – A pair of showstopping performances from Olivia Quinn '26 and Alli Jones '27 proved more than enough to lead the Wesleyan women's basketball team to a 56-40 win over Middlebury in Silloway Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon. The Cardinals' first win in Middletown over the Panthers since 2014 moves Wesleyan to 6-8 (1-1 NESCAC) on the season while the Panthers drop to 10-4 (1-1 NESCAC).
 
Both Quinn and Jones stuffed the stat sheet while scoring 42 of the Cardinals' 56 points in the double-digit point win. Quinn finished with 23 points on 7-for-15 shooting and 3-for-5 from three while adding seven rebounds (four offensive), three assists, four blocks, and four steals. This is Quinn's fourth 20+ point game of the season and her first since Dec. 6 against Wheaton. Jones totaled 19 points, just three off her career-high, on 8-for-15 shooting to go along with 13 rebounds, two blocks, and a career-high five steals. This is her second straight game with a double-double and her seventh on the season.
 
A hotly contested first quarter saw neither side lead by more than two points while the lead changed hands eight times with six ties in the frame. Madie Dayton '28 drove to the rim for a last second layup that tied the score, making it 16 apiece at the end of one.
 
Wesleyan's defense dominated much of the second quarter, holding Middlebury scoreless for nearly six minutes while building a 26-16 lead in the process. Quinn canned a three-pointer in the 10-0 Wesleyan run while Ali Murphy '27 went to work with two baskets in the paint, forcing a Middlebury timeout with her second make on the inside.
 
The Panthers countered the Cardinals' 10-0 run with one of their own, erasing the 10-point deficit to tie the score at 26-26 in just over two minutes of game clock.
 
The third quarter saw a slow burn as just one field goal was made in the opening four minutes, while the two sides combined for 22 points in the stanza. Quinn scored eight of Wesleyan's 13 points in the quarter and the Cardinals took a 41-36 lead into the decisive fourth quarter.
 
In that final frame, feeding off the energy from a great home crowd in Silloway, the Cardinals held Middlebury in-check throughout, outscoring the Panthers 15-4 to seal the 14-point home win. Middlebury shot just 1-for-13 from the floor in the fourth quarter while going 0-for-6 from three-point range while Jones scored seven points in the fourth quarter alone.
 
Jones and Quinn combined to score nine straight Wesleyan points up until the final two minutes when the Cardinals held a 10-point advantage. Middlebury went nearly six minutes without scoring for the second time in the contest, finally getting a jumper to go for Calie Messina, but that was the only make in the entire quarter for Middlebury as Wesleyan sunk their free throws down the stretch to walk away with the 16-point home win.
 
Wesleyan held Middlebury to 25.5 percent shooting from the floor in the contest, with Middlebury going 13-for-51 from the floor and 3-for-16 from three (18.8 percent). Wesleyan also forced the Panthers into 19 turnovers, which led to 18 points on the other end of the floor.
 
Murphy was another standout on the day for the Cardinals as the junior forward scored six points and grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds. Dayton finished with six points, three rebounds, and three assists.
 
The Cardinals are back in action on Friday night with a trip to Hamilton for a 7 PM tip.