MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – Despite four Cardinals scoring 10+ points, the Wesleyan women's basketball team couldn't overcome a barrage of 12 three-pointers from Tufts as the Cardinals fell to the Jumbos 74-57 on Friday night in Silloway Gymnasium. Wesleyan falls to 6-12 (1-5 NESCAC) with the loss while Tufts improves to 10-9 (2-4 NESCAC).
 
The Jumbos grabbed an early lead and never looked back, leading wire-to-wire in this NESCAC contest. Tufts jumped out to a 16-4 lead just under seven minutes into play before the Cardinals found some success on offense, cutting the Tufts lead down to five points before the end of the frame.
 
Wesleyan continued to push closer at the start of the second quarter, with Meghan Kirck '28 connecting from long range while Ali Murphy '27 scored down in the paint to make it 21-18 Jumbos. Tufts continued to lead by a slim margin before an 8-0 run for the visitors made it 34-22, with halftime margin favoring Tufts 38-26.
 
Tufts came out firing in the second half, scoring nine unanswered points to take their largest lead of the game, holding a 47-26 advantage. Faced with a 21-point deficit, the Cardinals dug in and got five quick points from Olivia Quinn '26 before Kirck hit three three-pointers in a span of less than two minutes as the Cardinals trailed 56-46 heading into the fourth quarter.
 
In need of an early fourth quarter run to keep the pressure on, the Cardinals saw Tufts hit a pair of three's and would go on to lead by 18 at the midway point of the quarter, putting the lead out of reach for the Cardinals.
 
Quinn led the four double-figure scorers for Wesleyan with 17 points while Kirck buried five three-pointers on her way to 15 points. Alli Jones '27 finished with 12 points, six rebounds, and five steals and Murphy had 10 points and seven rebounds.
 
Claire Kolkhorst led the Jumbos with 22 points on 6-for-10 shooting from three-point range. Tessa Lozner also had a big game with 21 points on 7-for-12 shooting from the floor.
 
Wesleyan plays host to Conn. College on Saturday at 3 PM for the Cardinals' final home game of the 2025-26 season. The team will honor both Quinn and Kaylin Genda '26 before the start of the game for Senior Day.