Cards Put on a Clinic at St. Joseph with a 36-0 Scoring Run En Route to a 77-15 Victory

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Trailing 6-4 early in the first half, Wesleyan ended the period by scoring the final 32 points and scored the opening four points of the second half for a 36-0 run in total as the Cardinals went on to rout host St. Joseph, 77-15, Tues., Dec. 1. It brought Wesleyan's all-time record vs. the Blue Jays to 10-1 with each of the last eight meetings going the Cardinals' way by at least 22 points.

With all 10 active players getting into the scoring, Wesleyan was led by Eileen Gaffney '12 (#30, left in photo) with 17 points while Melanie Ferdinand '12 (#32, right in photo) posted a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds. Wesleyan dominated the boards with a 57-26 margin and limited the Blue Jays to 10.9 percent shooting from the field while hitting 52.2 percent itself. Also scoring in double-digits for the Cards with 11 points was Emily Lippe '12. Sam LaCroce '12 chipped in with nine points and nine caroms.

The 62-point margin of victory was the largest for Wesleyan since knocking off SUNY Maritime, 82-17, back on Nov. 26, 2002. The 15 points allowed was the fewest permitted since posting a 73-14 triumph over Elms Dec. 5, 1998.

While Wesleyan had the remarkable 32-point run in the first half, the team added an 18-0 streak in the second half as well.

This was the team's first game in 10 days. The squad was back in game mode Sat., Dec. 5 with a visit to Bridgewater St. The Cardinals and Bears had only met once before, that during the 2004-05 season with Wesleyan capturing a 61-42 victory. Bridgewater tied the series Saturday by snagging a 73-68 victory.

It was an uphill battle for the Cardinals from the get-go as the Bears jumped out to a 13-3 lead, pushed the margin to 33-15 and held a 45-33 lead at intermission. Despite a pair of double-doubles -- 18 points and 15 rebounds from LaCroce and 12 points and 10 caroms from Gaffney -- the Cardinals could get no closer than the final margin at game's end. Wesleyan was hampered by 29 turnovers, counteracting the team's 49-30 dominance on the boards. Ali Newman '12 also chipped in with a career-high 15 points.

Wesleyan gets right back to business Mon., Dec. 7 taking on Coast Guard in the team's home opener. Coast Guard will be providing an audio webcast of the game and a link to hear the contest is available on the Wesleyan athletics web site under "Webcasts."