Using a pair of burst in the first half to forge a 19-point lead with 7:05 remaining in the period, Wesleyan pushed out to a 28-point halftime lead and never looked back in cruising to a 79-47 victory over visiting Suffolk here this evening.  The outcome snapped an 11-game losing streak for the Cardinals and ended an eight-game win streak for the Rams.  Wesleyan returns to action Fri., Feb. 11, hosting Colby in a NESCAC matchup while Suffolk resumes play at UMass Boston on Thurs., Feb. 10 in a non-league contest.

Wesleyan never trailed in the contest, getting off to a 7-2 start in the opening 1:12, but Suffolk narrowed the gap to 12-11 with 15 minutes left in the first half.  Wesleyan then went on a 10-0 run for a 22-11 margin with 12:24 to go.  A three-pointer by senior Erin Gold and a traditional three-point play by sophomore Kendra Harris triggered the burst.  With the score 29-18, the Cardinals added an 8-0 spurt to make it a 37-18 count, and a 16-7 finish to the period gave Wesleyan a whopping 53-25 intermission lead.  The Cardinals hit nearly 59 percent from the field including 6-for-15 accuracy from behind the arc.  While Suffolk his nearly 41 percent from the field and 2-of-3 three-pointers in the opening 20 minutes, the Rams could not overcome Wesleyan's 23-8 domination on the boards.

A 7-3 start to the second half got the Rams as close as 24 points, 56-32, but that was as narrow as the margin got over the final 20 minutes and Wesleyan, which leads the overall series vs. Suffolk, 4-2, held as much as a 37-point differential (75-38) in the closing five minutes.

Leading the way for Wesleyan with 14 points was junior Eileen Gaffney while junior Sam LaCroce and Gold each contributed 13 points.  Junior Emily Lippe came off the bench to grab a game-high 10 rebounds.  Wesleyan racked up 22 assists on its 29 baskets, seven of them from Gold.  Freshman Jennifer Ruys and sophomore Dominique Demar paced Suffolk with 11 points apiece.  No one had more than four rebounds for the Rams as Wesleyan finished with a 45-31 advantage on the glass.  Sophomore Lindsay Rogers picked up four assists for the Rams.

(Story courtesy of Wesleyan College Sports Information)