MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – Playing for the third time in the past four days, the Wesleyan women’s basketball team had plenty left in the tank as the Cardinals defeated Worcester State 78-63 on Monday night in non-conference action from Silloway Gymnasium. The Cardinals (7-10) win their second straight while the Lancers (7-10) lose their third straight.
 
Rising to the occasion was the combination of Tori DaCosta ’25 and Felicia Fongemie ’27 who combined for 49 of the Cardinals’ 78 points scored on the night while shooting 19-for-29 from the floor. DaCosta led all scorers with a career-high 27 points on 11-for-16 shooting to go along with 13 rebounds for her second straight double-double and third of the season. Fongemie posted 22 points, her second-most points scored in a game this season, on 8-for-13 shooting with six assists, four rebounds, two steals, and no turnovers.
 
Wesleyan took control of this one in the early going, using a 9-0 run to open a 16-7 lead towards the end of the first quarter. DaCosta (nine) and Fongemie (five) combined for 14 of the Cardinals’ 17 points in the opening quarter while the Wesleyan defense forced the Lancers into 10 first quarter turnovers.
 
 A back-and-forth second quarter saw Worcester State close the deficit to as few as two points, but the Cardinals used back-to-back three-point makes from Olivia Quinn ’26 to create some separation as Wesleyan led 36-30 at halftime.
 
The Cardinals held Worcester state to just three points in the opening 4:56 of the third quarter, while the pairing of DaCosta and Fongemie combined for eight points in a 10-2 run that stretched the lead to 46-32. Just over a minute later, Wesleyan scored nine unanswered points to open their biggest lead of the game at 58-38 in the closing stages of the third quarter.
 
Worcester State got to within 11 points of the Cardinals in the fourth quarter, but it was too little too late for the Lancers who suffered a 15-point defeat on the road.
 
DaCosta (16) and Fongemie (13) combined for 29 of Wesleyan’s 42 points in the second half as the duo were both at their best on Monday night.
 
The Cardinals finished with 23 assists on 28 made field goals while the team committed only eight turnovers compared to 19 for the Lancers, finishing +11 in turnover margin for the game. Wesleyan dominated points in the paint, outscoring Worcester State 40-22 in that department while the Cardinals registered nine steals, matching a season-high.
 
Quinn finished with 14 points (6-13 FG), seven rebounds, and four assists while Meghan Kirck ’28 totaled eight points and six assists and Aviva Schnitzer ’28 tallied four points, eight rebounds, three assists, and four steals.
 
Wesleyan completes its four-game homestand on Saturday afternoon with a clash against Trinity starting at 3 PM.