| 12/11/2004 |
| For Wesleyan, it’s Cage closed |
| By SEAN P. REILLY , Middletown Press Sports Writer |
MIDDLETOWN - In its final turn as Wesleyan University’s oldest indoor athletic stage, "the Cage" was all the rage.
Amid the closing ceremonies of the Alumni Athletic Building on the Wesleyan campus Friday night, a basketball game took place and saw the Cardinal women shut the doors in typical 2004-05 fashion by handily defeating Springfield College 74-53 to remain perfect after seven games.
"Springfield won their conference last year and those are the teams that we want to play and defeat." The Cardinals led from start to finish and were essentially never tested by the Pride, which shot extremely poor all night. Coach Naomi Graves’ club (5-2) went 22 for 68 from the field (32 percent) and an even worse one for 15 from three-point land (6.1 percent). After the visitors went on a 6-0 run early in the first half to get within a point at 11-10, the Cardinals, led by junior guard Meghan Robinson, broke loose at the nine minute mark. Robinson, who nearly acquired a first-half "double-double" with nine points and 14 boards, hit on three consecutive lay-ups to put her squad ahead 24-12 at 6:43. The lone bright spot in the opening half for the Pride was the defensive presence of 6-foot-1 Milford native Erin Schwartz (six points, 13 rebounds) who continually kept Cardinal standout Hannah Stubbs in check. Stubbs uncharacteristically finished the first 20 minutes with just four points. "I think our team saw at the half that Hannah needed to touch the ball," Mullen said. "That’s what they focused on as a team. They (Springfield) could have easily come back in this game but Hannah’s second half play was the key to this win." Stubbs, whose early season average of 15.3 points and 9.2 rebounds leads the club, came out of the gate on fire. She and teammate Sue Frost almost single-handedly extended a 33-19 halftime advantage to 47-31 at 11:19 and 58-37 at 5:23 on a Frost 3-point play. Stubbs was electric from the field, going 8-for-10 and finishing, once again this year, with a game-high 21 points. Frost and Robinson were right behind with 15 and 16 points, respectively. Springfield’s lone scoring threat, sophomore Evan Paris, fouled out of the contest at 5:10 with 11 points to lead the Pride. Conversely, Wesleyan shot a blistering 50 percent from both the field (29-for-59) and from beyond the arc (4-for-8). "Our best offense comes directly from our defense," Mullen stated. "We do need to continue to watch our shot selection and realize that the clock can be our friend as well as our enemy. What we did so well throughout the game was keep them (Springfield) to one shot. They really didn’t get multiple looks." The victory was a wonderful way for both the lights at "the Cage" to close for the final time and for Mullen’s crew to take a three-week break before traveling to Palm Beach, Fla. on Jan. 2 with a perfect 7-0 mark. The Cardinals begin NESCAC play on Jan. 14 at Williams College and will take to the floor in its state-of-the-art basketball arena at Freeman Athletic Center for the first time on Jan. 21 against "Little Three" rival Amherst College. ---------- Sean P. Reilly can be reached at sreilly@middletownpress.com or at 860-347-3331 ext. 217.
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