MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – The New England College women's basketball team fell to Wesleyan University in a 55-43 loss on Monday evening at the Silloway Gymnasium in Middletown, Connecticut in non-conference action.  

THE BASICS 
Score: New England College 43, Wesleyan University 55 
Records: Pilgrims 8-8, 3-3 GNAC | Cardinals 9-6, 1-3 NESCAC 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED 

• While the Pilgrim offense got off to a slow start, the Wesleyan offense did not; the Cardinals quickly created a 21-4 advantage at the conclusion of the first quarter as they shot at a 58 percent team-wide clip.  
• The second quarter proved to be slightly better for the NEC offense as senior center Kathleen Rodriguez (McFarland, Calif.) scored all seven of her first-half points to help get the team going. On the defensive end, the 'Grims limited Wesleyan to shooting just 30 percent from the field, cooling down the Cardinals after a hot start. An even 12 to 12 second quarter would bring a 33-16 Wesleyan lead into the break.  
• Coming out of halftime, NEC wasted no time to begin eating into Wesleyan's 17-point lead. The team jumped out to an 11-0 run, capped off by a three-pointer by senior guard Alissia Corona (Wylie, Tex.) to bring them within six. After freshman Felicia Fongemie (Ashford, Conn.) scored Wesleyan's first bucket of the quarter to stop a four-minute scoring drought, Corona would connect on another long-ball to make it a five-point game. 
• The Cardinals would take an eight-point lead into the final quarter of play, and see it grow as large as 20 before the Pilgrims whittled it down to 12 by the time the game's final horn sounded. 

• Fongemie led all scorers with 17 points, while giving the Cardinals a well-rounded effort consisting of two assists, two blocks, and two steals.  
• Rodriguez paced the 'Grims in scoring, going five-of-seven from the field for 12 points, and she was just one rebound shy of another double-double.  
• Wesleyan's Olivia Quinn (Franklin, Mass.) and Alli Jones (Wellesley, Mass.) both neared double-doubles, as well, as Quinn scored nine points to go with 11 rebounds and Jones added 10 points and brought down nine boards. 
• Corona's presence was felt on both sides of the court for NEC tonight, as she went three-of-eight from distance, while collecting four rebounds and four steals on defense.  
• Sophomore guard Macy Gordon (Boscawen, N.H.) added eight points on two-of-four shooting from beyond-the-arc, while senior guard Juliana Hernandez (McFarland, Calif.) added five points and four boards. 
• Wesleyan shot 36.1 percent from the field while NEC shot just 28.8 percent. But from three-point range, NEC shot 25.0 percent compared to Wesleyan's 13.0 percent. 

UP NEXT 

• Up next for NEC, the team resumes conference play on Wednesday as they travel to the St. Joseph's College of Maine for a 5:30 bout. 
• Wesleyan looks ahead to Friday for a NESCAC matchup against Amherst on the road at 7:00 PM. 

For continuing coverage of New England College Athletics, visit athletics.nec.edu and follow the Pilgrims on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.