Hartford, Conn. -  Senior tri-captain guard Claire Arnstein (Hicksville, N.Y.) had a game-high 21 points, making eight out of 11 shots from the field, and four assists to lead the Trinity College Bantams to a 78-60 win over the visiting Wesleyan University Cardinals in New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) women's basketball action this afternoon at Oosting Gymnasium.  Trinity improves to 12-2 overall and 2-0 in the NESCAC with its ninth win in a row, while the Cardinals fall to 6-8 overall and 0-2 in the league for its third straight defeat.

Trinity outscored Wesleyan, 16-8, over the final seven minutes of the first half to take a 42-34 lead into intermission.  Arnstein had 12 points in the first half and the Bantams shot 46.9 percent from the field and 73.3 percent from the line.  Sophomore center Eileen Gaffney (Mahasset, N.Y.) and junior tri-captain guard McKinley Tennant (Swampscott, Mass.) combined for 19 first-half points for the Cardinals. 

Six straight points pulled the Cardinals within three at 46-43 less than five minutes into the second stanza, but Trinity scored the next six including a three-pointer from the left wing by sophomore guard Michelle Royals (Torrington, Conn.) to push the lead back up to 52-43.  The Bantams outscored the Cardinals, 16-7, over a five-minute stretch to take a 71-55 lead on a drive by sophomore guard Kaitlin Ciarleglio (Waterbury, Conn.) with 4:26 remaining, and maintained a double-digit advantage the rest of the way.

Royals scored 11 of her 18 points in the second half and added three steals off the bench, while Ciarleglio finished with 16 points, a game-high eight rebounds, and four assists.  Gaffney paced Wesleyan with 14 points, while sophomore guard Melanie Ferdinand (Califon, N.J.) contributed 10 points and seven rebounds.