WPI 58, Clark 54
Box
Score
Worcester, MA --- Visiting WPI held off a
furious Clark comeback and extended its winning streak to five
games with a workman-like 58-54 win over its crosstown rival in New
England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference women's basketball
action on Saturday afternoon at the Kneller Athletic Center.
Down by as many as 18 at 41-23 in the opening moments of the
second half, the Cougars clamped down on defense and held the
Engineers to 30 percent shooting in the second half as they
whittled away the WPI lead with a blistering 21-3 run over a nine
minute span. The scoring spree was keyed by the Clark bench as they
scored ten of the points during the run and forced the Engineers
into a 1-for-10 shooting display during the outburst.
WPI answered back by scoring eight of the next ten points capped
by an Ellie Fontaine (Franklin, MA) triple with
2:55 left to regain momentum.
The Cougars would not go away however, as Kate
Minister (Manchester, England) dropped in a three of her
own and Ivori Aiken (Harlem, NY) added a pair of
tough inside finishes keeping Clark close.
In the end, the Engineers, although they struggled from the line
(12-for-22), made enough from the charity stripe in the closing
seconds to collect the win.
WPI controlled the opening 20 minutes of the game, making six
three-pointers, while holding the Cougars to 8-for-23 shooting and
forcing 14 turnovers. Aiken proved to be their only cause for
concern as she netted 14 of Clark's 18 first half points.
For the game, the Scarlet and White held a 41-32 advantage on
the glass, but committed 22 turnovers and connected on just five of
their 24 three-point attempts.
The Engineers, meanwhile, had only ten miscues for the game and
held a sizable advantage in points off of turnovers (27-6).
Aiken finished her day with a career-high 26 points and eight
rebounds on 11-for-17 shooting, while Jill
Camilleri (Lancaster, MA) added 11 points and eight
rebounds.
Fontaine paced WPI with 14 points and four rebounds and
Caitlin O'Connor (New Hampton, NH) came off the
bench and scored 13 points. Also in double figures for the
Engineers were Melissa Kuhn (Stoughton, MA), who
totaled 10 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals
and reserve freshman Theresa Logan (Southboro, MA)
provided 10 points and five boards.
Clark (2-5, 1-1 NEWMAC) returns to action on Tuesday with a 7
p.m. start at Wheaton, while WPI (5-2, 2-0 NEWMAC) host Springfield
on the same night.
Release Courtesy of Clark Sports Information
