Worcester, MA --- Powered by a season-high 21 points and five rebounds from Ashleigh Condon (Hull, MA), host Clark improved to 5-0 in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play with a 74-62 win over crosstown rival WPI on Wednesday evening.
The Cougars now sit at 9-3 overall, while the Engineers drop their fourth straight and slip to 3-9 and 1-4 in league play.
WPI actually held an eight point lead in the first half but Clark slowly chipped away and took its first lead at 23-22 on a pair of Megan Grondin (Cumberland, ME) free throws with a little less than six minutes remaining in the half.
After a Theresa Logan (Southboro, MA) inside hoop gave WPI the lead, the Cougars scored five straight to take a 32-28 advantage before settling for a 34-32 halftime edge.
Clark maintained their lead in the opening minutes of the second half and used a 7-0 run to push the lead to 14 at 58-44 following a Grondin finish off of a Condon feed.
The Cougars held a 15 point lead on several other occasions down the stretch, but a quick 5-0 burst highlighted by a Lauren Hannmann (East Greenbush, NY) triple cut the lead to 69-59 with 38 seconds left.
That, however, would be as close as the Engineers would get as Clark went 5-for-6 from the charity stripe in the final 30 seconds to secure their ninth win in their last ten games.
The Cougars held WPI to just 34 percent shooting (25-for-74) and controlled the interior, outscoring the Engineers 38-24 in the paint.
Clark on the other hand, shot 48 percent from the field (27-for-56) and 85 percent from the free throw line (17-for-20) – both season highs.
In addition to Condon, Grondin finished with 17 points and Emily Reilly (Marlboro, MA) added ten points and four rebounds. Kate Minister (Manchester, England) meanwhile, came off the bench to record nine points, six rebounds and six assists and Esther Cohn (Chapel Hill, NC) added seven points and a game-high 12 rebounds in just 24 minutes.
WPI was led by Hannmann who totaled 13 points and seven rebounds, while Cindy Chelius (Northfield, NJ) recorded the second double-double of her career with ten points and a career-high 11 rebounds.
Logan chipped in with 11 points and six rebounds – all on the offensive end and Dani Davis (East Granby, CT) finished with ten points and four boards.
Clark returns to action on Saturday when they play host to MIT, while the Engineers hit the road for a tilt at Coast Guard.
Release Courtesy Clark Sports Information
