Four Players in Double Figures Help Blue Basketball Dispatch Clark

WELLESLEY, Mass. -- Four Wellesley College players scored in double figures and senior Malia Maier set the school's all-time assist record, as the Blue topped Clark University 63-60 in Friday night New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action at Wellesley. The win improves Wellesley to 3-4 overall, 2-2 in NEWMAC play, while Clark's record moves to 5-2 overall, 2-2 in the NEWMAC.

Maier recorded 13-points, seven assists and four steals as Wellesley turned an eight-point halftime deficit into a three-point victory. Her assist total tonight pushes her to 306 total helpers, surpassing 2006 graduate, Catie Romasco, for first place on the all-time Blue list. 

After shooting just 24% (6-25) from the field in the first half, Wellesley connected on 51.6% of its second half shots (16-31) to nail down the victory. Clark, meanwhile, was hot in the first half, shooting 39.3% (11-28), but cooled to 32% (8-25) after the break. The Cougars also made five threes in the first period, while hitting just 20% (2-10) from long range in the second.

Wellesley grabbed an early 4-0 lead on lay-ups from Courtney Jackson and Maier, but Clark followed with 10 unanswered points, including two threes from Emily Reilly to take a 10-4 advantage. The Cougars kept the pressure on, this time with hot shooting from Kelsey Giedymin, to push the lead to 20-10 with 8:54 remaining in the half.

Wellesley responded with six straight, including buckets from Maier and Morgyne Weaver, trimming the lead to 20-16. The Cougars answered with a run of their own, extending their lead to 27-16. Wellesley then outscored the visitors 5-2 in the closing minutes of the period to put the score at 29-21 at the break.

The teams traded baskets in the opening minutes of the second period, until three-pointer from Maier and a jumper from Jackson cut the Cougar lead to 41-38 with 13:16 left on the clock. Clark slowed the surge with three points from Reilly and two from Annmarie Fransen, but Wellesley followed two minutes later with five straight to take a 50-48 lead with 6:52 remaining.

At the 2:56 mark, with the score knotted at 54-54, Ashleigh Condon hit a trey to give Clark a 57-54 lead.  Wellesley responded with buckets from Weaver and Kendall Bianchi, to grab a one-point advantage, but a free throw from Condon tied the score at 58-58 with 1:02 left. Wellesley grabbed a 62-58 lead with a layup from Courtney Jackson and two Weaver free throws. A put-back from Megan Grondin cut the lead to 62-60 with :09 remaining, but the Blue held on for the 63-60 win, as a desperation three from Clark caromed off the rim.

For Clark, Reilly led all scorers with 25 points, shooting 8-for-15 from the field, including 3-for-6 from behind the arc. Giedymin added 13 points and four boards, while Condon added 12 points and four assists. Esther Cohn led the Cougars under the boards with eight rebounds.

Wellesley had four players in double figures, led by Weaver with 16, followed by Maier and Chelsi Scott with 13, and Jackson with 12. Scott completed her first-career double-double by pulling down 14 rebounds in the come-from-behind win. Rounding out the stat leaders, Weaver recorded eight boards, while Ashleigh Sargent was solid all-around with six rebounds, four points and three assists.

Clark returns to action on Wednesday, December 12th, when they travel to Johnson and Wales for a 7:00pm game.  The Blue are off until January 2th, when they play a 6:00pm game at Framingham State.