Clark Uses Late Rally to Down Blue Basketball, 41-36

WORCESTER, Mass. — Clark University rallied from an eight-point deficit with 6:51 to play to top Wellesley College basketball, 41-36, in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) game on Wednesday evening at Kneller Athletic Center. 

The host Cougars earned just their second conference win of the season, improving to 4-17 overall and 2-11 in NEWMAC play. Wellesley slips to 6-15 overall and 3-10 in conference following tonight's loss.

Clark first year Sam O'Gara (Worcester, Mass.) led the way for the host with a team-high 12 points. Aretha Sullivan (Worcester, Mass.) chipped and eight points and a game-high three assists, while Dominique St. Pierre (Portsmouth, N.H.)  added seven points for the Cougars. Gwyneth Ivory (Ashland, Mass.) collected a game-high seven rebounds. 

Senior forward Morgyne Weaver (Oklahoma City, Okla.) led the Blue with 15 points, adding four rebounds and two steals. Both senior Natalie Anderson (Bellevue, Wash.) and first year Kayla Jang (South Pasadena,Calif.) added six points. Jang also had a team-high five rebounds, three assists and three steals. 

Despite a 5-0 Clark run to open the contest, Wellesley would eventually enter halftime with a four point advantage following a first half that included five ties and only three lead changes. Weaver and Jang knocked down back-to-back buckets in the closing two minutes to give Wellesley an 18-14 edge heading into the break. 

Weaver and junior Chelsi Scott (Portland, Mich.) scored the first two baskets of the second half to help the Blue open up their largest lead of the contest, at 22-14, with 18:04 left in regulation. However, the Cougars responded by scoring the next seven unanswered points to cut the lead to one, at 22-21, following a jumper by Sullivan at 13:50. 

Weaver and Anderson scored on the Blue's next two possessions to increase the Wellesley advantage to five before Clark's Haley Wilder (Fitzwilliam, N.H.) knocked down a three to make the score 26-24 with under nine minutes to play. With the Cougars within two, Wellesley again extended their lead, getting three straight layups from Jang, Anderson and Weaver to lead by eight, 32-24, with 6:51 left. 

Clark responded in kind, this time hitting the Blue with a 15-0 run over the next six and half minutes to take a 39-32 lead. In the end, the Cougars would outscore the Blue 17-4 to close out the contest to earn the 41-36 victory.

Wellesley will host Mount Holyoke in a NEWMAC contest on Saturday at 2:00 PM as part of the Dorothy Towne Fieldhouse Community Celebration Weekend. Clark will return to action tomorrow night at 7:00 PM when they host Pine Manor in non-conference play.