Clark Squeaks Past Wellesley Basketball, 66-61

WELLESLEY, Mass. – First year Kailey Rios (Hesperia, Calif.) scored 24 points on eight made three pointers to lift Clark University past Wellesley College basketball 66-61 at Dorothy Towne Fieldhouse. Saturday was the first NEWMAC contest of the season for both teams.

In addition to Rios, junior Kumi Tamura (Whittier, Calif.) added 12 points for the Cougars (10-4 Overall, 1-0 NEWMAC) and senior Jacqueline Faulise (North Kingstown, R.I.) contributed eight rebounds and four steals.

First year Trinity Barrow (Evans, Ga.) filled the stat sheet for the Blue (7-6 Overall, 0-1 NEWMAC). Barrow registered 22 points, seven steals, five rebounds and four assists. Junior Caitlin Windross (Eastvale, Calif.) put up 12 points and six rebounds. Sophomore Arla Hofer (Las Vegas, Nev.) blocked three shots.

The teams came into the fourth quarter tied at 46-46. Neither team was able to gain separation for much of the quarter, with the score knotted at 56-56 with two and a half minutes remaining.

A made triple from Tamura gave Clark a three point lead with 2:19 left in the game. The Blue trimmed the deficit to one with a pair of free throws from first year Mirella Funari (Phoenix, Ariz.). The Cougars quickly responded with a key three from Rios at the 1:20 mark.

Wellesley refused to go away. Windross sank a critical three to make it 62-61 Clark with 1:08 left. That score remained until the 11 second mark, when Tamura went two-for-two at the foul line for Clark. A missed three from Wellesley was followed by two more foul shots from Tamura to finish off a 66-61 win for the Cougars.

Neither team was able to distance itself from the other in the first three quarters. Wellesley led by two after one quarter, before Clark made it 27-25 at halftime. The teams traded the lead throughout the third quarter before Barrow tied the game at 46-46 with three seconds left in the third.

Clark shot 22-for-58 (37.9%) for the game, including going 10-of-30 (33.3%) from behind the three point line. Wellesley was 21-for-64 (32.8%) from the floor. The Cougars outrebounded the Blue 46-37, but Wellesley won the battle of second chance points 14-11.

The Blue wrap up a three-game homestand on Wednesday, January 17 at 7:00 PM with a NEWMAC contest against Emerson. The Cougars travel to Lesley for a non-conference matinee game on Monday, January 15 at 2:00 PM.