Women’s Basketball Take 3-0 Start on the Road

By Bill Cobb

WORCESTER, MASS. – The Clark University women’s basketball team got off to a successful start to its season on November 16 with a 69-46 drubbing of Worcester State College in the opening round of the Worcester City Tip-Off Tournament hosted at the Kneller Athletic Center. The tournament, held at Clark’s home court for the first time since 2003, pitted cross-town rivals Clark, Worcester State, Nichols College, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute against each other in a four-game, two-round series.

Team captain Sarah Roderigue put up 22 points on 9-11 shooting in the opening match to guide the Cougars to the win. The Clark squad took an early lead with an 18-0 run keyed by back-to-back baskets from Katelyn Petty and Kristin Healy to gain a 26-9 advantage. Clark’s balanced offense lead to a 46-25 lead at halftime. The team’s strong rebounding provided Clark with a 49-29 edge on the boards, and a staunch defensive performance limited Worcester State to only two buckets from behind the arc in the entire match to preserve the Cougar lead.

The second game of the night featured Nichols versus WPI with the winner advancing to face Clark in the Tip-Off Title game the following day. WPI squeaked past Nichols with a 55-52 win to advance to the championship round.

In the championship round of the tournament Roderigue again went over the 20-point mark to earn Most Valuable Player honors as the Cougars captured their 18^th Tip-Off Tournament title and 11^th crown in 12 years with a 57-47 victory over WPI. Though Clark stormed ahead in the first half with 13 unanswered points on the way to a 32-23 half-time advantage, WPI battled back to a 36-all tie early in the second period. Clark slowly pulled ahead again, however, and a clutch lay-up from Roderigue with four minutes remaining gave the Cougars a 50-42 lead to all but seal the deal.

The Tip-Off Tournament title provides Clark not only with a strong start to its season, but plenty of hope for the remainder of the year as well. “When you win the Tip-Off to start the season it gives you great momentum in the first part of the season,” states head coach Pat Glispin. “Losing the tournament last year we had no momentum going into the season and we didn’t get it till late January."

Jillian Camilleri echoed her coach’s thoughts. “Winning the Tip-Off Tourney was important to us, it will give us the confidence we need for the rest of our season,” Camilleri said. The sophomore forward lived up to her statement with a career-high 25 points and 12 rebounds in a win over Johnson & Wales University on Tuesday, November 20. The 79-68 victory featured a recurring trend in the start of the Cougars’ season: efficient rebounding and tough defense. The Clark defense held JWU to 32.4% shooting from the floor and 25% from three-point range.

“We won the first three games because the team stayed together throughout it all and played defense,” affirms Camilleri. “Those are the things we are trying to concentrate on this season. We have a lot of talent on our team and we are learning how to stay together and win games through our defense.”

With the win over Johnson & Wales, Clark starts 3-0 for the first time since 2005 when the Cougars won eight straight en route to a 17-9 overall record. The next challenge for this team, starting with the game Tuesday night, is facing the next two opponents away from the home court, but the team remains optimistic as they head out on the road.

“Starting the season 3-0 definitely contributes to our confidence in knowing we are able to perform together to get these wins,” says Petty, a senior forward. “Right now we are just looking to focus on one game at a time, even though they are away we hope to bring the same level of intensity that we have shown so far at home.”

Junior point guard and tri-captain Sara Hagstrom agrees that the 3-0 start provides a valuable confidence-boost to the team. “This start helped us to realize we can close out tough games, which hopefully will stay with us for the rest of the season and never let us question our ability to win,” says Hagstrom. “As we head off onto the road games, we just need to keep executing our plays and frustrating the other team on defense to push through.”

After facing Connecticut College on Tuesday, the Cougars will travel to Salem State College on Saturday. When the Cougars last faced Salem State in 2006, they squared off against the 19^th ranked team in the nation in a 49-62 loss at home. Salem State returns three starters from last year’s squad.