By: Sarah Hunsucker
The Kneller Athletic Center was a sea of pink last night as the Clark Women’s basketball team hosted Wellesley College for their final home contest and senior night, as well as the “Think Pink” Breast Cancer Awareness initiative. The Cougars played a tight game against Wellesley, with the lead changing 14 times, and the score tied six times before a final defining moment at the 00:21 mark, when Jessica Duff of Wellesley pulled down an offensive board and put it back, drawing the foul for a free-throw attempt. This tied up the score 68-68 with only 22 seconds left to go. Following this, Wellesley dropped two free throws, making it a score of 68-70 from which Clark would not recover.
This game dropped the women to an 8-15 (4-8 NEWMAC) record; however, it does not delineate whether or not the team will be cut from the NEWMAC playoffs. Clark will have one more chance at a win in their final scheduled conference game at Wheaton. Hopefully, with the return of second leading scorer (13.4 avg) and rebounder (5.4 avg), Jill Camilleri, the Cougars can fight for a spot in the NEWMAC tournament.
This year, the team has had a strong roster with 13 returners, 4 of them veteran starters. One big player this season has been Sarah Roderigue, a junior tri-captain on the squad. Roderigue put up 25 points in the game against Wellesley, and she has been a consistent contributor for the team, averaging 17.3 points/game and 7.7 rebounds/game. Sara Hagstrom, another tri-captain and the team’s point guard has led the way for the troop with her sharp defensive skills and her innate ability to see the court. Hagstrom contributed a game and team high of nine assists in her performance against Wellesley, a task she repeated since the team’s contest at Springfield College.
The game against Wellesley though, was all about the seniors. Clark will graduate Jess Lamothe, a two-year captain and graduate student who has acted as a versatile player for the group. She has been a key asset to the team on offense and defense. Kristin Healy, a senior and four-year letter winner will also be retiring after this season. She boasts the third most assists on the team, and brings a high level of pressure to Clark’s backcourt defense. These two players have been an integral part of the Clark Women’s Basketball program for the past four years.
Another important part of the game against Wellesley was the global movement that was taking place on the court. Both teams participated in the “Think Pink” unified effort for the Women's Basketball Coaches Association's (WBCA) nation of coaches to assist in raising breast cancer awareness on the court, across campuses, in communities and beyond. Both teams were decked in pink warm-ups and shoelaces, and the referees wore pink whistles. The stands were full of fans in pink, all gathered to support this great cause. The Clark Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) raised almost 200 dollars to go towards finding a cure for Breast Cancer. In 2007, more than 120 schools unified for this effort and helped make the inaugural year of “Think Pink” a success. The 2008 initiative has already unified over 600 women’s basketball teams for the cause.
The Cougars will continue to fight for a win in their next face-up with Wheaton College on Saturday, February 23rd for their final conference contest, and this game will determine the fate of their post season.
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