Lady Cougars Knock Down MIT 55-46

By: Sarah Hunsucker

Saturday afternoon marked another conference win for the Clark University women’s basketball team. The Cougars overcame MIT 55-46 after breaking away from a close comeback effort by the engineers in the second half. Clark advances their record to 4-5 in the NEWMAC (8-12 overall), while MIT drops to a 2-7 conference record (9-11 overall).

Clark was led by Sarah Roderigue (Oakland, Me.) who had 13 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists and was 100% from the free-throw line. Jess Lamothe (Westboro, Mass.) and Hannah Lacaire (East Brookfield, Mass.) added to the offensive effort with eight and seven points respectively. Katelyn Petty (Worcester, Mass.) also chipped in with a game-high eight rebounds.

The Cougars came out on fire in the first half when Blaize Denfield (South Windsor, Conn.) scored six straight points, making it 12-0. They continued to widen the gap with a collective offensive team effort and a relentless defensive force. Sara Hagstrom (Yarmouth, Me.) and Sarah Roderigue each had 4 steals, helping the team to grab 13 steals overall. The Cougars led at the half 35-19.

In the second half, the Cougars sustained their offensive advantage until a dual scoring effort by Kelsey Cappelle (Ringoes, NJ) and Cheryl Kwinn (Monroe, NY) put the Engineers within two points. Capelle scored all of her 10 points during this run and Kwinn scored six of her eight, but it was not enough to break the tone that the Cougars had set earlier in the game. Hagstrom, Lamothe, and Kristin Healy (Brookeline, Mass.) took advantage of MIT’s foul trouble and closed the opportunity by shooting 100% from the free-throw line in the final five minutes of the contest.

Samia Mahjub (Barrington, Ill.) was the leading scorer for the Engineers with 12 points, and seven rebounds. Kwinn finished with eight points and eight rebounds, and Clara Yuan (San Jose, Cali.) also had eight points.

Clark will continue their conference play and try to bounce back from their loss to Coast Guard when they travel to Springfield College on February 16th. The next home contest will be on Wednesday, February 20th at 7pm when the Cougars host Wellesley College for Senior Night in the Kneller Athletic Center. This night will also be dedicated to the “Think Pink” Breast Cancer Awareness global initiative.