WORCESTER, MA. 2/2/08- The Clark University women’s basketball team came out with a vengeance on Saturday afternoon in the Kneller Athletic Center, beating Smith College 70-47, and handing the Pioneers another loss in their second match-up of the season. This contest allowed the Cougars to break a four-game losing streak and improve their record to 7-11 overall (3-4 NEWMAC). The loss drops Smith’s record to 3-13 overall (2-6 NEWMAC).
Sarah Roderigue (Oakland, Me.) led the Cougars with 25 points and six rebounds. Roderigue was 4-5 from three-point territory, helping the team to achieve a 54.5 percentage from behind the arc in the first half overall. Sara Hagstrom (Yarmouth, Me.) was another force for the cougars, chipping in with 12 points and a season-high six steals. Nicole LeVeque (Billerica, Ma.) and Jess Lamothe (Westboro, Ma.) also backed up the team with nine and eight points respectively.
Leading the Pioneer squad was Berit Schelde (Holstebro, Denmark) with 15 points, Laura Miller (Minneapolis, Minn.) with seven points and ten rebounds, and Meredith Murelli (Litchfield, Conn.) who added seven points and six rebounds.
In the first half Clark led 13-6 before scoring 11 unanswered points to create a 24-6 lead at the 10:17 mark. Roderigue scored seven of those points during the run. Clark’s tight defense forced Smith to make 17 turnovers in the first half, allowing Clark to score 21 of their 41 first half points. Hagstrom led the defensive endeavor with four of her six steals occurring in the first frame. Smith rallied to within 13 (13-26) on a jumper by Lisa Marie Vuono (Lyndhurst, N.J.) with 8:02 remaining, but Clark used a 15-9 scoring streak, sealed with a baseline jumper from Jess Lamothe (Westboro, Ma.) and a lay-up from Roderigue, for a 41-22 halftime advantage.
In the second half, Clark kept up with their tenacious defense, forcing 11 more Smith turnovers throughout the remainder of the game. Schelde put up 11 of her 15 points and Jennifer Lindsey's (Oklahoma City, OK) basket closed the gap to within 14 (39-53) at the 10:09 mark, but it was not enough to push the Cougars off track. A quick offensive board by Ruth Briggs (Sanford, Me.) and a jumper from Roderigue followed by consecutive threes from Hagstrom and Hannah LeClaire (E. Brookfield, Mass.) re-opened the gap from which Smith could not recover.
Conference play will continue for both teams next week. Clark will travel to Mt. Holyoke on Wednesday (7p.m), while Smith will host Coast Guard that same day (7 p.m.). Clark’s next home game will be on Saturday, Febuaury 9th at 3pm when they host MIT.
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