Worcester, Mass - Led by a 20-point show from freshman Jamad Fiin, the Clark University Women's Basketball team defeated the Lyons of Mount Holyoke College, 90-31 in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action on Wednesday night. With the win, the Cougars improve to 9-10 overall and 3-7 in the conference, while the Lyons are now 0-18 overall and 0-10 in the NEWMAC.
Four Cougars posted double-digit scoring in the victory. Junior Rachael Chen boasted a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, while Ogechi Ezemma (Hope Valley, R.I) added 15 points. Fiin led with 20 and Favaloro added 10 points, while Chen led all players with 10 rebounds.
For the Lyons, juinor guard Leah Hodges (New Haven, Conn./Kolbe Cathedral) led the Lyons with 11 points while Woods added seven points. Off the bench, senior Kate Rawson (Old Town, Maine/Old Town) contributed six points and five rebounds.
Clark started the game on a 4-0 run for an early 7-0 lead with Ezemma scoring all seven points in the first 1:30 of play. Hodges broke up the Cougar's run with a basket at the 5:36 mark but the Cougars extended their lead to eight with a layup and free throw from junior Kacey Legare (Chicopee, Mass.). A 9-2 run for the Cougars closed out the first quarter with the hosts leading 26-5. Ezemma posted seven points in the first ten minutes while Chen and freshman Hannah Favaloro (Blackstone, Mass.) added six points each.
The Cougars started the second quarter on a 4-0 rally which included seven points from Fiin for the 35-5 advantage with 8:04 on the clock. Hodges added a basked from behind the arc just 30 seconds later but a 6-1 Clark run gave the home team a 35-point lead with under three minutes to play until the break. Hodges scored five of the Lyons nine second quarter points. Fiin added nine points to Clark's offensive push in the second while freshman Anastasia Maniatis (Watertown, Mass.) put up four points. Clark held Mount Holyoke to just 14 points in the first 20 minutes of play and took the 45-14 lead heading into the halftime break.
The third quarter was the Lyon's highest scoring quarter as they added 11 points. GraceAnne Woods (Glen Cove, N.Y./Glen Cove) posted five points including three free throws to lead the Lyons. Clark extended their lead to 67-25 with the help of freshman Idalis Miranda (Naugatuck, Conn.) and Ezemma who posted six points each over the 10 minutes of play.
Fiin hit a three-pointer with 9:19 to play that put Clark up by 45 points and junior Erika Monsalve (Bristol, Conn.) hit back to back jumpers to go along with a free throw for the 77-29 advantage with under six minutes to play. A 6-2 run and two back-to-back three-pointers from Fiin gave Clark the ultimate 90-31 NEWMAC victory.
Clark travels to Wellesley College on Saturday, January 27th for a 2:00 p.m. NEWMAC matchup. Mount Holyoke hosts the Beavers of Babson College on the same day for conference action at 1:00 p.m.
