Worcester, Mass. – Freshman Emily Reilly (Marlboro, Mass.) scored a career-high 20 points, made the go-ahead basket and a pair of game-sealing free throws to lift host Clark to a 66-62 win over Wheaton in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) women's basketball action on Tuesday evening.
With the win the Cougars snap a four-game losing streak and improve to 2-5 overall and 1-2 in league play, while the Lyons dip to 3-4 overall and 1-2 in conference action.
In a game that had nine lead changes and saw the score tied eight times, it was Clark that ended the game on a 16-4 run that erased an eight point Wheaton lead in the final eight minutes.
The Lyons built their lead with an 8-0 run of their own courtesy of a pair of three-poniters and an inside finish from Jana Jagodzinski (Old Greenwich, Conn.) to snap a 50-50 tie.
The Cougars answered with their game altering run as four different players scored baskets capped by an Ashleigh Condon (Hull, Mass.) fast break finish with 2:08 left that gave Clark their first lead in nearly ten minutes of action. The spurt came at the wrong time for Wheaton as they committed five turnovers and went 2-for-8 over the final seven minutes of the game.
That being said, the Lyons took the lead at 62-61 with 1:14 left on steal and finish from Melissa McLaughlin (Spindale, N.C.), but Reilly gave the lead back to the Cougars on short jumper with 14 seconds left.
Wheaton called timeout and found Jeana Trimboli (Norwalk, Conn.) on the inbounds play, who drove to the basket but her shot was swatted away by freshman Esther Cohn (Carborro, N.C.) and rebounded by Reilly who stepped to the line and sank the game sealing free throws.
Clark opened the game on a 17-8 run to take their biggest lead of the game less than eight minutes into the contest but the Lyons clawed their way back, as Jagodzinski scored six straight points to give Wheaton a 30-29 lead in the closing minutes of the first half.
The Cougars ended the half on a quick spurt, however as Kelsey Giedymin (Shrewsbury, Mass.) finished inside and Reilly canned a corner triple for a 34-30 halftime lead.
Clark held a huge advantage on the boards, outrebounding the Lyons 45-32, including a 19-8 edge on the offensive glass which led to a 14-4 edge in second chance points.
Neither team took care of the ball as the game featured a combined 39 turnovers and 18 steals.
Wheaton (43 percent) actually shot better from the field than Clark (42 percent) but both team struggled from three-point land – going a combined 9-for-34.
Jagodzinski scored 12 of her career-best 16 points in the first half and finished with a team best eight rebounds. Trimboli added 11 points but went 0-for-7 from three-point land.
Laura Pierce (Hampstead, N.H.) matched her career-high with eight assists (only two turnovers), while adding five rebounds, three points and two steals.
In addition to her 20 points, Reilly also hauled in six rebounds in 32 minutes, while Giedymin matched her career-high with 13 points and four rebounds. Condon added 11 points, six rebounds and three steals for Clark.
Cohn pulled down a game-best 10 rebounds to go along with four points and three assists and the crucial blocked shot.
The Cougars have little time to savor their victory as they host Mount Holyoke College on Thursday at 7:00 p.m., while the Lyons return to the hardwood on Friday night with a 7:00 p.m. start against Springfield.