Worcester, Mass. – For the second straight contest, host Clark held its opponent to under 30 percent shooting, this time shutting down Johnson & Wales en route to a hard fought 62-50 win in non-conference women's basketball action on Saturday afternoon.
The win for Clark gives them seven straight and sends them into the semester break at 7-2 overall, while the Wildcats have dropped five of their last six to dip to 2-5.
Playing their second game in less than 18 hours, the Cougars started off sluggish, committing 14 of their 26 turnovers in the opening stanza, but managed to go into the half with a 28-26 lead on the strength of a strong opening 20 minutes from Emily Reilly (Marlboro, Mass.).
The game stood at 39-38 in favor of Clark when Kelsey Giedymin (Shrewsbury, Mass.) dropped in a three-pointer igniting a 14-2 Cougar burst that saw the score move to 53-40 following an Ashleigh Condon (Hull, Mass.) triple and a pair of Maggie Croft (East Aurora, N.Y.) free throws with ten minutes left.
Johnson & Wales got as close as eight on two occasions, the last coming after a Samantha Hendrick (Castleton-On-Hudson, N.Y.) layup, but the Cougars went six-for-six down the stretch at the charity stripe to secure the win.
The Wildcats shot a frigid 28 percent from the field, including going just 7-for-29 (24 percent) in the second half.
Clark controlled the glass, outrebounding the visitors 43-30, and made 21-of-26 free throws.
For the second straight contest, the Cougars had excellent offensive balance, placing a trio of players in double figures. Kate Minister (Manchester, England) came off the bench to lead the way with a game-high 13 points, while Megan Grondin (Cumberland, Maine) went 10-for-10 from the free throw line and finished with 12 points and a career-high four assists. Reilly, meanwhile, added ten points (eight of which came in the first half) and seven rebounds and Giedymin chipped in with eight points and eight rebounds.
Jenna Juron (Burnt Hills, N.Y.) was the only Wildcat in double figures, totaling 13 points in 31 minutes of action.
The Cougars will have 18 days off until they return to the court at the Land of Magic Classic on December 28-29 in Daytona Beach, Fla. They will face off against Hamilton College and then Central College of Iowa.
Johnson and Wales will look to get back into the win column on Tuesday when they visit UMass-Dartmouth.