SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. (Jan. 30, 2013) – Senior captain Angelica Pascual poured in a game-best 22 points, including six three-pointers, and two others reached double figures as Mount Holyoke College held off Clark University, 61-59 in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) women's basketball action on Wednesday. With the win, the Lyons move to 5-13 overall and are now 3-10 in conference play. The Cougars slip to 11-9 with a 6-7 NEWMAC record.

Holding a 29-23 lead after halftime, Mount Holyoke saw its advantage slip early in the second stanza as first year guard Brooke Brennan (Weston, Mass./The Rivers School) drained a three-pointer in the first minute to cut the deficit. The Cougars took advantage of a number of missed shots and turnovers by the Lyons to grab the lead with 15:16 on the clock off another trey from Brennan.

Clark continued to ride hot shooting from the perimeter as senior forward Kelsey Gideymin (Shrewsbury, Mass./Shrewsbury) and junior guard Annmarie Fransen (Belmont, Mass./Belmont) each sank their own three-pointers while junior guard Ashleigh Condon (Hull, Mass./Hull) dropped in a layup to give the visitors a nine-point (39-30) advantage with 12:10 left in the contest.

The Lyons quickly answered, cutting the lead to five (39-34) on back-to-back jumpers by sophomore forwards Nicole DeMarchena (Miami, Fla./Amherst Regional (Mass.) and Amber Legare (Chicopee, Mass./Chicopee Comprehensive), but Condon answered for Clark with another shot from outside to make it an eight-point game with 10:48 left.

MHC kept up the pressure and it paid off at 7:31 as junior forward Jennine Vizcaino (New York, N.Y./Northfield Mount Hermon (Mass.) drained the layup and drew a foul to make it a three-point play and pull the Lyons to within one (46-45). The home team took the lead minutes later as Pascual (Lawrence, Mass./Proctor Academy (N.H.) drained a three-point shot to give Mount Holyoke the 48-46 lead with 5:58 remaining. 

Junior Megan Grondin (Cumberland, Maine/Greely) tied things up at 48-all with a pair of free throw makes, but first year guard Genelle Green (Windsor, Conn./Miss Porter's School) brought MHC back ahead by one with her own make from the line. Clark responded as a layup by junior guard Emily Reilly (Marlborough, Mass./Marlborough) tied the game at 52-all and two more free throws from Grondin gave Clark the 54-52 advantage with 3:02 to play.

Pascual stepped up big, nailing her sixth three-pointer of the game with 2:06 on the clock and Legare took advantage of a Clark foul with two shots from the charity stripe to give Mount Holyoke a 58-54 lead with 51 seconds left.

The Cougars made a huge run with time winding down as Grondin, who went a perfect 9-for-9 from the free throw line, dropped in three more shots after a foul against the Lyons to pull the visitors to within two (59-57) with 31 seconds left. Condon dropped in a layup with 18 second to go, but it was sandwiched between two free throw makes by Pascual as MHC held on.

In addition to Pascual, Mount Holyoke saw Legare drop in 11 points and a game-best nine rebounds. Sophomore Kate Karraker (Morgantown, W.V./Taft School (Conn.) also had 11 points, including a trio of three-pointers, while Green added a game-best four steals.

For the Cougars, Condon had 21 points, including three from beyond the arc, while also adding seven rebounds, three assists, a block and a steal. Grondin added 15 points and four rebounds.

Mount Holyoke returns to the court on Saturday when it travels to MIT for a 3pm contest. Clark is also in action on Saturday, hosting Wellesley at 1pm.