Worcester, MA --- WPI drained eight first half 3-pointers and limited visiting Clark to just 27.3% shooting from the floor in the opening 20 minute en route to a 76-48 triumph Saturday in a NEWMAC women's basketball contest played at Harrington Auditorium.
The victory moves the homestanding Engineers to 11-5 overall and 3-3 in league play. Clark slips to 3-12 on the season and 1-6 in NEWMAC action.
WPI never trailed in the contest scoring 21 of the game's first 26 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the floor and harassing the guests into seven turnovers. After going up 16-5 on an Ama Biney (Worcester, MA) 3-pointer at the five minute mark, the Engineers would not see their lead shrink to single digits over the final 35 minutes of play.
The Crimson and Gray were particularly efficient from downtown, connecting on 57.1% of its first half 3-point attempts and went to the locker room just a trifecta shy of its season-best for a game from behind the arc. Haili Welton (Southbury, CT) drained 3-of-4 from long range as she notched all nine of her points before the break and helped the Engineers take a 41-17 advantage into the locker room at intermission.
Biney led all scorers with 15 points for WPI. The rookie connected on 7-of-10 shots from the field and shared game-high steals honors with three. Lisa Mendez (Yonkers, NY) notched four 3-pointers on her way to scoring 14 points while Dani Davis (East Granby, CT) tossed in 12. The starting frontcourt of Jessica Larsen (Poway, CA) and Amaia Gritsko (Milford, CT) also played well with Larson leading all players with six rebounds to go along with four points and three steals and Gritsko pitching in with seven points and five boards.
Clark received 14 and 13 points from Brooke Brennan (Weston, MA) and Sam O'Gara (Worcester, MA) respectively with the duo each netting a pair of 3-pointers. Sami Dokus (Littleton, MA) added eight points while Victoria Russo (Arlington, MA) dominated defensively in the paint with five of the Cougars 10 blocks.
The WPI defense forced 25 turnovers on the day and held a commanding 36-2 edge in points off of miscues. The Engineers also led significantly in points in the paint (24-8), second chance points (24-6) and fast break scoring (8-0).
Next up on Wednesday WPI travels to Coast Guard while Clark welcomes Mount Holyoke to Worcester. Both contests are scheduled for a 7pm tip.
Click HERE if the video does not appear below