Paxton, MA --- Kailey Rios (Hesperia, CA) spearheaded at 10-0 Clark run in overtime with a pair of 3-pointers as the Cougars successfully defended their championship by defeating 81-73 in the title game of the 43rd annual Worcester City Tournament hosted in 2024 by Anna Maria at the Fuller Center.  

Clark, which claimed the crown last season by 18 points, to snap WPI's eight-year title reign, only to see the Engineers take the NEWMAC contest two months later by 13 points, improves to 2-0 on the season while the Engineers slip to 1-1 overall. 

Ava Giansiracusa (Wethersfield, CT) gave WPI what proved to be its final lead on the night at 70-68 with a layup with 3:13 to go.  The Cougars then scored points on their next five possessions, beginning with Rios' two 3-pointers sandwiched around a Catherine Antwi and capped by a free throw each by Jacqueline Faulise (North Kingstown, RI) and Cyriah Coleman (Los Angeles, CA).  Clark kept the Crimson and Gray at bay the rest of the way by canning 3-of-4 from the charity stripe over the final 30 seconds. 

WPI led by five at 64-59 with five minutes to go in the fourth quarter but Clark rattled off seven straight points, starting with an Catherine Antwi (Lowell, MA) trifecta and a pair of layups from Rios to surge ahead 66-64.  A Giansiracusa layup with 1:47 left knotted the game at 66-66 and proved to be the final points of regulation as both team's defenses excelled, each forcing a pair of turnovers and causing each other team to shot 0-for-2 in the final 104 seconds.  

The contest featured entertaining runs by both squads with WPI leading 18-13 after the first quarter but the Cougars outscoring the Engineers 22-13 in the second stanza to take a 35-31 lead into the locker room at the half.  WPI led 56-52 after three, following a 25-17 run over the third quarter before Clark forced overtime with a 14-10 edge over the final 10 minutes. 

Giansiracusa highlighted four WPI players in double figures with 16 points.  Caitlyn Dasaro (Fairfield, VT) earned all-tournament honors by connecting on 7-of-11 shots on her way to 14 points while Alice Kelly (Wethersfield, CT) and Emmy Allyn (Rutland, MA) both tallied 13.  Kelly flirted with a triple-double with seven points and a game-high seven assists, Dasaro hauled in a career-best nine rebounds, Megan Stone (Hanson, MA) netted nine points and four boards and Shannon Reno (Millbury, MA) handed out four assists to go along with four points and three rebounds. 

WPI held an edge in field goal percentage on the night shooting 43.5% on 30-of-69 attempts from the floor as the Cougars shot 42.4% on 28-of-66 looks in the win. Clark knocked down 10-of-25 shots from beyond the arc for 40% as the Crimson and Gray were held to just four three pointers in the contest. The Boynton Hillers made the most of their trips to the free throw line shooting 9-of 14 (64.3%) as Clark shot 15-of-25 (60%) from the line. WPI outperformed Clark in points in the paint (48-32), bench points (20-18), second chance points (13-12), rebounds (44-39) and assists (19-11). 

Coleman and Dasaro were joined on the all-tournament by Antwi, as well as Katie Hurynowicz (Tyngsboro, MA) of Worcester State and Marinique Reddin (Tampa, FL) of Anna Maria.  Earlier Saturday, the Lancers defeated the host AMCATS 65-44 in the consolation game.

WPI plays its first true road game Wednesday at Regis at 7pm.  Clark has its home opener the same day against Fitchburg State at 6pm.