01/30/2008
Springfield College hands Women's Basketball 4th Straight Loss

WORCESTER, MASS. 1/30/08  The Clark University womens basketball team dropped their fourth straight decision with a 79-58 loss to Springfield College in a New England Womens and Mens Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) game Wednesday night at the Kneller Athletic Center.

Clark now stands with a 6-11 overall record (2-4 NEWMAC) while Springfield improves to 10-7 (5-1 NEWMAC).

Sarah Roderigue (Oakland, Me.) went over 20 points for the third straight game with 27 points and 9 rebounds to lead all scorers. Nicole LeVecque (Billerica, Mass.) scored 10 points and Sara Hagstrom (Yarmouth, Me.) added 8 points with 9 assists for the Cougars.

Tara McCarthy (Bristol, R.I.) notched 18 points to lead the Pride. Christine Cotter (Stoughton, Mass.) scored 16 points, going 7-9 from the floor, and Lauren OConnor (Valhalla, N.Y.) netted a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Corey Finch (Hanover, Pa.) added 14 points to round out the top scorers for Springfield.

The Cougars got out to an early lead as Hagstrom hit a three to put Clark up 7-2 at the 17:42 mark. Springfield came back to tie it up at 9-all when McCarthy was fouled on a lay-up and made the and-1. Clark again gained a five-point lead when LeVecque drilled a three from the far post to go up 14-9 at the 13:05 mark.

The Clark advantage was short lived, however, as Springfield exploded on a 23-3 run to take a 32-17 lead capped by a midrange jumper from Cotter. Seven different Springfield players netted points during the streak.

Two offensive rebounds by LeVecque and Jess Lamothe (Westboro, Mass.) lead to a three-point shot from Roderigue to break up Clarks scoring drought and set the score at 32-20. Rachelle Walker (Lee, Mass.) answered with a three of her own and a jumper by OConnor with 0:26 to go brought the score to 37-22 going into the half.

At the start of the second half Clark cut the lead to single digits (37-28) with back-to-back threes from LeVecque and Hagstrom. Cotter and McCarthy answered with a pair of threes of their own, however, to spread the lead to 43-28 at the 17:47 mark.

After a steal and fast-break lay-up from Cotter, LeVecque hit another three with a 30-foot jump shot to mark the score at 45-31. Clark closed the gap to 11 points (54-43) with a three from Roderigue and had a chance to cut the lead to single digits, but LeVeques bid for another deep shot rattled out. The Pride took an 11-3 run to stretch the lead to 65-46 with a lay-up from OConnor, and the Cougars could not make up the difference.

There were only 18 fouls between the two teams in the game, including just six in the first half. Springfield held a 42-32 advantage in rebounds, while both teams played evenly off the bench as Clark had 11 points to Springfields 12.

The Cougars continue their homestand against Smith College on Saturday (1 pm) while Springfield heads to Wheaton College the same day (1 pm).

By: Bill Cobb, Sports Information Intern