02/06/2008
Women's Basketball Slips Against Mount Holyoke

SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. (Feb. 6, 2008)  Led by senior forward Marisa Barone (Ludlow, Mass./Wilbraham & Monson Academy), the Mount Holyoke College women's basketball team downed New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) foe Clark University 73-67 this evening at the Mildred Howard Gymnasium. It was the Lyons first league win of the 2007-08 campaign.

All five starters reached double digits in the scoring column for Mount Holyoke, which shot 39.0% (23-59) from the floor and an eye-popping 85.7% (24-28) from the free-throw stripe. The Lyons amassed 17 assists on 23 made baskets and turned the ball over just 12 times.

Junior guard Sara Hagstrom (Yarmouth, Maine/Yarmouth) paced the guests with a career-high 18 points. She drained five treys and dished out a team-best five assists. Clark also got solid production from junior forward Sarah Roderigue (Oakland, Maine/Messalonskee), who registered 13 points and nine boards. Graduate student Jess Lamothe (Westboro, Mass./Westboro) rounded things out with 12 points and six rebounds.

Barone set the tone for the hosts, racking up a career-best 21 points to go with nine rebounds. Mount Holyoke also received a boost from junior guard Katie Austen (Mount Sinai, N.Y./Mount Sinai), who finished with 12 points, five boards and a game-high seven assists. Sophomore guard Erin Cain (Quincy, Mass./Fontbonne Academy), sophomore center Kate Shafir (Newton, Mass./Beaver Country Day) and first year guard Emilie Methot (South Hadley, Mass./Granby) chipped in with 17, 11 and ten points, respectively.

Clark converted 38.7% (24-62) of its shots from the field and drained nine three-pointers. The Cougars amassed 16 assists but made just 50.0% (10-20) of their free-throw attempts. They enjoyed a 43-37 advantage on the glass.

Neither team led by more than eight points in a first half that featured four ties and seven lead changes. Cains third three-pointer of the game put Mount Holyoke in front 21-20 just over seven minutes into the contest. Hagstrom dropped in three straight points to put Clark in front 23-21, but the Lyons erupted for the next ten to open up a 31-23 edge. Barone was responsible for all ten points during the run, which covered three minutes.

Refusing to go away, the Cougars responded with an 11-3 spurt of their own to even the score at 34 points apiece. The teams played to a stalemate over the last four minutes of the period and were still knotted up (38-38) at the intermission. Barone registered 16 of her 21 points before the break.

The game went back-and-forth in the second stanza with neither team leading by more than four points until the waning minutes. A layup by Rodrigue with 1:04 remaining in regulation tied things up at 64-64. From there, Mount Holyoke knocked down eight straight free-throws to secure the victory.

Both squads are slated to resume league play on Saturday. Mount Holyoke (4-15, 1-7 NEWMAC) will travel to Wellesley at 7:00 p.m., while Clark (7-12, 3-5 NEWMAC) will host MIT at 3:00 p.m.

(Courtesy of Mount Holyoke Sports Information)