01/24/2009
Women's Basketball Beats Coast Guard, 59-51

WORCESTER, MASS.-- Senior Sarah Roderigue (Oakland, Me.) scored 17 points and Clark University fought off a determined Coast Guard Academy, 59-51, in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) game played on Saturday at the Kneller Athletic Center.

Junior Jillian Camilleri (Lancaster, Mass.) added 13 points and freshman Kate Minister (Manchester, England) finished with 11 points in the win.

Junior Melissa Martinelli (Vero Beach, Fla.) had a team-high 20 points to lead Coast Guard.

Clark (7-10, 3-2) raced out to a quick 11-4 lead at the 14:01 mark of the first half, until Martinelli, who scored Coast Guard's first 10 points, scored six straight to bring the Bears within one (10-11).

The Cougars built their lead up to, 20-12, with 4:51 left, before Coast Guard sophomore Jessica Anderson (Schoolcraft, Mich.), who had made just two 3-pointers on the season, knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers and sophomore Allison Majcher (Littleton, Co.) tied the game 20-20 with 3:22 left. Anderson finished with a career-high nine points.

The Cougars closed out the half on 10 straight over the next two minutes to take a 30-20 lead into the locker rooms.

Clark scored the first seven points of the second half to take a 37-20 lead just two minutes in.

Coast Guard which trailed by as many as 20 in the second half, got back in the game with a 12-0 run cutting the Cougars lead to 48-41 with 5:25 left before Clark hit back-to-back 3-pointers to put the game away.

Coast Guard (1-13, 1-5), which has dropped four straight, shot 19-68 for the game from the field (27.9 percent) while making seven of 26 from 3-point range.Clark was 22 for 58 (37.9 percent) and connected on nine of 27 from 3-point range.

Clark will travel to Springfield College on Wednesday (5:30 p.m.).