02/25/2009
NEWMAC Tournament: Women's Basketball Concludes Season with Loss at Wheaton

NORTON, MA - The fifth-seeded Clark University women's basketball team concluded its season with a tought 73-62 loss to fourth-seed and defending New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament champion Wheaton College during a Wednesday night quarterfinal round game in Emerson Gymnasium.

With the win, the Lyons advance to Saturday's semifinal round. Wheaton will face host and top seed Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) at 12:00 p.m. The game will mark the 10th meeting between the teams in the last three years. The Lyons are 16-10 overall, while Clark finishes its season at 13-13.

Trailing 44-35 with 13:53 remaining, the hosts used a 12-2 spurt in a little more than three minutes to capture a 47-46 edge at 10:32. Cougar junior Jillian Camilleri's (Lancaster, MA/Nashoba Regional) lay-up 10 seconds later made the score 48-47 before Wheaton retook the lead for good. Back-to-back baskets by junior Ida Kruse (Vershire, VT/Rivendell Academy) spurred a 6-0 Lyon run that led to a 53-48 edge at 8:34. After the visitors sliced their deficit to 53-52, the Blue and White soon pushed its advantage back out to five at 57-52.

The Cougars' final push resulted in getting within three points four times, including for the final time at 63-60 on a Camilleri lay-in with 2:36 showing, but buckets by senior Jennie Pleat (Nashua, NH/Nashua South) and junior Jenny Champney (Bedford, MA/Bedford) gave the Lyons a 67-60 cushion at 1:45. Wheaton went 4-of-6 from the charity stripe in the final 52 seconds to seal the win.

The teams opened play with eight lead swings by 12:50 of the first half, as a three from senior Nicole LeVecque (Billerica, MA/Billerica) sparked a 7-0 Clark run that left the Cougars with a 19-13 advantage at 10:46. After Wheaton responded with seven of the next nine points to get within 21-20, including five from senior Lauren Gosline (Peterborough, NH/ConVal Regional), Clark extended its lead to 27-20 with five minutes to go before the break. Kruse and senior Krystin Hickey (Manchester, NH/New Hampton School) combined to score Wheaton's next nine points during a 9-2 run that forced a 29-all knot at the 1:16 mark. A Cougar basket and Lyon free throw completed the half's scoring, with the visitors carrying a 31-30 edge into the locker room.

Hickey recorded a game-best 18 points while pulling down seven boards to go with five assists. Pleat scored 13 points, classmate Bri Smith (Westford, MA/Westford Academy) contributed 12 points, and Kruse turned in 11 points and five boards off the bench. Champney was a basket shy of a double-double with eight points and a game-best 10 rebounds, while classmate Andrea Bailey (Needham, MA/Needham) dished out a game-high eight assists to only one turnover.

The Cougars were led by freshman Ivori Aiken (Harlem, NY/Hyde School), who poured in 16 points and grabbed six rebounds. Senior Sarah Roderigue (Oakland, ME/Messalonskee) knocked down eight freebies to finish with 13 points, while classmate Sara Hagstrom (Yarmouth, ME/Yarmouth) shot 6-of-9 for 12 points. Camilleri added seven points and eight rebounds.

Courtesy of Wheaton College Sports Information