11/17/2007
Roderigue's MVP Performance Gives Women's Basketball Tip-Off Title

WORCESTER, MASS. 11/17/07 - Tournament MVP Sarah Roderigue (Oakland, Maine) put up 21 points to send the Clark University women’s basketball team past Worcester Polytechnic Institute 57-47 to capture the 26th annual Worcester City Tip-Off Tournament Championship.

Clark (2-0) takes its 11th Tip-Off title in the past 12 years and 18th total championship. WPI (1-1) returned to the final for the first time since 2005 when the Engineers fell 62-49 to Clark.

Roderigue led all scorers in the match with 21 points and six rebounds to earn Most Valuable Player honors.

Jillian Camilleri (Lancaster, Mass.) and Jess Lamothe (Westboro, Mass.) were also in double figures with 10 and 11 points respectively. Elle Fontaine (Franklin, Mass.) and Kaileen Selen (Worcester, Mass.) each had 12 points to lead the Engineers.

The first half was tightly played as there were four ties and two lead changes. After Rachel Salvatori (Williston, Ver.) hit a basket to give the Engineers a 14-12 lead, Clark scored 13 unanswered points to gain a 25-14 advantage. Roderigue sank three consecutive shots during the scoring streak and capped the run with a three-point bucket.

WPI battled back and moved within four (27-23) as Selen knocked down a three with just 1:40 to play in the half. Clark stretched the lead before the close of the period, however, when a trey from Sara Hagstrom (Yarmouth, Maine) and a quick lay-up from Roderigue in the closing seconds gave the Cougars a 32-23 advantage heading into the break.

Following the intermission WPI muscled back to within three when a shot from Fontaine from behind the arc knotted the score at 36-all. Clark pulled ahead again, however, when Camilleri hit a pair of baskets for a four point advantage. A lay-up from Roderigue with 4:13 to play put Clark up 50-42 before Hagstrom and Lamothe combined for seven free throws to close out the game.

Clark held a 31-26 advantage in rebounds while WPI scored 23 points off the bench to Clark’s six.

After the game Lindsay DelleChiaie (Leominster, Mass.) of Worcester State, MaryLynn Skarzenski (Hopelawn, N.J.) of Nichols College, Serena Dubois (Bangor, Maine) and Selen of WPI and Camilleri of Clark were named to the All-Tournament Team.

Clark next hosts Johnson and Wales University on Tuesday (5 p.m.) while WPI faces Wesleyan University at home on Thursday, November 29 (7:30 p.m.).

Nichols Cruises Past Worcester State, 66-46
WORCESTER, MASS. 11/17/07 – Senior Katie Fondelheit (Killingly, Conn.) tallied 10 points and 12 other players scored for Nichols College to lead the Bison to a 66-46 victory over Worcester State College in the consolation game of the women’s basketball Worcester City Tip-Off Tournament hosted by Clark University on Saturday afternoon.

Nichols (1-1) earned third place in the tournament, while Worcester State (0-2) finished fourth.

In a first half that saw four ties Nichols was finally able to pull away from the Lancers late in the frame. The Bison outscored Worcester State 19-10 in the final seven minutes of the half to take a 31-23 half-time lead. Sophomore Alena Jasinksi (Canton, Conn.) had five points in the uprising.

Nichols used a 17-7 burst highlighted by consecutive baskets from Lyndsey Bennett (North Brookfield, Mass.) to gain an 18-point advantage (48-30) in the second half. Worcester State closed the gap to within 13 (37-50) on a jumper by Lindsay DelleChiaie (Leominster, Mass.), but would get no closer. Nichols’ Lindsey Paulsen’s (Clifton Park, N.Y.) three-pointer capped a 13-4 run to put the game away.

Both teams shot poorly from the field, however, Nichols shot 80% (12-15) from the charity stripe and held a 49-33 advantage in rebounds in the game.

DelleChiaie, who led Worcester State in scoring with 19 points, and Nichols’ MaryLynn Skarzenski (Hopelawn, N.J.) joined WPI’s Serena Dubois and Kaileen Selen, and Clark’s Jillian Camilleri and MVP Sarah Roderigue on the All-Tournament team.

Nichols will host Connecticut College on Tuesday (5 p.m.). Worcester State will entertain UMass-Dartmouth that same day at 6 p.m.