Box Score NORTHAMPTON, Mass.--
Paulina Solis (Santa Ana, Calif./Foothill) led five Smith players in double-figures with 21 points, and the Pioneers forced 24 turnovers in an 89-74 New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) win over Clark University on Wednesday night. Smith has now beaten Clark seven consecutive times.
Smith breaks into the win column and is now 1-1, and 1-0 in the NEWMAC, while Clark suffers its first defeat of the young season and is 2-1, with an 0-1 NEWMAC record.
Smith's
Rosa Drummond (Rye, N.H./Portsmouth) and
Marissa Munoz-Ruiz (Fairfield, Calif./Justin-Siena) each netted 14 points, while
Sydney Parkmond (Waterbury, Conn./Chase Collegiate) had a double-double with an 11 point, 10 rebound performance.
Alyssa Barrett (Berlin, Conn./Berlin) poured in 13 points off the bench.
Clark was led by a career high tying 26 points by Emily Reilly, who added seven rebounds. Megan Grondin added 14 points for Clark, while Ashleigh Condon had 12 and Olivia Lyons 10.
Jazmine Collins (Springfield, Mass./Sabis)' layup kickstarted a 10-4 run by the Pioneers which including consecutive threes by Solis that gave Smith a 21-10 lead with 12:10 on the clock in the first half. Reilly sunk a pair of free throws to get Clark within seven, but another three pointer, this time from Drummond, gave Smith a 26-14 lead with 8:09 remaining.
The Pioneers took their biggest lead of the half on a short jumper by Munoz-Ruiz with 4:17 left for a 36-23 lead, but Clark closed out the half on an 11-4 run. The Cougars scored the final seven points of the half on baskets by Brooke Brennan and Olivia Lyons, and a free throw by Aretha Sullivan.
Consecutive baskets by Drummond in the second half pushed Smith back up by 12 (48-36), but Clark chipped away, getting within four points on Grondin's jumper with 16:53 to play. Clark continued to push, getting within 54-53 on Reilly's three and taking their first lead of the game on Lyons' bucket at 12:59.
Solis responded with a three for Smith on the next possesion, and after Clark tied the game on two free throws by Condon, Smith took the game over with an 11-3 run over the next five minutes. Barrett hit two threes in that stretch, and Drummond fed Parkmond for a layup that gave Smith a 71-60 lead.
Clark got within 73-65 on Gwyneth Ivory's hoop with 4:54 to play, but could not get closer. Smith led by as many as 18 on two free throws by
Jade Chihara (Laihana, Hawaii/Laihanaluna) in the final seconds.
Smith will hit the road in their next contest, traveling to Babson College for a 2 p.m. game on November 23. Clark will play cross-town rival WPI on Saturday for a 2 p.m. tip.
