Box Score WORCESTER, Mass.--The Smith College basketball team saw its five game conference winning streak come to an end with a 63-39 loss to Clark University in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) on Sunday afternoon.
Smith is now 6-9 overall, and 6-5 in the NEWMAC, while Clark, who beat Smith for the first time since the 2010-11 season, is 7-9, and 4-7 against NEWMAC opponents.
The Pioneers struggled offensively, as no player scored in double-figures and the team was limited to 20.3% (13-for-64) shooting from the field. The Pioneers did haul in 25 offensive rebounds which led to 12 second chance points but they handed out a season-low six assists.
Emily Reilly (Marlboro, Mass.) led a trio of Clark University players in double figures with 22 points and seven rebounds.
The Scarlet and White improve to 7-9 on the season, 4-7 in the NEWMAC, while Smith dips to 6-9 overall and 6-5 in conference play.
Clark held the Pioneers without a basket for nearly the first five minutes of the second half during which they ran off 11 straight points to turn a 31-27 halftime edge into a 15-point lead at 42-27 at the 15:40 mark.
Smith finally got a basket courtesy of a Marissa Munoz-Ruiz (Fairfield, Calif./Justin-Siena) hoop but that ended up being just one of five made baskets for the Pioneers in the second half as they scored just 12 points in the final 20 minutes.
A Lauren Weston (Florence, Mass./Northampton) inside basket cut the Clark advantage down to 12 at 49-37 with 6:30 left into the game but a 12-0 Cougar burst that featured three-pointers from both Reilly and Brooke Brennan and inside hoops from Brennan and Gwyneth Ivory along with free throws from Reilly put the game away at 61-37.
The Scarlet and White came out of the gates sizzling, racing out to a 7-0 lead but Paulina Solis (Santa Ana, Calif./Foothill) kept the Pioneers close and after she found Rosa Drummond (Rye, N.H./Portsmouth) for an easy score, Smith was within one at 21-20 with a little more than five minutes to play.
Three free throws from Drummond gave the visitors their first and only lead at 22-21 but the Cougars closed the half on a 10-5 run, highlighted by a fastbreak finish from Ashleigh Condon and strong dribble drive by Aretha Sullivan.
Condon's aggressive drive to the hoop resulted in two free throws with two seconds left in the half, creating the 31-27 halftime edge.
Smith was led by Solis' nine points and six rebounds and Drummond's seven points and eight rebounds.
In addition to Reilly, Clark got 13 points, seven rebounds and six steals from Condon and 12 points and four boards from Brennan. Esther Cohn, pulled down a career-high 16 rebounds and four blocks in 33 minutes.
The Cougars will continue their homestand on Wednesday with their third meeting of the season against crosstown rival WPI while the Pioneers play host to Babson.
