Box Score GAME INFORMATION
Score: Smith College 71, Clark University 48
Records: Smith (11-4, 5-2); Clark (8-9, 2-6)
When: Wednesday, January 17, 2018
Location: Worcester, Mass.
Smith Starters: Bondi, Marquez, Holland, Guest-Pritchett, Barriscale
Clark Starters: Miranda, Ezemma, St. Pierre, Wilder, Kerstetter

The Smith College basketball team outscored Clark University 43-28 in the second half en route to a 71-48 win in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action Wednesday evening at Kneller Athletic Center. The Pioneers improve to 11-4 overall and 5-2 in league action while the Cougars drop to 8-9, 2-6.

SMITH HIGHLIGHTS

• Junior forward Kennedy Guest-Pritchett (Fairburn, Ga./The Lawrenceville School) led the way with 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting and six rebounds.
• Junior guard Lauren Bondi (Burnaby, BC, Can./Notre Dame Secondary) totaled 15 points, six boards, and three assists.
• Senior guard Meghan Holland (Atherton, Calif./Sacred Heart Prepatory) produced an all-around effort of nine points, four rebounds, four assists, and three steals.

CLARK HIGHLIGHTS

• Junior forward Ogechi Ezemma powered the Cougars with 12 points, three rebounds, and two assists.
• Haley Wilder and Jamad Flin each finished with seven points.

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Quarter
Clark opened up on a 3-0 run highlighted by a three-pointer from senior Haley Wilder for the early 7-0 lead. The Pioneers responded with a 3-0 run of their own and a drive to the basket from Guest-Pritchett brought them back within one with 4:30 on the clock, 7-6.
 
Freshman Jamad Flin sank a three at the 2:47 mark to put the Cougars back up by four and a strong drive to the basket from Ezemma gave the home team two more and the 14-8 lead with just a minute to play.
 
Junior Sydney Koh (Seattle, Wash./Lakeside) closed out scoring for the first quarter when her classmate, Lauren Bondi (Burnaby, BC, Can./Notre Dame Secondary) fed her the ball for a three-pointer and the visitors trailed by just three, 14-11.
 
Second Quarter
Smith got things started in the second with a jumper just inside the paint from junior Stephanie Foukaris (Nicosia, Cyprus/Pascal English School Nicosia) and a three-pointer from Samantha Alakai (Pukalani, Hawaii/Punahou School) less than a minute later gave the visitors their first lead of the game, 16-14.
 
Wilder spun around a Smith defender and put up a strong layup to tie the game at 16 apiece with 6:18 on the clock. The Pioneers responded with their own play under the basket as Foukaris found Guest-Pritchett underneath who knocked down a layup for the 18-16 lead. Smith extended their lead to five on a three from senior Meghan Holland (Atherton, Calif./Sacred Heart Prepatory) (Atherton, Calif.) and forced Clark to call their first timeout of the game, 21-16.
 
A pair of free throws from Ezemma and a successful drive to the basket from Rachel Chen brought the Cougars back within one, 21-20, but a 3-0 run from the Pioneers including a three for Bondi gave the visitors the 28-20 lead heading into the halftime break.
 
Third Quarter
Smith took the first double-digit lead of the game on a layup from Bondi to start the third quarter. They extended their advantage to 12 points on a jumper from Paige Marquez (San Francisco, Calif./St. Ignatius College Prepatory) at the 8:29 mark. Chen stopped their run as she sank a jumper with a Smith defenders hand in her face to close the gap back to ten, 32-22.
 
Guest-Pritchett put the Pioneers up by 13 with a layup and one at the free-throw line with 5:47 to play in the quarter, 40-28.
 
Out of a Clark timeout Ezemma knocked down a basket from the wing to bring the Cougars back within 15 and a three from freshman Idalis Miranda just one minute later closed the Pioneer's lead to 13 with 1:09 to play.
 
The Pioneers closed out the quarter on a 2-0 run highlighted by a three-pointer from Koh for the 54-36 lead heading into the final stanza.
 
Fourth Quarter
Smith took a substantial 21-point lead when Guest-Pritchett and Bondi combined for five points in 30 seconds for the 61-40 advantage to start the fourth.
 
A 4-0 run that included three points from both Guest-Pritchett and Alakai extended the Smith's lead to 27 with just three minutes to play as the Pioneers came away with the final 71-48 victory.
 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• Field Goals: SMI  29-64 / CLK 17-43
• 3-Point FG: SMI  9-19 / CLK 3-13
• Free Throw: SMI 4-8 / CLK 11-15
• Points off Turnovers: SMI 22 / CLK 9

UP NEXT
The Pioneers will host Wellesley College Saturday, January 21 at 2:00 p.m.

(Portions of this recap courtesy to Clark Athletics)