GAME INFORMATION
Score: Smith College 68, Clark 41
Records: Smith (20-5, 13-3); Clark (10-15, 4-12)
When: Saturday, February 17, 2018
Location: Northampton, Mass.
Smith Starters: Bondi, Marquez, Holland, Alakai, Barriscale
Clark Starters: Legare, Miranda, Ezemma, Wilder, Kerstetter

The Smith College basketball team claimed a share of the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) regular season title with their 68-41 win over Clark University Saturday afternoon at Ainsworth Gymnasium. With the win, Smith is now 20-5, 13-3 in conference play and will serve as the top seed and host for the upcoming NEWMAC Championship next weekend. The Cougars season concludes at 10-15 overall and 4-12 in conference action with the setback.

SMITH HIGHLIGHTS

• Senior guard Paige Marquez (San Francisco, Calif./St. Ignatius College Prepatory) scored a game-high 19 points, including five treys to go along with four assists, three rebounds, and three steals.
• Kenedy Guest-Pritchett notched her 12th double-double of the season as the junior forward finished with 14 points and 15 rebounds.
• Junior guard Lauren Bondi (Burnaby, BC, Can./Notre Dame Secondary) totaled 12 points, five rebounds, and three steals. 
• Senior guard Meghan Holland (Atherton, Calif./Sacred Heart Prepatory) filled the stats sheet with six points, seven assists, and eight boards.

CLARK HIGHLIGHTS

• Ogechi Ezemma posted 16 points, five rebounds, and three blocks. 
• Haley Wilder added nine points and seven rebounds.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Both teams struggled to get into any kind of rhythm as the score stood at 2-2 3:54 into the game. Smith's offense finally got going as the Pioneers went on a 7-0 run to take a 9-2 lead with 4:00 remaining in the quarter. A three-pointer from Clark's Haley Wilder and free throw from Sahra Nur cut the lead to 9-6 but Elle Jo Whalen (Woodinville, Wash./Woodinville High School) drained two free throws with under a minute remaining to make the score 11-6 going into the second quarter.

Clark opened the second stanza with back-to-back jumpers by Ezemma to come to within one point (11-10) at the 8:29 mark. Leading 25-19, the Pioneers closed out the quarter on a three-point play from Guest-Pritchett and a jumper from Marquez to head into the break with their largest lead of the game, 30-19. 

Marquez opened the third quarter with a three-pointer and Smith would go on to build a 24 point lead on Bondi's trey with 4:39 remaining in the quarter. Clark was able to get the lead down to 19 (47-28) but the Pioneers would end the quarter leading 52-31.

Smith outscored the Cougars 16-10 in the final period and eased to the 68-41 victory.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• Field Goals: SMI  27-75 / CLK 14-44
• 3-Point FG: SMI  10-26 / CLK 4-17
• Free Throw: SMI 4-5 / CLK 9-16
• Points off Turnovers: SMI 24 / CLK 7

GAME NOTES

• Smith held a 52-29 advantage in rebounds.
• The Pioneers improve to 18-32 against Clark.
• Smith completes the regular season with an undefeated home record for the first time in program history. 
• With today's win, Smith clinches a share of the NEWMAC regular-season title with Babson and WPI.
• The Pioneers claim the No. 1 seed and will host the NEWMAC Women's Basketball Championship for the second time in school history.

UP NEXT
The Pioneers will host either No. 4 Springfield or No. 5 MIT on Saturday, February 24 at 1:00 p.m.

About Smith Athletics: Smith College is an NCAA Division III member of the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference that sponsors 11 intercollegiate sports. For more information log on to smithpioneers.com and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.