Worcester, Mass. – Down by as many as 13 points, visiting Salem State rallied for a thrilling 73-69 win over Clark University in non-conference women's basketball action on Saturday afternoon at the Kneller Athletic Center.

The loss for the Cougars marks the third time this season and second contest in a row in which they have lost a double-digit halftime lead.

Clark, now 2-7 overall, has lost six of their last seven contests and won't return to the hardwood until after the New Year when they travel to Maine for the Bowdoin College Classic on January 2-3.

The Vikings, meanwhile, snap a four-game slide and improve to 2-4 with their next contest coming on New Year's Day against Colby College in Kissimmee, Fla.

Salem State, down 46-33 at the half, came out of intermission and went on a 19-4 run in less than five minutes capped by an Amy Barry (Manchester, N.H.) three-pointer to take a 52-50 lead.

Clark tied the game at 54-54 following a pair of Maggie Croft (Aurora, N.Y.) free throws and again at 58-58 after a pair from the charity stripe from Brittany Kennedy (West Hartford, Conn.) with 7:19 left.

The Cougars seemed to regain their footing as Emily Reilly (Marlboro, Mass.) scored on a layup and Ashleigh Condon (Hull, Mass.) made a pair of hoops and a free throw and the score stood at 67-65 in favor of Clark with 2:37 left.

The Vikings answered back immediately, as Lisa Aylward (Everett, Mass.) converted a conventional three-point play to give Salem a lead they wouldn't relinquish at 68-67.

Clark then missed three straight three-pointers on their next two possessions and Barry scored on an offensive putback to make the score 70-67 with less than two minutes left.

The game was still in question when Margaret Wallace (Lowell, Mass.) stepped to the line with 1:11 to play. She missed both free throws, but outraced a pair of Clark players to the rebound and was fouled again. Given a second chance, she drained both free throws to give the Vikings their biggest lead of the game at 72-67.

Condon gave the Cougars a glimmer of hope on a quick transition jumper with 43 seconds left and then a Salem State turnover on an inbounds play set up an opportunity for Clark to tie the game with less than 20 seconds left.

But a corner three by Reilly didn't drop and Wallace made 1-of-2 at three free throw line to seal the win for the visitors.

Things started out in fine fashion for the Cougars as they came out scoring and then went on a 9-0 run with the score 15-14 to take a 24-14 lead as Condon finished on the break off an excellent feed from Kate Minister (Manchester, England).

Salem fought back, answering with a 15-4 run that featured a pair of three-pointers from Barry and another from Wallace to make the score 30-29 with 3:39 left in the first half.

Clark stepped on the gas again as Megan Grondin (Cumberland, Maine) scored nine points down the stretch as part of a 16-4 Cougar spurt to give the hosts a 46-33 halftime edge.

As was the case in the loss to Mount Holyoke on Thursday, Clark shot well in the first half (15-for-34, 44 percent), but struggled mightily in the final 20 minutes (7-for-36, 19 percent), including an 0-for-9 performance from behind the arc after intermission.

Wallace paced the Viking offense with 23 points (7-for-15 field goals) and nine rebounds, while Madeleine Park (Blue Hill, Maine) added 22 points (9-for-17 field goals, 4-for-7 three-pointers) and six rebounds. Barry, meanwhile, played an outstanding floor game, finishing with 13 points, six rebounds and seven assists with just one turnover.

 The Cougars placed four players in double figures led by Condon and her career-high tying 18 points. She was joined by Grondin, who totaled 14 points and five rebounds off the bench, while Reilly added 14 points and four rebounds. Kennedy ended with a career-high 11 points and eight boards and Esther Cohn (Carrboro, N.C.) had another monster day on the glass – recording a career-best 15 caroms.