Worcester, Mass. – Clark freshman Ashleigh Condon (Hull, Mass.) split a pair of free throws with four seconds remaining to break a tie game and lift the host Cougars to a thrilling 65-64 win over Springfield in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference women's basketball action on Saturday afternoon.

The win for Clark is their fourth straight and catapults them into third place in the conference standings a little less than halfway through the league's round robin schedule. Tiebreakers will be huge down the stretch with this being the first year of the reduced conference playoff bracket. Only the league's top six teams will earn a berth to postseason play compared to eight from previous seasons.

At 6-9 overall, the Cougars are 5-3 in NEWMAC play behind only WPI (7-1) and Babson (8-0), while the Pride slip to 5-10 and 5-3 in conference action.

In a game that featured 12 ties and 17 lead changes, neither team ever led by more than six points. As close as things were in the first half, they were tighter in the final 20 minutes - six of the ties and 13 of the lead changes happened in the second stanza.

Springfield led 48-44 following a Kelly Slattery (Somers, Conn.) free throw, but the Cougars drew closer with a three-pointer from Kelsey Giedymin (Shrewsbury, Mass.) off an assist from Condon. After a stop on the other end, Giedymin returned the favor as Condon dropped in a triple to give Clark a 50-48 lead with a little less than seven minutes remaining.

The Pride took the lead back when Slattery scored on a conventional three-point play but Condon answered with a short jumper in the lane to make the score 52-50.

Slattery went back to work, scoring on another inside hoop, but Clark responded with a basket from Kate Minister (Manchester, England) and another from Ivori Aiken (Harlem, N.Y.) to make the score 56-53 with 3:47 left.

Clark pushed their lead to six when Annemarie Fransen (Belmont, Mass.) found Emily Reilly (Marlboro, Mass.) for a three-point play, making the score 59-53 with. 3:15 remaining.

Springfield got a much needed response when Kelly Murphy (Mechanicsville, N.Y.) found Abby Connors (Douglas, Mass.) open for a three-pointer and Andrea Butler (Cohoes, N.Y.) picked off a pass and went coast-to-coast for an easy layup. The Pride then took the lead when Butler setup Slattery for another layup, making the score 60-59 with 1:44 left.

After Condon connected on a pair of free throws, Slattery answered with a pair of her own to give the Pride a 62-61 edge with 45 seconds left on the clock.

The Cougars came right back as Condon found Reilly wide open on the left baseline and she dropped in a three-pointer, giving Clark a 64-62 lead with 27 seconds remaining.

Things seemed head for overtime as Connors weaved her way to the hoop to even the score at 64-64 with just ten seconds left, but Condon attacked the basket off the dribble and was fouled setting up her game-winning second free throw.

Springfield still had a chance to win the game but their possession ended with a turnover with less than a second left.

The Pride held a 46-37 edge on the glass, including 19 offensive boards which helped them hold a 21-5 advantage in second chance points.

With Slattery and Emily Walker (East Lyme, Conn.) pounding the boards, Springfield also led in points in the paint (38-14).

Clark held the Pride to just 38 percent shooting, although each team shot 50 percent from the field in the second half. Springfield struggled from the three-point line, connecting on just 6-of-21 attempts, and from the charity stripe (6-for-12).

Slattery led all scorers with 19 points and ten rebounds, while Connors finished with 12 points, four rebounds and four assists. Walker, meanwhile, added eight points, a game-high 13 rebounds, two assists, two blocks and two steals.

The Cougars placed three players in double figures paced by Condon's 14 points and five assists. Reilly tallied 13 points and three rebounds and Minister totaled 11 points and four rebounds.

Aiken provided a spark off the bench, ending with eight points, seven rebounds, three steals and two blocks in 19 minutes.

Springfield returns to action on Wednesday when they visit Smith, while the Cougars travel to Babson to take on one of only five undefeated teams in NCAA Division III women's basketball.