Worcester, Mass. – Clark University got its offense going in the second half to shake free from a stifling Smith College defense and the Cougars picked up their first conference win with a 53-39 win over the Pioneers on Saturday afternoon in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) women's basketball action.

The Scarlet and White inched closer to the .500 mark with the win, improving to 3-4 overall and 1-1 in conference contests, while Smith has now dropped six straight since their season-opening win back on November 15.

Neither team shot the ball well as they combined to shoot 28 percent from the field and just 3-for-22 from three-point land. Ball security was an issue as well, with the game featuring 44 turnovers.

Smith (0-2 NEWMAC) held their biggest lead of the game a little more than eight minutes into the contest following a Paige Marquez (San Francisco, Calif.) jumper that made the score 9-2. The Cougars, who went more than five minutes without a point to open the contest, finally found a little offensive rhythm and went ahead for the first time at the 6:13 mark on a Torieana St. Pierre (Portsmouth, N.H.) layup, making the score 12-11.

The lead changed hands five more times in the final five minutes of the half and a Marquez score with 30 seconds left put Smith ahead, 21-19 at the break.

Five minutes into the second half, a Haley Wilder (Fitzwilliam, N.H.) pushed the Cougars back in front at 31-29, sparking a 19-2 run over the next 11 minutes that when the dust cleared, the Scarlet and White were in complete control, ahead 48-31 with 4:20 to play.

During the game altering stretch, Smith went 1-for-14 from the field and committed nine of their 18 turnovers, while Clark got a huge boost from Sami Dokus (Littleton, Mass.), who's three-pointer bumped the lead to ten at 41-31 and from Sam O'Gara (Worcester, Mass.), who scored five of her team-high ten points during the run.

The Cougars shot 47 percent from the field in the second half (11-for-23), while Smith scored just 12 points in the final 20 minutes, connecting on six of 28 field goal attempts and went more than eight minutes without a made basket.

Marquez led all scorers with 13 points and four rebounds, but shot just 5-for-19. Jade Chihara (Lahaina, Hawai'i) added 12 points, nine rounds and four steals for the Pioneers, who also got ten points, five rebounds and four steals from Samantha Alakai (Honolulu, Hawai'i).

O'Gara was the lone Cougar in double figures but Dokus (nine points, nine rebounds) and Aretha Sullivan (Worcester, Mass.) (nine points, eight rebounds) each just missed out on double-doubles.

Gwyneth Ivory (Ashland, Mass.), Wilder and Olivia Lyons (Belmont, Mass.) all scored seven points for Clark. Lyons, meanwhile, pulled down a career-high 14 rebounds in her 23 minutes, helping the Scarlet and White to a 53-38 edge in rebounds.

Both teams are off until Tuesday when they step out of league play. Smith will visit Pioneer Valley rival Westfield State, while the Cougars will entertain Eastern Connecticut State.