Cambridge, Mass. – Clark University's bid for a fourth straight postseason appearance was dealt a serious blow as host MIT held the Cougars to 29 percent shooting en route to a 61-58 win in New England Women's And Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) women's basketball action on Saturday afternoon.

The Scarlet and White, who are fighting for the seventh and final playoff spot with the Engineers and WPI, are now 6-12 in league play, while the Engineers are one game ahead (7-11) and WPI sits in the driver's seat (8-10) with two games to play.

Down by as many as nine with less than four minutes to play, the Cougars fought back, going on a 10-0 run to take a 58-57 lead with 24 seconds left. Clark got the lead on back-to-back three-point plays from Esther Cohn (Chapel Hill, N.C.) and Megan Grondin (Cumberland, Maine), another hoop from Grondin and the go-ahead points on two free throws from Ashleigh Condon (Hull, Mass.).

MIT answered right back as Mari Cordell converted her own three-point play, giving the Engineers a 60-58 edge with 18 seconds to go.

Clark had a pair of chances to tie the game as time ran down. First, Condon saw her jumper go awry but Cohn was able to get the offensive board. Brooke Brennan (Weston, Mass.) had her own chance to actually give the Cougars the lead but her three-pointer was off the mark.

The Scarlet and White still had a chance to send the game into overtime after Kordell split two free throws, making the score 61-58, but the Cougars couldn't get the game-tying shot off.

Kordell led all scorers with 21 points, while Sabrina Drammis added 12 points and Michele Battapaglia chipped in with 11 off the bench for the Engineers (10-13).

Condon paced Clark with 15 points and five steals, while Grondin added 13 points and three steals and Emily Reilly (Marlboro, Mass.) helped out with nine points and seven boards.

The Cougars (9-14) will play their final two regular season games at home next week on Wednesday (Emerson) and Saturday (Babson).