PAXTON, Mass.—Sophomore Kristina Russo (South Windsor, Conn.) hit a free-throw with four seconds remaining on the clock to lead the Anna Maria women's basketball team to a 69-68 win against Clark University in Tuesday's non-conference matinee.

The AMCATS improve to 4-1 win the win, while the loss drops Clark to 2-3.

AMCAT LEADERS

Junior Christina Gauvin (Dudley, Mass.) scored a game-high 25 points in the victory for Anna Maria, while sophomore Kristina Russo (South Windsor, Conn.) added 22 points and eight rebounds. Her biggest rebound of the day came in the final seconds of the game, as she collected an offensive rebound with six seconds remaining and was fouled on her put back attempt, setting her up for the game-winning free-throw.

Senior Samantha Parker (Athol, Mass.) had a breakthrough day, compiling seven points, five rebounds and a steal in 19 minutes of action. Junior Deja Taitt (Cambia Heights, N.Y.) dished out four assists and picked up a game-high five steals in the victory.

CLARK LEADERS

Ten different members of the Clark roster scored in the game, led by Sam O'Gara (Worcester, Mass.) with 15 points. Torieana St. Pierre (Portsmouth, N.H.) added 10 points off the bench, followed by Haley Wilder (Rindge, N.H.) with nine. Gwyneth Ivory (Ashland, Mass.) and Dominique St. Pierre (Portsmouth, N.H.) both finished with five rebounds apiece.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Clark trailed by nine points at the end of the third quarter but opened the final frame with an 11-0 run to take a 58-56 lead with 4:08 still to play in the game. Anna Maria stopped the drought with a free-throw by Russo at the 3:36 mark, and Parker added another 39 seconds later to tie the score at 58-58.

Anna Maria regained the lead and held for the next 2:15, but a deep three-pointer by Kacey Legare (Chicopee, Mass.) tied the score at 68-68 with just 15 seconds left in regulation. That set up Russo, who drew the foul. She missed the first and made the second, allowing Clark the opportunity to advance the ball up the court for their inbounds play. Clark easily inbounded but struggled to find an open look, dribbling around for the four seconds until O'Gara was forced to throw up an off-target shot as time expired.

It was a different story in the first half, as the AMCATS held the Cougars to just one point over the first four-and-a-half minutes of the game to build an eight-eight first quarter lead. The Cougars fought back, using an 11-3 run over the second half of the first frame to hold a 16-15 lead entering the second quarter.

The two teams exchanged control for the early minutes of the second until the 5:50 mark until Anna Maria used a three-pointer by Russo and a layup by Gauvin to take a four-point lead. The AMCATS would control the scoreboard for the remainder of the half, eventually building a 36-28 halftime advantage.

FINAL COMPARISONS

The AMCATS posted an impressive 16-for-34 effort (47.1 percent) from the floor in the first half, but managed a 25.9 percent effort (7-27) in the second half. Clark shot at 41.4 percent (24-58) over the 40 minutes.

Anna Maria held a 32-26 advantage in points in the paint and a 12-7 edge in points off turnovers. Clark held a 13-12 edge in second-chance points and saw a 38-9 advantage in bench points.

Clark committed 19 turnovers on the day, while Anna Maria handed the ball over just 14 times.

WHAT'S NEXT

The Cougars will begin a three-game homestand on Monday, November 30 when they open up conference play with a meeting against Coast Guard.