Worcester, Mass. – Powered by a career night from Gwyneth Ivory (Ashland, Mass.), Clark University raced past Pine Manor, 72-66, in non-league women's basketball action on Thursday evening at the Kneller Athletic Center.

Ivory finished with 18 points and a game-high 12 rebounds on an extremely efficient 8-for-12 from the floor in just 24 minutes of action.

That performance, coupled with the Cougars shooting 43 percent from the field, gave the Scarlet and White their second win in as many nights to improve to 5-17 overall. The loss for the Gators is their second in a row as they slip to 10-8.

Things started out well for the visitors as they forced 12 turnovers in the game's first 14 minutes, helping them jump out to an early lead courtesy of some hot three-point shooting from Alexis Lee (Akron, Ohio).

After the Gators' Shaquanda Middleton (Savannah, Ga.) drilled a three of her own to make the score 32-21 with 6:02 left in the first half, the Clark defense clamped down and held Pine Manor without a point for the remainder of the half. During that stretch the Cougars ran off 13 straight points as Victoria Russo (Arlington, Mass.), Sam O'Gara (Worcester, Mass.) and Torieana St. Pierre (Portsmouth, N.H.) ignited the run with baskets and when O'Gara found Ivory free inside, the Scarlet and White went into halftime ahead, 34-32.

Sybil Lynch (Hoboken, N.J.) opened up the second half with a pair of three-pointers sandwiched around an Erica Jones (Atlanta, Ga.) fast break finish, and the Gators found themselves ahead, 39-37.

Clark answered back with a 13-2 run over a four-minute stretch, highlighted by easy baskets from Ivory, Aretha Sullivan (Worcester, Mass.) and Sami Dokus (Littleton, Mass.), and when Sullivan dropped in a triple at the 14:36 mark, the Cougars were ahead 50-41.

Each time Pine Manor got down, they found a way to battle back. Ivory put Clark in front 63-58 with another inside score but the Gators quickly erased that deficit with three-point bombs from Lee and Lynch, taking their first lead since the first half, 64-63.

The Cougars regained the lead on the next possession as Sullivan canned another three-pointer, making the score 66-64 with 3:35 left to play.

Neither team scored over the next two minutes but with 1:08 to play, Ivory shook free from her defender and put the Scarlet and White ahead, 68-64.

On their next two possessions the Gators had their three-pointers blocked by Dokus and both O'Gara and Sullivan made two free throws to seal the win.

Clark absolutely dominated the glass, outrebounding Pine Manor, 56-36 – getting 22 offensive boards and outscoring the visitors 40-32 in the paint.

The game featured 40 fastbreak points, eight lead changes, four ties and 45 turnovers – 28 of which were attributed to the Cougars.

Lee actually led all scorers with 20 points, four rebounds and four assists, while Jones had an excellent all-around game with 15 points, 11 rebounds and five steals.

In addition to Ivory's standout performance, Sullivan added a double-double with 15 points, 12 rebounds and five assists, while O'Gara finished with nine points and eight assists and St. Pierre chipped in with nine points, three rebounds and three assists.

Pine Manor is back in action on Saturday when they host Maine Fort-Kent, while Clark is off until Monday when they visit Smith for a 7:00 p.m. tip.