Worcester, Mass. – Visiting MIT held off a furious Clark University comeback and the Engineers won their second straight game by fewer than four points, posting a 47-44 win over the Cougars on Saturday afternoon in New England Women's And Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) women's basketball action.

The win for visitors pushes their record to 9-12 overall and more importantly, keeps them in the hunt for one of the final spots in the upcoming league tournament. For the Cougars, meanwhile, the loss is their 12 th straight as they slip to 3-17.

MIT led by as many as eight in the first half as Maya Ramachandran (Fremont, Calif.) asserted herself inside. Clark never let the lead reach double figures in the opening half and when Aretha Sullivan (Worcester, Mass.) made a pair of free throws, Clark was as close as four before the Engineers went into halftime ahead 28-22.

The second half started off with MIT holding the hosts scoreless for almost the first eight minutes. During that time they stretched their lead out to 14 after Mari Kordell (Ijamsville, Md.) intercepted a pass and Liana Ilutzi (East Hanover, N.J.) found a streaking Sabrina Drammis (Hilton Head, S.C.) for an easy hoop, making the score 36-22.

Clark finally got on the board on a Sam O'Gara (Worcester, Mass.) jumper and moments later and then the lead was down to eight after two more free throws by Sullivan and a Haley Wilder (Fitzwilliam, N.H.) jumper.

Drammis then scored four straight for the Engineers, but over the next five minutes the Scarlet and White went on an 11-0 run to seize momentum and get back into the game.

First, Sullivan found Gwyneth Ivory (Ashland, Mass.) for an inside hoop and then Brooke Brennan (Weston, Mass.) drained back-to-back three-pointers and Sami Dokus (Littleton, Mass.) connected on one of her own, making the score 4-39 with 4:37 left to play.

Two minutes later, MIT was ahead 44-40 after Ramachandran scored inside, but Wilder answered back with another jumper and Sullivan found herself back at the line where she knotted the score at 44-44 with 1:39 to go.

Drammis made a pair from the charity stripe with 1:12 to go, as the Engineers went back ahead. Brennan had a look at a potential go-ahead three-pointer with 59 seconds to play but her attempt rattled off the rim.

An MIT turnover on their next possession gave the Cougars hope, but O'Gara's layup attempt spun out with ten seconds to play.

Drammis went back to the line where she split a pair, making the score 47-44 with six seconds to go. Clark never got off a game-tying three-point attempt, however, as the Engineer defense swarmed as time ran out.

Neither team shot the ball well with MIT connecting on just 36 percent of their attempts, including only 27 percent in the final 20 minutes.

The Cougars, meanwhile, shot only 28 percent for the entire contest – their fifth straight contest in which they have failed to shoot better than 30 percent.

Both Drammis and Ramachandran each totaled a game-high 13 points, with Ramachandran adding 11 rebounds and Drammis hauling in nine boards. Ilutzi finished with seven points, five rebounds and five assists, while Kordell had two points, three rebounds, four assists and four steals.

Clark was led by Sullivan's 12 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Dokus came off the bench to tally nine points and six rebounds in just 19 minutes and both Brennan and Wilder chipped in with seven points apiece.

Both teams are back in action on Wednesday with league matchups. The Scarlet and White hosts Wellesley at 5:00 p.m. while MIT welcomes Mount Holyoke at 7:00 p.m.