Cambridge, Mass. – MIT used a stifling defense that forced 24 turnovers and held Clark to three single digit scoring quarters en route to a 57-41 win over the visiting Cougars on Tuesday evening in New England Women's And Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) women's basketball action at Rockwell Cage.

The win for the Engineers is their third in a row and their sixth in their last seven games to improve to 9-4 overall. Most importantly for MIT is that they improve to 5-1 in league play, just one half game behind league leader, WPI.

For the Scarlet and White, meanwhile, they slip to 3-11 and 1-5 in NEWMAC contests.

MIT led 13-6 after the first and 30-15 at the half following a Sam O'Gara (Worcester, Mass.) hoop in the waning seconds of the opening stanza.

The Cougars exceeded their point total for the entire first half with their 19-point third quarter – a frame in which they shot 8-for-16 from the field and eight different players scored.

Unfortunately for Clark, MIT posted 18 points in the third quarter and was still ahead 48-34 after three periods.

Neither team was able to muster much offense in the fourth as they combined for just 16 points, and the Engineers, who built such a big first half lead, cruised to their fourth straight win over the Cougars – their longest winning streak in series history.

Clark struggled shooting all evening and connected on just 26 percent of their attempts, including a 1-for-17 showing from behind the arc.

Kara Holinski led all scorers with 16 points for MIT, while teammate Sabrina Drammis (Hilton Head Beach, S.C.) fell just one rebound shy of a double-double, with ten points and nine boards.

O'Gara led the Cougars with 14 points, four rebounds, three assists and five steals and Aretha Sullivan (Worcester, Mass.) added seven points and a game-best ten rebounds.

Clark will face one of its stiffest tests yet this Saturday when they travel to Babson, for a showdown with the Beavers.