WELLESLEY, Mass. – The Clark University women's basketball team dropped its New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) opener, 79-27, to Wellesley in a road contest on Saturday at the Dorothy Towne Fieldhouse.

The Basics

Score: Blue 79, Cougars 27

Records: Clark University (4-12, 0-1 NEWMAC) | Wellesley College (9-3, 1-0 NEWMAC)

How it Happened

Junior Hannah Favaloro (Blackstone, Mass.) posted a team-high nine points and ten rebounds while coming away with a pair of steals and one block. Sophomores Emily Sifferlen (North Andover, Mass.) and Hallie Johnson (Princeton, Mass.) tallied six points apiece while Ginny Benbow (Durham, Conn.) rounded out the scoring with six of her own off the bench.

For Wellesley, Caitlin Aguirre and first years Jiyun Chae and Pujita Shukla matched for game-high honors with 16 points apiece.

Wellesley led 6-0 after the opening two minutes, Sifferlen got Clark on the board with a layup at 7:31. However, the Blue responded with a 13-0 run that was capped off by an Aguirre triple at 4:20 of the first to take a 19-2 lead.

Clark snapped the 13-0 run with a pair of free throws, but the Blue took a 22-8 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Wellesley advantage continued to grow before halftime, as the Blue used a 16-5 second-quarter run to take a 38-13 lead into the break. The Blue continued to control the tempo in the second half, outscoring the visiting Cougars, 41-14, over the final 20 minutes of play.

Clark finished 11-of-53 from the field (20.8%) while connecting on just 2-of-16 from three-point range in the contest. Wellesley knocked down 31-of-73 from the field (42.5%) while hitting on 4-of-12 chances from beyond the arc (33.3%). The Blue scored 34 points off turnovers, causing 35 in total throughout the game.

Up Next

The Cougars travel to Worcester city rival WPI on Wednesday, January 22 for a 7:00 pm NEWMAC tilt with the Engineers.