WORCESTER, Mass. – Sophomore Ginny Benbow (Durham, Conn.) drilled a running layup with just under 14 seconds left in overtime and Emily Sifferlen (North Andover, Mass.) sealed it at the free-throw stripe as Clark University women's basketball rose to victory, 83-80, in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) contest against Wheaton College on Wednesday night at the Kneller Center.

The Basics

Score: Cougars 83, Lyons 80 (OT)

Records: Clark University (6-18, 2-7 NEWMAC) | Wheaton College (7-16, 1-8 NEWMAC)

How it Happened

Junior Hannah Favaloro (Blackstone, Mass.) played 44 minutes in the thrilling overtime win, registering 28 points and eight rebounds while dishing out three assists and coming away with one steal and on a block. Sifferlen posted 22 points while registering seven rebounds, three assists, two steals, and two blocks.

Sophomore Hallie Johnson (Princeton, Mass.) also enjoyed a strong night offensively, matching her career-high output of 14 points while corralling nine rebounds. Benbow rounded out the double-figure scorers for the Cougars, picking up 12 points and five steals to lead all reserves in the contest. 

For the Lyons, Mikayla Pucci dropped a team-high 20 points to go with 12 rebounds. Wheaton also received contributions offensively from Natalie Wind who provided 19 points while Bri Forbes rounded out the starters in double-figures with 16 points to go with six assists. 

Both teams opened up the contest strong with a score of 8-7 in favor of the Cougars with nearly seven minutes still left in the first. The Lyons three-point shooting gave them an early lead going 6-of-8 behind the arc in the early goings, including four from Wind, to take a 27-18 score at the end of the first quarter.

A big defensive steal resulted in a fast break and a basket for Benbow to jumpstart the second quarter. At the two minute mark of the half, Clark went on a 13-point unanswered run to gain a three-point cushion at the half with a score of 41-38.

The teams continued the back-and-forth out of the break with three lead changes in the first five minutes of the third quarter until the Lyons gained separation, 50-45. But an and-one for Favaloro got the Cougars momentum back, taking a 54-52 with two minutes left in the third.

With a 56-55 lead to start the fourth, the teams continued to exchange blows with multiple lead changes as they hovered within one point of each other with five minutes left in regulation. The energy was high for both team in the final 1:30 with the score deadlocked at 70-70.

With one second left on the shot clock and 50 on the game clock, the Lyons received a huge bucket from Alexis Romer to take a two-point margin. But the Cougars came right back on a lay-up from Favaloro before Pucci pulled her team ahead with 27 seconds remaining. Clark had the last bucket, however, with Sifferlen making good on a tough lay-in to tie it up at 74-74 and send the game into an overtime session. 

Sifferlen continued the momentum in overtime, scoring four of the nine points for the Cougars in the five-minute span. With 13.7 left on the clock, Benbow rushed toward the basket before making a side-armed layup through traffic to give the host an 82-80 lead. The Cougars sealed it up at the free-throw line with Sifferlen knocking down the front end of two chances before the desperation heave from the Lyons hitting the rim for the 83-80 final. 

The Cougars shot go 31-of-69 from the floor during the victory (44.9%) while the Lyons finished shoot 28-of-75 (37.3%) in the game. Wheaton held a 51-37 lead on the glass while Clark forced 21 turnovers while coming away with 13 steals. 

Up Next

The Cougars are on the road for their last regular-season game when they meet up with Smith College on Saturday, February 22. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:00 PM.