NORTHAMPTON, Mass. – The Clark University women's basketball team took a loss in the final game of the 2020 season on Saturday as Smith College earned an 82-57 final in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) contest.

The Basics

Score: Pioneers 82, Cougars 57

Records: Clark University (6-19, 2-8 NEWMAC) | Smith College (21-4, 7-3 NEWMAC)

How it Happened

Junior Hannah Favaloro (Blackstone, Mass.) ended the season with her seventh straight double-figure scoring effort, posting 16 points while collecting six rebounds and one steal. Sophomore Emily Sifferlen (North Andover, Mass.) amassed 12 points for her sixth straight double-figure game, adding seven rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Sophomore Ginny Benbow (Durham, Conn.) turned in 10 points in 23 minutes off the bench while Hallie Johnson (Upton, Mass.) pulled down a team most eight rebounds while tallying eight points and three assists.

Smith was led by a game-high 23-point effort from Katelyn Pickunka while also getting 15 points Amelia Clairmont. Guard Dashelle Gleissner dished out a game-high 12 assists as 11 different Pioneers scored points in the game.

The Pioneers opened up with 12-0 lead before a bucket from Ginny Benbow (Durham, Conn.) gave the Cougars their first points of the contest. Clark cut into the deficit starting at the 4:18 mark in the first quarter with a layup by Favaloro leading to seven unanswered points to make it a 15-9 gap.

Clark entered the second quarter down 25-13 but enjoyed its best offensive quarter of the game which began with layups from Favaloro and Eliza Quinones (Bangor, Maine) during a six-point spurt for the Cougars. The team closed the half strong as Favaloro supplied five points in a 10-3 run to make it a 39-34 deficit headed into the break.

The Pioneers started the third quarter with a 6-0 run and the momentum carried throughout the ten minutes, holding a 22-7 margin over that time. Despite eight points from Sifferlen in the fourth, Smith was able to maintain its momentum en route to the 82-57 final score.  

The Cougars finished 23-of-74 from the field (31.1%) and shot 4-of-22 (18.2%) from beyond the arc while Smith finished 30-of-65 (46.2%) and 11-of-29 (37.9%) in the same categories. The Pioneers held a 47-37 advantage on the glass.