WORCESTER, Mass. – The Clark women's basketball team (2-0) faced crosstown foe WPI (1-1) in the Worcester City Tournament Championship on Saturday night and from Brissette Court and came away with a 67-49 win over the Engineers.
This was Clark's first championship win in the Worcester City Tournament since the 2013-14 season and the first time they've beat the Engineers since the 2018-19 season. Junior
Kumi Tamura and senior
Jacqueline Faulise earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team with Faulise earning Tournament MVP.
How it Happened
- Clark opened the game on a 9-4 run led by three points from first-year Kailey Rios and made buckets from Faulise, first-year Emma Drefs, and senior Alaina Schatzabel and ended the period with nine unanswered points, sparked by six from Faulise as the scarlet and white took a convincing 18-4 lead.
- Schatzabel scored the first four points of the second and a layup from first-year Olivia Shipley extended the edge to 26-11 with 5:40 remaining in the quarter.
- Faulise hit a triple and a pair of three's from Tamura gave Clark a commanding 37-16 lead, but the Engineers scored six unanswered before the half as the Cougars took a 37-22 advantage into the locker room.
- Senior Sarah Zambrano scored Clark's first six points of the third and a jumper from Drefs pushed the lead back to 20 at 45-25 with 5:46 to go in the third.
- Rios, Drefs, and Swedberg combined to score the Cougars final six points of the quarter as Clark held WPI to just seven points in the quarter as the scarlet and white took a 51-29 lead into the fourth.
- Rios and Faulise combined to score the team's first six points of the fourth and a triple from Rios with 3:59 remaining to keep Clark up 60-44.
- The Engineers cut the deficit to as close as 11, but made free throws from Tamura and Schatzabel as well as an and-one from Tamura helped secure a 67-49 win.
Inside the Box Score
- Clark shot 45.6 percent from the floor, grabbed 38 rebounds, dished out 12 assists, and forced 22 turnovers.
- Faulise scored a team-leading 15 points and added six rebounds.
- Schatzabel added 12 points and four made free throws.
- Tamura (11) and Rios (10) were also in double-figures.
What's Next
The Cougars will return to the court on Wednesday night with a road match at Fitchburg State beginning at 6:00 p.m.
