WORCESTER, Mass. – The Clark women's basketball team (11-5, 1-1 NEWMAC) played their first NEWMAC home game of the 2023-24 season and fell 78-63 to MIT (9-5, 1-1 NEWMAC) on Wednesday night from the Kneller Gymnasium.

How it Happened

• The scarlet and white jumped out to an early 12-5 lead as senior Jacqueline Faulise led the way with seven points as well as a triple from first-year Kailey Rios and a layup from senior Alaina Schatzabel to take the early edge.
• First-year Catherine Antwi extended the lead to nine at 14-5 with a made layup before the Engineers rattled off 10 straight points to take the edge and a layup from junior Megan Swedberg with 0:43 to go in the first helped the Cougars regain a 16-15 lead.
• After a made layup from Faulise tied the game before the end of the first quarter, MIT scored eight of the first 10 points of the second with the Cougars points coming off a layup from Schatzabel as the Engineers led 26-20.
• Down eight, Clark stormed back with eight unanswered points as Schatzabel rattled off six points off assists from first-year Emma Drefs and a layup from Rios helped tie the game at 28-28 with 3:27 remaining in the second quarter.
• MIT's Kaya Weiser scored the final points of the half on the next possession as defense set the tone for the remainder of the second quarter as the Cougars trailed 30-28 at the half.
• The Engineers opened the third quarter on an 11-3 run as Schatzabel netted the Cougars first three points of the quarter before Faulise and first-year Olivia Shipley each scored to make it a 41-37 contest.
• MIT however responded with a 10-1 spurt with Schatzabel hitting a free throw during that stretch and a pair of Faulise free throws made it a 51-40 game with 1:14 to go in the third.
• Faulise and Drefs combined for Clark's next four points as the Engineers held a 55-44 lead after three quarters of play and MIT opened the fourth with 11 points to push their advantage to 21.
• Rios hit a pair of triples down the stretch and a five points from junior Kumi Tamura cut the deficit to 17 before a made layup from sophomore Ashley Leighton made the final score 78-63.

Inside the Box Score

• Clark grabbed 45 rebounds, dished out 16 assists, registered 10 steals, and forced 15 turnovers.
• Schatzabel led the team with 17 points on 7-11 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds.
• Faulise added a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
• Rios also reached double-figures with 11 points and hit three triples.

What's Next
Clark will be back in action on Saturday afternoon with a road contest at Mount Holyoke beginning at 1:00 p.m.