HARTFORD, Conn. – The Clark University women's basketball team (8-4) traveled to Trinity (10-2) for their first game of 2026 and battled for 40 minutes with the Bantams, but dropped the contest 58-55 on Saturday afternoon from Oosting Gymnasium.
How it Happened
- The Cougars jumped out to a 7-5 lead sparked by four points from first-year Atiya Watson and three from junior Emma Drefs.
- Watson made a driving layup and a triple from junior Kailey Rios off a feed from sophomore Juliette Tarsa helped the Cougars regain the lead before Drefs scored Clark's last points of the quarter as the teams entered the second tied at 14-14.
- Rios, Shipley, and Watson opened the second with six points before junior Mia Mabanag connected on a three-pointer to push the Cougars lead to 23-16 with 6:38 to go.
- Trinity responded with seven unanswered until Watson ended the run with a made layup and added two more points before the half as Clark trailed 30-29.
- Junior Catherine Antwi hit a three-pointer out of the half before Watson and senior Kiley Drezek both scored to tie the game at 36-36.
- The Bantams ripped off eight straight points before Watson stopped the run with a layup as the Cougars trailed 44-38 entering the fourth.
- Clark opened the fourth on a 10-0 sparked by four points from Drefs and buckets from junior Olivia Shipley, Antwi, and Watson to take a 48-44 edge with 5:00 remaining.
- Trinity answered with 10 of the next 12 points before Shipley scored off a feed from Antwi with 2:09 to go as the Cougars trailed 54-52.
- Down five with 0:07 to play, Drefs banked in a three-pointer and after a made free throw from Trinity, Antwi got a look from the corner that missed as the Bantams hung on for a 58-55 victory.
Inside the Box Score
- Clark made 23 shots, grabbed 34 rebounds, dished out 12 assists, and forced 27 turnovers.
- Watson netted a team-high 18 points as she connected on seven shots.
- Drefs also reached double-figures with a career-high 16 points on 7-10 shooting and pulled down a team-leading eight rebounds.
- Shipley registered six points, five rebounds, and a team-high two blocks.
What's Next
The scarlet and white will return to the court on Tuesday afternoon when they travel to Connecticut College for a contest beginning at 2:00 p.m.