For Immediate Release
December 2, 2009
Wellesley Sports Information
Courtesy Clark Sports Information
Second-Half Surge Leads Clark Past Wellesley
WORCESTER, Mass. - Powered by a monster performance from senior Jill Camilleri (Lancaster, Mass.) and a back-breaking 29-6 run in the second half, Clark cruised to an easy 71-45 win over visiting Wellesley College in the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference opener for both teams on Wednesday evening at the Kneller Athletic Center.
Camilleri recorded her 17th career double-double with 21 points and 16 rebounds on an effective 8-for-12 shooting helping the Cougars shoot 52 percent in the game.
The 26-point win for the Cougars is their largest since a 76-50 win over Mount Holyoke during the 2007-08 season.
Things seemed to be a far cry from that outcome after the first 20 minutes in which the teams combined for 23 turnovers and 15-for-45 shooting.
Wellesley actually led by seven midway through the first half but the Cougars whittled the lead down and took a 23-21 lead into halftime after scoring the stanza’s final five points on an inside finish from sophomore Maggie Croft (East Aurora, N.Y.) and a three-pointer from Chloe Carden (Montclair, N.J.).
The lead swung back and forth in the early moments of the second half but Clark took the lead for good at 39-38 on another Carden triple at the 12:40 mark.
The Cougars then made eight of their next ten shots to blow the game open and move their lead to 65-41 with less than five minutes remaining. Over that same stretch of time, Wellesley missed 11 of 13 shots, committed four turnovers and missed three of four free throws.
With Camilleri leading the way, Clark owned the boards holding a 41-22 edge on the glass.
Freshman Kelsey Giedymin (Shrewsbury, Mass.) recorded a career-high 12 points and four rebounds for the Cougars who shot a sizzling 61 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes where they outscored Wellesley 48-24.
The perimeter combination of sophomore Kate Minister (Manchester, England) and Carden 7-of-10 from behind the arc and finished with 13 points apiece. Minister, who set a career-high with seven assists on Monday, handed out a game high six, as the Cougars had 17 assists attached to their 26 baskets.
Wellesley, meanwhile, got 18 points and five steals from Malia Maier (Torrance, Calif.) and 12 points and nine rebounds from Becca Kimball (Weston, Mass.).
Clark returns to the hardwood on Saturday when they host archrival WPI. Tip time is slated for 2 p.m. The Blue also play on Saturday, traveling to Mount Holyoke for a 2 p.m. game.