Pride Unable to Maintain Momentum in Home Loss

WESTON, Mass. - In a back-and-forth contest that saw 10 ties and nine lead changes, Clark University gained control in the fourth quarter and held on to defeat Regis College, 80-76, Tuesday night in a non-conference women's collegiate basketball game at Higgins Court.

Madi Zancan (Cumberland, R.I.) notched her sixth double-double of the season, leading all players with 25 points and 10 rebounds, plus she earned five assists, two steals, and two blocks. Jordyn Striggles (Raynham, Mass.) hit four three-pointers as she finished with 17 points, and Courtney Doherty (Willimantic, Conn.) collected 15 points, nine rebounds, three assists, and two steals.

Down 35-32 one minute into the second half after a traditional three-point play from Alaina Schatzabel, Regis rattled off an 11-2 scoring run, starting with a three-pointer from Striggles and featuring a three-pointer from Erika Marinelli (Point Pleasant, N.J.) that put the Pride on top. Later in the third quarter, Zancan found Serenity Ayala (North Brookfield, Mass.) for a layup that extended Regis' lead to its largest of the night at 49-41.

The Cougars responded with nine unanswered points, seven of them scored by Kailey Rios, to retake the lead at 50-49, but a jumper from Doherty in the final minute of the third quarter allowed the Pride to bring a 53-51 advantage into the final period. After Ayala made a free throw to open the fourth quarter scoring, Clark scored 10 unanswered points to pull ahead, 61-54.

The Pride attempted to rally, but two three-pointers from Catherine Antwi and one from Rios allowed the Cougars to maintain their lead. In the final minute, Striggles and Marinelli hit three-pointers and Zancan converted a traditional three-point play, but Clark went 6-for-6 from the free throw line down the stretch to clinch the victory.

Rios led the Cougars with 21 points and six steals, while Antwi finished with 19 points and four steals. Schatzabel scored 13 points and Jacqueline Faulise added 11 points, with each player also pulling down six rebounds apiece as Clark won the rebounding battle, 43-37.

Both teams struggled offensively early in the game as Regis did not make a field goal until a Striggles three-pointer midway through the first quarter and Clark hit just three field goals in the opening 10 minutes. Both teams did take advantage of their free throw opportunities in the first half, going 14-for-20 each from the charity stripe as the Cougars took a slight 32-30 lead into halftime.

For the game, Clark shot 40.3 percent (25-for-62) from the field and 78.1 percent (25-for-32) from the free throw line, while Regis hit 40 percent (22-for-55) of its field goal attempts and 71.4 percent (25-for-35) of its free throw opportunities. Clark scored 23 points off 22 Pride turnovers, and Regis collected 17 points off 20 Cougar turnovers.

Regis (2-7) hosts Saint Joseph's College Saturday, Dec. 9, starting at 1 p.m. at Higgins Court. Clark (6-3) travels to Boston to face Suffolk University Saturday, also beginning at 1 p.m.