Women's Basketball Falls Short, 68-59, In NEWMAC Final
SPRINGFIELD, Mass., Feb. 28, 2004 – Clark University freshman forward Ashley Auclair (Williamsburg, Mass.) scored 17 points, pulled down 11 rebounds and blocked three shots to lead the Cougars to a 68-59 win over top-seed Springfield College in the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Women’s Basketball Championship tonight in Blake Arena.
Clark (21-6) earns the NEWMAC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament. This is the Cougars’ first win in the conference championship game since the 1999-2000 season, when they beat Wellesley, 62-57.
SC junior forward
Kacey Wunsch (Londonderry, N.H.) had 14 points and 12 rebounds, and sophomore forward
Katie Trice (Concord, N.H.) added 12 points and seven boards for the Pride (18-10), which saw its three-year reign as NEWMAC champions end.
The Cougars dominated the final 10:09 of the first half, outscoring SC 27-12 to take a 41-25 lead at intermission. Junior forward Echo Freeman (Maynard, Mass.) came off the bench to score nine points and gather eight boards in the half as the Cougars out-rebounded SC, 11-4, on the offensive glass.
Trailing by as many as 18 in the second half, SC fought back and whittled the lead to 60-55 on a three-pointer by freshman guard
LaToya Franklin (Latham, N.Y.) with :55 left. That was as close as the Pride would get, however, as Auclair scored six points in a :24 span in the final minute.
2004 New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Championship
Friday, Feb. 27, Semifinals (Blake Arena, at Springfield College)
No.2 Clark 64, No. 3 Mount Holyoke 59
No. 1 Springfield College 73, No. 4 WPI 51
Saturday, Feb. 28, Championship
No. 2 Clark 68, No. 1 Springfield College 59
Team Links
Head Coach Naomi Graves
Entering her 22nd season as head coach in 2012-13, Naomi Graves has directed her squads to an impressive 306-156 record (.662 winning percentage) since joining the Division III ranks in 1995. Graves has led the Pride to 12 post-season bids in the past 17 years, including five berths in the NCAA Division III Tournament.
Read more.
Contact Head Coach Naomi Graves
E-Mail | Phone: 413.748.3415
