Mareiro Hits Six Three-Pointers as Women's Basketball Tops Clark, 65-56

WORCESTER, Mass.—Anna Maria College junior guard Nicole Mareiro (Acushnet, Mass.) scored 22 points and hit six three-pointers to lead the AMCATS to a 65-56 win against Clark University in the consolation game of the Clark Alumni Holiday Tournament on Thursday afternoon.

With the win, the AMCATS improve to 6-5 on the season, while the loss drops Clark to 2-8.

AMCAT LEADERS

Mariero finished 6-for-13 from behind the arc and 7-for-15 overall from the field to post her best shooting performance as an AMCAT to date. Classmate Christina Gauvin (Dudley, Mass.) finished with 19 points, 11 of which she buried at the free-throw line as part of an 11-for-13 effort, in addition to five steals and five assists.

Junior Deja Taitt (Cambia Heights, N.Y.) added 11 points to round out double-figure scorers, while senior Jessica Goulet (Lawrence, Mass.) tallied a team-high eight rebounds off the bench.

CLARK LEADERS

The AMCAT defense did not allow a single Clark player to reach double-figures in the scoring column; Ogechi Ezemma, Sam O'Gara, Aretha Sullivan, and Cori Ouellette all finished with nine points apiece. Sami Dokus tallied a game-high nine rebounds off the bench, while Ezemma recorded a team-best four steals.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Both teams traded control for most of the first quarter, with Clark prevailing with a 13-11 edge after the first 10 minutes. The AMCATS would take a five-point lead at 20-15 midway through the second quarter, but Clark responded with a 12-4 run over the last six minutes of the half to carry a 27-24 lead into halftime.

After trading baskets in the first part of the third quarter, the AMCATS took control for good on a three-pointer by Mareiro, which put Anna Maria up by one at 30-29. The AMCATS finished the quarter with a 14-4 run to hold an 11-point lead, 44-33, after three quarters of action.

Clark bounced back in the fourth quarter and cut Anna Maria's lead to just four points, 49-45, with 4:13 left to play, but the AMCATS managed to fight off the rally to escape with the nine-point victory.

FINAL COMPARISONS

Both teams finished with near-identical shooting percentages, as Anna Maria hit 19 of 64 shots for a 29.7 percent performance, while Clark finished 17-57 for a 29.8 percent effort. The biggest scoring difference was from behind the arc, as the AMCATS shot 37.5 percent (6-16) from long-range, and Clark finished 3-23 (13.0 percent).

Anna Maria held scoring advantages on points off turnovers (18-13) and second-chance points (11-3), while Clark had the upper hand in points in the paint (26-22) and bench points (29-13).

WHAT'S NEXT

The AMCATS travel to Middlebury on Tuesday, January 5^th for the first game of 2016. Tip-off is slated for 6:00 p.m. Live video will be available, courtesy of Middlebury College.