Although the 2007-08 Clark University women’s basketball campaign did not produce the results they had hoped for, the Cougars experienced many successful moments and revealed flashes of promise for next year. The 8-17 (4-9 NEWMAC) team captured its 11th Worcester City Tip-Off Title in the past 12 years and 18th total championship with a 57-47 victory over WPI. Junior Sarah Roderigue earned the Tournament’s Most Valuable Player honors, while sophomore Jillian Camilleri was named to the All-Tournament Team.
Clark also advanced to the University of Southern Maine Tournament championship game during winter break, where Camilleri earned her second All-Tournament team nod. Following the semester vacation, the Cougars posted victories in two of its first three conference games and won twice more in league play to earn the seventh seed in the tournament. However, Clark was knocked out in the first-round after a 56-43 loss to second-seeded Coast Guard Academy.
Individual highlights included Roderigue’s All-Conference first-team selection and her first D3hoops.com All-Northeast Region second-team appearance.
Earlier in the season, Clark hosted its first-ever Women’s Basketball Coaches Association’s (WBCA) “Think Pink” campaign to raise awareness for breast cancer. The squad donated $150 to the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund.
Completing its season with a 12-13 (8-5 NEWMAC) record, the Clark University women’s basketball team rebounded from a rough start to finish strong. The Cougars opened the year with a pair of season opening losses to bring their bid for 11 straight Worcester City Tournament titles to a halt. After a winter break trip to Florida, the women’s squad rattled off seven straight conference wins for the first time since joining the NEWMAC (formerly the NEW-8) in the 1996-97 season.
Led by NEWMAC second-team All-Star Sarah Roderigue, the Cougars, who were ranked as high as third in the league, entered the conference tournament as the fifth-seed. They dropped a hard-fought first-round game to fourth-seed Wheaton College (74-72) to conclude the year.
In addition to Clark’s mid-season comeback, their line-up was flanked by first-year standout Jillian Camilleri, a three-time Worcester Area College Basketball Association Rookie of the Week and senior Ashley Auclair. Auclair capped her career seventh on Clark’s all-time scoring list with 1,452 points.
The women’s basketball team finished the season 17-9 overall and 7-6 in the conference.
Clark won its 10th straight Worcester City Tip-Off Tournament title and started the season winning 10 straight games, including an 82-77 win over national power Salem State. The Cougars reached the NEWMAC Semifinals for the thrid straight year and fell to eventual NEWMAC Champion Springfield College.
Senior captain Andrea Comen finished her career with an outstanding senior season and became the 15th women’s basketball at Clark to surpass 1,000 points with 15 points on February 4, 2006 against MIT. She completed the four-years with 1,079 points and is ranked 14th on Clark’s all-time scoring list. She was named to 2006 D3Hoops.com Women's All-Northeast Region First Team and to the NEWMAC All-Conference First Team. She led the team in points per game (16.6), assists per game (3.8) and steals per game (1.4). In addition, she grabbed 3.6 rebounds per game in 26 games. She ranked second in the league in scoring, third in assists and second in steals.
Junior Ashley Auclair was named to the NEWMAC All-Conference Second Team in 2005. The 2004 Rookie of the Year and 2005 Player of the Year she made her second appearance on the second team and her third straight selection to the all-conference team. In addition, she was selected to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District College Division Third Team selected by COSIDA. Auclair was second on the team in points per game (14.3) and first in rebounds (8.3) this past season. In 26 games she recorded nine double-doubles. She ranked fourth in the league in scoring, sixth in field goal percentage (48.9), fourth in rebounds and tenth in blocks (.7) while helping the Cougars to a 17-9 record.
She became the 14th women’s basketball player at Clark to surpass 1,000 points with 22 points on December 19, 2005 against Trinity and is ranked 11th on Clark’s all-time scoring list with 1, 237 points.
The women's basketball team ended the season winning eight of the last 11 games and reached the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) finals for the second straight year. Seeded fifth in the tournament, the Cougars defeated fourth-seeded Coast Guard 66-57 in the quarterfinals and the top-seeded team, Mount Holyoke, 57-53 in the semifinals. The Cougars' season came to end with a 79-59 loss to Springfield in the finals. Clark had defeated Springfield in last year’s final 68-59. Sophomore Ashley Auclair led the way for the Cougars with another impressive season. She was named NEWMAC Player of the Year and was also named to the all-conference first team. She was named Rookie of the Year and earned all-conference second team honors last year. Auclair led the team and conference in scoring (17.9) and rebounds (9.9). In addition, she was ranked fourth in the NEWMAC in field goal percentage (.496) and sixth in blocks (1.1). She recorded an impressive 13 double-doubles in 27 games including a stretch of six straight double-doubles and led the Cougars with 22 points and 16 rebounds in the upset victory over Mount Holyoke. Auclair is the first Clark player and only the second player in the conference to receive Rookie of the Year honors in her first-year and then Player of the Year honors in her sophomore season. Junior Andrea Comen also had a solid year chipping in 12.5 points per game, 3.7 rebounds per game and a team-leading 4.7 assists per game. She was second on the team and eighth in the conference in scoring and was ranked second in the NEWMAC in assists. Senior captain Abby Pineo added 9.9 points per game, 5.6 rebounds per game and 3.3 assists per game. She was ranked fourth and fifth respectively in the conference in three-point field goal percentage (.355) and three-point field goals made per game (1.6). The Cougars finished the season with a 15-11 overall record.
The 2003-04 Clark University women’s basketball team, under the direction of head coach Pat Glispin (20th season) finished the season 21-7 and 10-3 in the New England Women’s and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC). One of only four New England Division III coaches to reach the 300-win plateau, Glispin has compiled a 373-157 overall record in 20 years. Glispin also has posted eleven 20-win seasons during her tenure at Clark. She was assisted by Mary Kelleher (5th season), Tracey Luster (4th season) and Marge O’Brien ’83 (15th season).
The Cougars, who compiled an impressive 14-0 record at home, started their season by winning the Worcester City Tip-off Tournament Championship for the eighth consecutive year. Junior Abby Pineo and graduate-student Rachael Turkington were named to the all-tournament team while Turkington was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player for the third consecutive year. Clark earned an automatic bid to the 2004 NCAA Tournament with a 68-59 win over number one seed Springfield College in the NEWMAC Championship. First-year sensation forward Ashley Auclair scored 17 points and pulled down 11 rebounds while blocking three shots. Clark has won four NEWMAC Championships in the history of the conference and last won the NEWMAC Championship in 1999 and claimed a NEWMAC Tournament title in 2000.
The Cougars traveled to Salem State College for a first round NCAA game and a rematch of the first round of the Salem State Christmas Tournament where Clark lost 80-72 earlier in the season. The Cougars fell to the Vikings 78-67. Turkington finished her career off in fine fashion with 21 points including five three-pointers. She dished out seven assists and grabbed four rebounds.
This was the Cougars' 10th trip to the NCAA Tournament and 25th post-season appearance in the last 28 years. Clark last made a trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2000 and reached the NCAA Sweet Sixteen. The 1982 and 1983 teams went to the Final Four. Glispin, the 2004 NEWMAC Coach of the Year, has directed her squads to seven NCAA appearances and 17 overall post-season selections.
Turkington, the NEWMAC Player of the Year and first team all-conference selection, led the Cougars this year. This is Turkington's second consecutive first-team selection. She was also named to the 2004 CoSida Academic All-America All-District I College Division Second Team, the D3Hoops.com Northeast All-Regional Second Team and the ECAC All-Star Second Team. She was named NEWMAC Player of the Week three times during the year. Turkington, who led the team in scoring with 14.3 points per game and 4.2 assists per game also grabbed 3.2 rebounds per game. She shot 31.3 percent from long range while making 2.5 three-pointers per game. In addition, Turkington became the 13th player to reach the 1,000 career-point milestone at Clark and finished with 1,361 career points and ranks 8th on the all-time scoring list.
Turkington who has recovered from two ACL injuries was a finalist for the Jostens Trophy, an award that honors the most outstanding men and women’s Division III basketball players of the year. The award takes into account basketball ability, academic prowess and community service. Adding to her impressive career and numerous accomplishments are 2001-02 Verizon Academic All-America Women's Basketball District I Second Team honors, 2002-03 ECAC New England All-Star Honorable Mention, 2002-03 NEWBA All-Star Third Team, 2002-03 Verizon Academic All-America District I First Team. In addition, she finished the 2002-03 season ranked first in the nation in three-point field goals per game (4.0).
Auclair was also a major contributor and was named the NEWMAC Rookie of the Year in addition to selection to the all-conference second team. Auclair was second on the team in scoring with 13.7 points per game and led the team with 7.5 rebounds per game. The impressive rookie shot 50.1 percent from the floor and added 1.6 steals per game and 1.7 blocks per game. Auclair, who recorded seven double-doubles, recorded season-highs of 23 points against Salem State and 13 rebounds twice, once against Salem and once against Wheaton College. She scored in double-digits an impressive 23 times while starting in all 27 games for the Cougars. She was ranked in the top ten in four statistical categories in the conference including fifth in scoring, second in field goal percentage, ninth in rebounds and third in blocks. In addition to her NEWMAC honors, Auclair earned WACBA Rookie of the Week honors six times.
Sophomore Andrea Comen and senior Heather Kamyck were key contributors to the Cougars' success. Comen, who started in all of the Cougars' 28 games, averaged 6.0 points per game, 4.2 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. Kamyck played in all 28 games and started in 27. She averaged 4.2 points per game, 2.8 rebounds per game and 1.5 assists. Freeman played key minutes off the bench adding 7.8 points per game and 4.3 rebounds while shooting 51.9 percent from the floor.
The 2002-03 team finished the year 12-13 overall and started the season winning the Worcester City Tip-off Tournament for the seventh consecutive season and 14th out of the past 21 years Rachael Turkington '04 was named Worcester City Tournament MVP for the second year in a row. In addition, she earned NEWMAC All-Conference first team honors, whie leading the Cougars with 17.9 points per game and 3.1 assists per game while shooting 34.7 from the field and 36.9 from long range. She hit an impressive 99 three-pointers in 24 games and finished the year leading the country in three-point field goals made per game (4.0). She was named to the Verizon District I Academic All-America First Team, ECAC All-Star Honorable Mention Team, and the NEWBA All-Star third team.
The 2001-2002 team finished13-13 overall and completed their 26th consecutive season .500 or better. The Cougars started the season winning the Worcester City Tip-off Tournament for the sixth consecutive season and 13th out of the past 20 years. Junior Rachael Turkington earned Verizon Academic All-America District I second team honors. Before suffering a season ending knee injury, she was averaging 16.3 points per game and 3.3 assists per game.
In 2001, Emily Morgan '01 received NEWMAC All-Conference honors and earned honorable mention on the ECAC All-Star Team. Morgan became the twelfth player in the history of the program to reach the 1,000 point plateau and finished her career with 1,116 points.
The 1999-2000 women's basketball team closed out one of the finest seasons in the program's history with a 21-9 overall record, a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference Championship, and the program's ninth NCAA Tournament appearance. Senior standout Marissa Garrity, a 5'8" forward, was recognized by the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) and the New England Women's Basketball Association (NEWBA) as the region's top player after leading Clark to the NCAA's Sweet 16. Her 1,607 career points rank fourth on Clark’s list of all-time leading scorers.
The Clark women's basketball program has experienced extraordinary success at the regional and national levels. During the 1997-98 season, the squad earned its 12th 20-win season en route to a 20-8 overall mark, as the Cougars advanced to the NCAA Northeast Sectional.
Success is not new to the women’s team -- it has enjoyed national prominence for nearly two decades. In 1982 the team reached the NCAA Division III Final Four Tournament. In 1988-89 Coach Pat Glispin's squad earned a perfect 26-0 regular season record, winning the NCAA Northeast Regional Championship and playing into the NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals. On the way to their stellar season, the Cougars set an NCAA Division III record for 36 consecutive wins dating back to 1988.
In regional tournament play, Clark is one of just two squads (along with Colby College) to win the ECAC New England crown three times (1988, 1990, and 1996); and the Cougars won four Massachusetts Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (MAIAW) state titles in 1977, 1979, 1981, and 1982.
In 1998, four Clark players earned all-conference honors. Nicole Dias '00, Marissa Garrity '00, and Courtney Halloran '99 were on the NEW 8 All-Star team, and Emily Morgan '01 was the conference Rookie of the Year. One year later, Dias, Garrity, and Halloran repeated their all-conference honor selection. Garrity was named the NEWMAC Player of the Year in 2000. Morgan was named to the 2001 NEWMAC All-Conference Team.
One of the most heralded players in New England Basketball history is guard Meegan Garrity '97, who established herself as one of the best in the country. She rewrote the Clark record book on her way to 2,793 points; and she led the nation (all divisions, men and women) in scoring in both her junior (29.1 average) and senior seasons (28.4 average).