WORCESTER, Mass.—Junior Katelyn Mollica (Foxborough, Mass.) matched her career high with 23 points to help visiting Babson College defeat Clark University, 60-55, in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) women's basketball action on Saturday afternoon inside the Kneller Athletic Center. 

With its second consecutive win, Babson closes the regular season at 13-12 overall and 7-4 in conference play. Clark has dropped two straight games to slip to 15-10 overall and 5-6 in the NEWMAC. The Beavers will be the fifth seed in next week's conference tournament, while the Cougars are seeded seventh. 

Mollica finished 8-of-10 from the field and went 4-of-4 at the free throw line as Babson won the seventh time in its last nine outings. Junior Camilla Silk (Medfield, Mass.) finished with nine points, eight rebounds and three assists, while seniors Rachel McMenemy (Northborough, Mass.) and Kelly Walsh (Goffstown, N.H.) both chipped in with seven points. First-year Samantha Reale (North Attleboro, Mass.) shook off a tough afternoon shooting to lead all players with five steals and four assists in the victory. 

Senior Jacqueline Faulise (North Kingstown, R.I.) scored 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds, while classmate Alaina Schatzabel (Kennebunk, Maine) totaled 11 points and seven boards to pace the Cougars. 

The Green and White got two three-pointers from Mollica and one apiece from Walsh and sophomore Chloe Perreault (Danbury, Conn.) while scoring on six of its first eight possessions to build a 16-9 lead less than five minutes into the game. Mollica's third triple made it 19-15 with 2:41 to go in the first but the Beavers made just one field goal over the first seven-plus minutes of the second quarter and were down as much as six before Silk converted a layup to make it 31-27 with 2:22 to go before halftime.

Junior Kumi Tamura (Whittier, Calif.) beat the buzzer with a running three-pointer to push the Cougars' advantage back to 36-32 at the break and got hoops from Faulise and Schatzabel, followed by a trifecta from first-year Emma Drefs (Ridgecrest, Calif.) to forge their largest lead of the contest at 43-36 with 7:51 to go in the third period. McMenemy scored the final five points as part of an 11-2 run that put the Beavers back in front 47-45 late in the third only to see the hosts answer with the final four points of the frame to regain a 49-47 edge on a jumper by Faulise. 

The Green and White trailed 51-49 after another hoop by Faulise with 8:06 to play in the fourth quarter but got four consecutive points from Reale and a deep three-pointer by junior Emily Flynn (Hanover, Mass.) from the right wing to beat the shot clock to extend its advantage to 56-51 with 2:46 left. Faulise broke a scoring drought of nearly six minutes to pull the Cougars within three one possession later, but Babson got three straight stops and used free throws by Silk and Mollica over the final 25 seconds to put the game away.

The Beavers shot 36.2 percent from the field and finished 6-of-12 (50 percent) from distance in addition to scoring 13 points off of 18 Clark turnovers. The Cougars shot 32.6 percent for the game and were just 6-of-24 (25 percent) from deep. 

Both teams will return to action Wednesday in NEWMAC Tournament quarterfinal action as Babson travels to fourth-seeded Coast Guard while Clark visits second-seeded Smith. Game times will be announced later on Saturday. 

GAME NOTES
•    The Beavers are 33-22 all-time against Clark and have won 13 in a row and 22 of the last 23 games between the teams. 
•    Babson finished with a 41-40 edge on the glass and is now 12-3 this season when outrebounding its opponents. 
•    The Beavers have won their last eight games when giving up 55 points or fewer and are 11-2 on the year when allowing fewer than 60 points.
•    Walsh, who had missed 15 consecutive games, returned to action for the first time since December 6 on Saturday.