BABSON PARK, Mass. — Junior Emma Drefs (Ridgecrest, Calif.) finished with team-highs of 16 points and eight rebounds and third-seeded Clark University went on a 16-1 run in the second quarter to open up an 18-point lead on the way to a 68-51 victory over second-seeded Babson College in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) women's basketball tournament semifinal Friday evening inside Staake Gymnasium. 

Babson, which had won nine of its last 10 games, sees its season come to an end with an 18-9 record after posting the most wins since 2022-23. Clark improves to 19-8 overall and punched its ticket to the NEWMAC championship game for the first time since 2005.

Sophomore Rylie Rosenberg (New Rochelle, N.Y.) led all scorers with 21 points for Babson, knocking down 6-of-12 3-point shots and 7-of-14 overall. Graduate student Emily Flynn (Hanover, Mass.) finished with nine points and team-highs of seven rebounds and two blocked shots, with seven of her points coming at the free throw line. Sophomore Julia St. Laurent (Greenland, N.H.) chipped in with five points and six rebounds in the loss.

Drefs made 6-of-11 shots and grabbed three steals to lead a balanced scoring for the Cougars. First-year Atiya Watson (Los Angeles, Calif.) scored 12 points and handed out four assists, sophomore Cyriah Coleman (Los Angeles, Calif.) contributed nine points and six rebounds, and junior Kailey Rios (Hesperia, Calif.) finished with nine points, four rebounds and two steals.

Babson had a strong start to the game, scoring nine straight points and jumping out to an 11-4 lead on the strength of a pair of 3-pointers by Rosenberg and three points from senior Allessia Carlo (Carmel, N.Y.). Clark answered with back-to-back threes by Coleman and junior Catherine Antwi (Lowell, Mass.), and tied the game at 12-all on a layup by first-year Leilani Benson (Boston, Mass.) with 3:26 remaining. A 3-pointer by Rios and another Benson layup in the final two minutes gave the visitors a 17-14 lead after one.

Watson and Rosenberg traded baskets to open the second quarter, but Clark went on a 16-1 run over the next eight minutes to open up a 35-17 margin as Babson missed nine straight shots while turning the ball over three times. Six different players contributed points for Clark in the rally, led by Drefs and Coleman with four each. Sophomore Alessa Mendoza (Yonkers, N.Y.) finally hit Babson's first field goal in more than eight minutes with 34 seconds remaining in the quarter but Babson went into the break down 35-19.

The Beavers got as close as 13 points early in the third quarter after a three-pointer by Rosenberg and again following a pair of free throws by Flynn, but Clark ran off 11 straight points, sparked by a pair of buckets by junior Olivia Shipley (Castleton, Vt.) and capped by a Rios triple, as the Clark lead ballooned to 48-24 midway through the third.

Carlo broke four-minute drought for Babson and Rosenberg followed with a three-ball to get the margin under 20 points, but Clark outscored the Beavers 8-5 over the final three minutes of the quarter to take a 56-34 margin into the fourth quarter.

Babson made a comeback attempt in the final frame, cutting the deficit to 14 points (57-43) after a Flynn 3-point play with 8:05 remaining, and down to 13 points (59-46) after a 3-pointer by senior Chloe Perrault (Danbury, Conn.) with five minutes to play, but that's as close as the Beavers could get.

Clark shot 40 percent from the field and 25.9 percent from beyond the arc and outrebounded the Beavers 40-31. Babson connected on just 31.9 percent from the field after making just 16.7 percent in the second quarter.

The Cougars will take on four-time defending champion Smith on Sunday in the NEWMAC final at 1 p.m. in Northampton, Mass.

GAME NOTES
• Babson is 36-23 all-time against Clark in a series that dates back to 1976-77 but Friday's win for the Cougars snapped a 15-game losing streak and was just the second win in the last 27 meetings.
• Friday's contest was the first semifinal matchup between Babson and Clark since 2000, which marked the last of four straight years the programs hooked up in either the semifinals or finals. 
• Rosenberg completed the season with 65 3-pointers, which ranks third in program history for 3-pointers in a season.
• Flynn made 47 shots from beyond the arc this winter and finished her career fifth in Babson history with 115 career three-pointers.