WORCESTER, Mass. (February 18, 2026) – Emerson College clinched a spot in next week's New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament despite a 65-53 setback at Clark University in NEWMAC women's basketball action at Hurst Court tonight.
Senior Bri Frongillo led Emerson with a game-high 17 points to became the program's all-time leading scorer with 1,272 points in her 62 career games in a Lions uniform over the last three years. She surpasses the previous career scoring mark of Molly Zahr, '01 who netted 1,270 points from 1997-2001. Frongillo, who has averaged a program-best 20.5 points per game over her Emerson career, added six rebounds, six assists and two blocked shots.
Emerson also sewed up a spot in next week's NEWMAC Tournament and will enter Saturday's regular season finale tied for seventh in the Conference standings with Coast Guard Academy, a game behind sixth place WPI and a game ahead of Wellesley College and Salve Regina University – holding the head-to-head tiebreaker against both.
Sophomore Jessie Silk added 12 points for Emerson with five rebounds, two assists and a steal, while junior Claire English pulled down a game-best 11 rebounds for the Lions with six points.
Junior Catherine Antwi led Clark with 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting, including 4-for-7 from three-point range, with two rebounds and two steals. Classmate Olivia Shipley added 12 points, five rebounds and two blocked shots, while freshman Leilani Benson (Boston, Massachusetts/Cathedral High School) registered nine points, eight rebounds and three assists off the Cougars bench.
Emerson grabbed an early five-point lead (8-3) four minutes in after a Silk three-pointer and Frongillo jumper. The Lions stretched the lead to seven (14-7) with a layup from junior Elise Arnold with 3:40 to play in the opening quarter, but Clark closed the gap to a point (17-16) after four straight points from senior Ashley Leighton.
Junior Kaylin O'Meara sent Emerson into the second quarter with a three-point lead (19-16) with a pair of free throws. Antwi drained a three-pointer to push Clark into the lead (25-24) just past the midway point of the second quarter and the Cougars stretched the lead to three (30-27) after a three-pointer from senior Kiley Drezek with three minutes remaining in the half.
Sophomore Lindsay Gould hit a three-pointer to send Emerson into halftime with the lead (32-30) and then Silk stretched it to four (34-30) with a layup two minutes into the third quarter. Gould added another three-pointer to push the Lions advantage to five (37-32) three minutes into the third.
Clark followed with an 11-0 run, sparked by an Antwi triple, to grab a six-point lead (45-39) with 2:29 left in the third. English pulled Emerson back within four (50-46) two minutes into the fourth quarter, but Clark followed with a game-clinching 15-2 run, with the Cougars drilling three triples, to open a 17-point advantage (65-48) after a Shipley layup with 2:34 to play.
Noteworthy
- Frongillo's record-breaking night marked her 14th double-figure scoring game of the season (58th career).
- Silk has scored in double-figures in five-straight games and a team-high 17 games this season overall (32nd career).
- English posted her ninth double-digit rebound game of the season (22nd career), leading the Lions in rebounding for the 11th game (27th career).
- Emerson has punched a spot in the NEWMAC Tournament for the second-straight year.
- Clark took full advantage of Emerson's 25 turnovers, posting an 18-5 margin in points off.
- The Cougars shot just 33.3-percent (7-21) in the fourth quarter but connected on 4-of-8 three-pointers (50%) in the frame.
- Clark collected 23 offensive rebounds and held a 20-7 scoring margin in second chance points.
Up Next
Emerson (13-11, 4-6 NEWMAC) closes out the regular season schedule on Saturday when it hosts Springfield College for a NEWMAC matchup at Bobbi Brown and Steven Plofker Gymnasium at 1 p.m. Clark (17-7, 8-2 NEWMAC) visits WPI on Saturday at 3 p.m.
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