PLATTSBURGH — It wasn't pretty, but the Clinton Community College women's basketball team picked up its first win of the season.
The Cougars got off to a great start, but struggled thereafter, and were still able to come out with a 55-40 win over Word of Life Tuesday at home.
"A win is a win — it was ugly," Clinton coach Donna Dixon said. "At times, I think we could have played a lot better with a lot more intensity than what we did. But, we got the job done and that's what we need to do right now — take one game at a time and go from there."
Johni Rae Coryea scored a team-high 12 points. The former Northeastern Clinton standout also notched five rebounds, seven assists and ten steals for the double-double.
Shannon Nutbrown and Carissa Fournia each added 10 points for Clinton Community College (1-1). Nutbrown added 14 rebounds for the team's second double-double, and also chipped in five assists, two steals and two blocked shots.
The Cougars jumped out to an 18-3 lead midway through the first half on two 3-pointers from Coryea sandwhiched in between a Nutbrown layup.
The Lady Huskies chipped away and later scored three straight buckets to pull within five, going into the half down just seven.
Word of Life pulled the deficit to six early in the second half, but the Cougars went on a 18-7 run to give themselves a comfortable 51-34 lead with four minutes remaining.
"We had a little letdown, a little focus letdown. We let them back in the game, but then we came back and were able to take back control of the game," Dixon said.
Corinne Fleming led the Lady Huskies with a game-high 13 points. Fleming knocked down Word of Life's only 3-point shot and sank four free throws.
The Cougars were without captain and starting forward Sami Stoughton, who was out with a fractured finger.
Clinton Community College returns to action Friday when it hosts Adirondack Community College at 6 p.m.
—
Clinton 55, Word of Life 40
Clinton (55)
Fournia 2-6-10. Coryea 5-0-12. Nutbrown 5-0-10. Garcia 2-0-4. Godreau 3-2-8. Curry 2-0-4. J. Fountain 2-1-5. Pfeiffer 1-0-2.
Word of Life (40)
Farrar 1-0-2. Fleming 4-4-13. Hanshew 1-0-2. Sewall 1-0-2. Horton 6-0-12. Chiaro 2-3-7. Kline 1-0-2.
Halftime: Clinton 27, Word of Life 20
3-point goals: CCC (2) Coryea 2. WOL (1) Fleming.
