Wednesday marked five days since Loville passed away suddenly in Portland Jan. 12. She was 18.
The Penguins postponed their game last Saturday at Southwestern Oregon Community College, but returned to the court Wednesday for the first time since Loville’s death.
And with it came their first win of the 2017-18 season Wednesday at Yoshida Event Center — a 72-70 victory over the Mt. Hood Saints.
Union High graduate Mailia Aguigui had a game-high 23 points for Clark, including 6-of-12 shooting from 3-point range, and Sarah Teubner added a double-double of 10 points and 13 rebounds, plus six assists in 27 minutes off the bench.
Brown added 13 points, five assists, and came up clutch defensively with a steal and hit two free throws with 13.7 seconds left that gave Clark a 4-point lead at 71-67.
Mt. Hood had a chance for a potential game-tying shot in the key with 6.3 seconds to go following a timeout, but Kassidy Ellett’s runner hit off the left rim.
In a season when wins have been hard to come by for Clark, Wednesday looked like it was meant to be early. Its largest lead was 11 in the first half before Mt. Hood rallied in the third. At one stretch, the Saints took a 5-point lead at 53-48.
But in the fourth, Aguigui, the Penguins’ leading scorer, got hot again as she did in the first. She hit two 3s, including her sixth of the game after a timeout with 1:15 to play that put Clark (1-14 overall) up 67-64.
Interim coach Paul Cannon described Wednesday’s win as a special one. Loville, a Centennial High School graduate, was a freshman who played in five games, most recently in last week’s 78-68 home loss to Portland Community College.
Jacob was in attendance Wednesday for both the women’s and men’s games. After the postponement of last Saturday’s game in Coos Bay, he said the women’s team took the weekend off. The team scrimmaged Tuesday.
Like the red rose on the warm-up shirts, Mt. Hood presented Clark players with two rose bouquets before player introductions.
The Saints sported their own ‘“G 10” warm-up shirts in honor of Clark and Loville, and Jacob noted the entire NWAC’s support of the Penguins and Clark athletics.
Said Jacob: “They really wanted to win for G, and it powered them through the game.”
Services for Loville are Jan. 27 at Bateman Carroll Funeral Home in Gresham.
