Clark women top Walla Walla, will play for fifth place

For a second consecutive season, the Clark College women’s basketball team will be playing on the final day of the NWAACC season.

The Penguins closed out Walla Walla, 64-56 on Monday in the fifth-place semifinal of the NWAACC Tournament at the Toyota Center in Kennewick.

Clark (25-4) will play West Division rival Lower Columbia at noon Tuesday for the fifth-place trophy.

Nicolette Bond led all scorers with 23 points and also had eight rebounds for Clark.

Shantell Jackson had 14 points, and Taylor Howlett had 11 points and six assists. Haley Grossman had nine rebounds and eight points. (Click here for complete boxscore)

Clark led by as many as 10 points in the first half. The lead would change three times in the first four minutes of the second half.

Andrea Smith’s basket with 11:56 to play put Clark ahead to stay at 44-42, but the game wasn’t done.

The lead went up to as much as eight points on Smith’s free throws with 7:18 to play, but Walla Walla would cut the lead to 57-56 with 2:28 remaining.

Brooke Bowen made a 3-pointer — her only field goal of the game — and Bond made four free throws over the last few minutes to ice the game.

Clark was outrebounded 49-39, but scored 17 points off 15 Walla Walla turnovers.