CLARION, Pa. – The Clarion women’s basketball team gave the top team in the conference all it could handle for much of the night, but a shorthanded Golden Eagles squad was unable to complete the upset in falling 68-51 to Edinboro at Tippin Gymnasium on Wednesday.
Clarion (11-7, 8-4 PSAC), who played tonight missing three key contributors, will be back in action on Saturday against IUP.
With several key members of the rotation out due to injury, the Golden Eagles battled the Fighting Scots to a stalemate in the first half of action, and at one point held a five-point lead in the first quarter. Edinboro responded with a strong third quarter, and though Clarion steadied themselves in the fourth quarter, it was not enough to pull closer.
Delrika Jones-Carey was a force on both ends of the floor, coming up one point shy of a double-double with nine points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Eight of those boards came on the offensive glass as she provided the Golden Eagles with second-chance opportunities throughout. Tyra Polite had 14 points and nine rebounds, coming up one carom short of the double-double herself.
Edinboro opened the game on an 11-0 run, with Clarion not getting on the board until a midrange jumper by Jones-Carey at the 6:12 mark of the period. The Golden Eagles responded with a 17-1 run of their own, though, stunning the Fighting Scots and seizing momentum at the end of the period. Amesha Harden-Pullium drained a three-pointer from the right wing to slice the lead to 12-8, and Jones-Carey took a feed from Polite and sank a shot from the head of the key with 2:14 to go to make it 12-12. The Golden Eagles took their first lead of the game on the next possession, with Jones-Carey’s ability on the boards leading the way. She ripped down a carom with 1:45 left in the first to give Clarion a fresh offensive possession, and Jordan Bekelja scored on the and-one to put her team ahead 15-12. Fittingly, Jones-Carey punctuated the run with a fast break bucket on the next possession, with Jen Straw pulling down a defensive board and Jones-Carey taking it the other way for the make.
The Fighting Scots built another multiple-possession lead in the second quarter, going ahead 30-24 with under four minutes to go, but Clarion again pulled even at the end of the period. Polite knocked down a three-pointer with 3:34 remaining in the half to cut the lead to 30-27, and Straw hit a spinning jumper in the paint with just 24 seconds left to tie the game at 31. Polite helped keep the Golden Eagles even on Edinboro’s final offensive possession of the half, blocking Michelle Jahn’s shot attempt with seven seconds left to keep it tied entering the locker room.
However, the third quarter was not as kind to the Golden Eagles, as the Fighting Scots caught fire and the Golden Eagles went cold. Edinboro shot 8-of-17 in the third quarter while Clarion went just 2-of-15, giving the Fighting Scots a 53-39 advantage through 30 minutes of action. The deficit was only 15-12 in the final period, but by that point the advantage was too great for Clarion to top.
CLARION MEN DROP EIGHTH STRAIGHT
CLARION, Pa., — The Clarion University men’s basketball team fell at home Wednesday evening against Edinboro by a final score of 82-66. The loss moves the Golden Eagles to 5-12 on the season (3-9 PSAC). The Golden Eagles will return to action Saturday afternoon when they host IUP at Tippin Gymnasium.
Justin Grant led the Eagles offense Wednesday night, finishing with a team-high 15 points to go along with four assists and six rebounds. Jamal Bailey owned the boards all night for CU, recording a team-high 11 while Manny Powell led the team with eight assists.
Things were neck-and-neck in the first half, with the Eagles actually taking a 41-39 advantage into teh locker room thanks to some big three’s by Kwame Morton Jr. and Justin Grant. However the Scots came back strong in the second, and thanks to an incredible 36 points from Jaymon Mason plus some tough rebounding, were able to regain control and finish the game out to secure the win.
