GREENSBURG, Pa. — Jordan Bekelja became the 18th player in Clarion University women’s basketball history to score 1,000 career points, but a late Golden Eagles comeback attempt fell short in a 78-70 loss at Seton Hill Saturday afternoon.
(Photo courtesy of Clarion University Athletics)
Clarion falls to 7-14 overall and 1-13 in PSAC play.
Bekelja hit the 1,000-point mark at the 8:06 mark of the second quarter. Emily Hegedus swiped the ball from Hannah Laslo and dished it to Yndiah Bobo, who then found Bekelja for an open three-pointer. That bucket put Clarion ahead 23-21, and the Golden Eagles lead by as many as six points in the second quarter. Bekelja is the first Golden Eagle to top 1,000 points since Tania Holmes did it during the 2015-16 season.
The Griffins led by as many as 15 points but were not able to put the Golden Eagles away entirely, as Clarion’s comeback attempt lasted until the final moments of regulation. Seton Hill led 70-57 until Kadijah Dickson knocked down a midrange jumper with 2:44 left, making it an 11-point game. Yasmin Lewis followed with a jumper to pull the team within single digits, and Dickson scored on a putback to cut the score of 70-63.
Lewis made a free throw moments late to make it a two-possession game, but the Griffins started to regain their footing and bumped the lead back to double-digits. They held the Golden Eagles off in the final seconds to secure the victory.
Dickson recorded her sixth double-double with a game-high 24 points — her highest point total since scoring 26 against Lock Haven — and also 10 rebounds. Bobo scored 14 points and also added six assists and five rebounds, while Emily Hegedus scored 10 points.
Clarion opened the game on a 9-4 run, with Dickson closing off the rally with a layup at the 5:59 mark of the first quarter. Bobo added a transition bucket later in the quarter, getting the steal on defense and laying it in to make it 15-10, but the Griffins took the lead on a three-point shot just before the buzzer at the end of the period.
Bekelja put Clarion back ahead with her three-pointer in the second quarter, and Taylor Moltz added two free throws to make it a four-point game. Hegedus sank a jumper at the 5:53 mark to give the Golden Eagles a 27-21 advantage, but Seton Hill scored 11 unanswered points to take the lead, an advantage they held through the remainder of the game.
SLOW START HAMPERS MEN’S TEAM
GREENSBURG, Pa. – A slow start for the Clarion Golden Eagles leads to a road loss to Seton Hill Saturday afternoon 87-56 in a PSAC men’s basketball matchup. The Golden Eagles, 4-14, 2-12 in PSAC play will travel to Erie, Pa. on Wednesday to take on Mercyhurst for the second time this season.
Seton Hill was lights out all game long, shooting 49% including 9 of 23 from beyond the arc. Shooting just 32% in the first half, the Golden Eagles found themselves trailing 42-26 at the break.
Much like the first half, it was all Seton Hill in the second half, as the Griffins outscored Clarion 45-30 and cruised to a home conference win.
Seton Hill took advantage of the off shooting day for Clarion, outshooting the Golden Eagles 49%-35% on the day.
Clarion was led by junior Stevan Rodriguez, who finished the game with a team-high 14 points on 5 of 8 shooting and a team-high 14 rebounds for his sixth double-double on the year. Khari Williams played 32 minutes, netting 10 points while grabbing four boards. Freshman Sheriff Conteh finished the day with six points and two rebounds, while Javontay Pipkin added seven points and a team-high three steals.
The Griffins were led by Trevor Blondin, who didn’t play in the first meeting between the two teams, finishing with a game-high 31 points on 13 of 22 shooting. Nathan Davis added a double-double for the Griffins netting 16 points while grabbing 11 rebounds Seton Hill improves their record to 6-14 overall and 4-10 in the PSAC.
Clarion will be back in action on Wednesday when they travel to Mercyhurst for a PSAC matchup. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
WRESTLING FALLS AT RIDER
LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. — The Clarion wrestling team fell in what was ultimately a close team bout on Saturday afternoon, dropping a 23-10 decision to Rider in an Eastern Wrestling League match. The Golden Eagles (5-5, 2-1 EWL) will be back in action next Friday when they head to Cleveland State.
The Broncs jumped out to an early 11-0 lead but the Golden Eagles put on enough pressure to stay in the match until the very end of the afternoon. Avery Shay was the first Clarion wrestler to get on the scoreboard, notching a major decision with a 9-0 shutout of Evan Fidelibus in the 149-pound match. That cut down the deficit and sparked life on the Golden Eagle bench.
Rider followed that up with a pair of tight decisions, with Mike Bartolo falling in a close 3-2 decision to Gino Fluri and Evan Delong starting strong against nationally-ranked Jesse Dellavecchia before ultimately falling 6-2. Max Wohlabaugh responded with his third straight EWL win, defeating Dean Sherry 6-2 in the 174-pound bout.
The Broncs clinched the team match with a win by decision at 184 pounds, but nationally-ranked Greg Bulsak tacked on one more win for the Golden Eagles. He defeated Ethan Laird 8-5 at 197 pounds for his fourth straight win, improving to 6-1 in duals this year.
Rider 23, Clarion 10
125: Jonathan Tropea (Rider) def. Gavin Park (Clarion) MD 12-4
133: Anthony Cefolo (Rider) def. Seth Koleno (Clarion) MD 11-3
141: Travis Layton (Rider) def. Jalin Hankerson (Clarion) Dec. 5-3
149: Avery Shay (Clarion) def. Evan Fidelibus (Rider) MD 9-0
157: Gino Fluri (Rider) def. Mike Bartolo (Clarion) Dec. 3-2
165: Jesse Dellavecchia (Rider) def. Evan DeLong (Clarion) Dec. 6-2
174: Max Wohlabaugh (Clarion) def. Dean Sherry (Rider) Dec. 6-2
184: Michale Fagg-Daves (Rider) def. Ty Bagoly (Clarion) Dec. 9-4
197: Greg Bulsak (Clarion) def. Ethan Laird (Rider) Dec. 8-5
285: Ryan Cloud (Rider) def. Toby Cahill (Clarion) Dec. 7-2
WOMEN’S TRACK AT YSU
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — The Clarion women’s track & field team completed their weekend at the YSU Mid-Major Invite, with a number of Golden Eagles standing out in a field that included Division I athletes.
Anna Foster took seventh in the 3000m, qualifying for the PSAC Championships and ranking third among non-Division I athletes in the field. She qualified with a time of 10:42.32, a little more than two seconds under the qualifying mark. Allison Gates took 24th with a time of 11:21.44.
Competing against a field comprised of athletes from three NCAA divisions, Style Henry took eighth in the 60m with a time of 7.92, placing her fourth among Division II athletes in the process. It is the second straight week that Henry has run exactly a 7.92 in the 60m, having done so last week at the Al Hall Freedom Games in Edinboro.
Also in the sprints, Alice Fernald took 13th in the 400m with a PSAC-qualifying dash, crossing the line in 1:00.70 to rank seventh among non-Division I athletes in the race. Fernald just missed out on the same accomplishment in the 200m, finishing in a time of 26.70.
In the relays, the quartet of Nicole Young, Kia Brathwaite, McKayla Hoover and Alice Fernald took sixth in the 4x400m — third among Division II schools — with a time of 4:11.97. Katie Brest was the top performer in the field on Saturday, taking 17th in the Shot Put with a toss of 10.70m.
MEN’S SWIMMING THIRD AT IUP
INDIANA, Pa. – Enjoying a successful day at the IUP Invite the Clarion men’s swimming team took home a third-place finish, ending with 663 team points on the day. The 400 Medley Relay team of Jimmy Connor, Josh Thruston, Chris Fenoglietto and Joseph Folz got the scoring started, taking home a second place finish for 38 team points with a final time of 3:41.60.
Just two events later Folz finished sixth in the 200 IM, touching the wall with a final time of 2:08.39. In the 100 Backstroke Thruston finished eighth for 10 team points with a PSAC Qualifying mark of 56.41.
Fenoglietto finished seventh in the 100 Breaststroke with a final mark of 1:05.29 for 11 team points. Emmett Matthews, Hayden Shertzer and Jacob Yant rounded out the top ten in the 100 Breaststroke respectively.
In the 50 Free Folz took home a top ten finish (8th) with a PSAC qualifying time of 22.71. In the second relay of the night, the 400 Free Relay, the team of Folz, Thruston, Tate Swanson and Yant took home a third-place finish with a final time of 3:16.73 for 36 team points.
In the 200 Free Relay the group of Folz, Drew Canter, Thruston and Yant finished in third with a final time of 1:29.18. In the final event of the night, Connor, Thruston, Fenoglietto and Folz took home a fifth-place finish in the 200 Medley Relay, while the team of Nate Luey, Shertzer, Hayden Steiner and Tate Swanson finished eighth.
The Golden Eagles will be back in action when they head to the PSAC Championships set to start February 20th in York, Pa.
WOMEN’S SWIMMING ALSO THIRD AT IUP
INDIANA, Pa. – Enjoying a successful day at the IUP Invite the Clarion women’s swimming team took home a third-place finish, ending with 663 team points on the day. The 400 Medley Relay team of Ava Arnold, Mary Clare Smith, Autumn Fortney and Letizia Collini got the scoring started, taking home a third-place finish for 36 team points with a final time of 4:09.32.
Just two events later the triplet of Michelle Morrisey, Collini and Morgan Manglaviti took spots 3-5 in the 200 IM, with Morrisey touching the wall with a final time of 2:19.69. Raena Valli rounded out the top ten with a final time 2:25.46. Becca Yonkek finished sixth in the 500 Free with a final mark of 5:30.46, while Kelsey Burke took home a tenth place finish.
In the 100 Backstroke Abbey Uebelacker and Stephanie Setar finished 6 and 7 with times of 1:03.65 and 1:03.72.
Smith finished sixth in the 100 Breaststroke with a PSAC qualifying mark of 1:11.11 for 12 team points. Arnold placed eighth, while Kaitlynn Henninge rounded out the top ten for a total of 29 team points.
In the 200 Butterfly Fortney touched the wall in 2:28.35 good enough for a sixth-place finish. The 13thevent of the evening was the 50 Free where Manglaviti (7th) and Yonek (10th) both took home top ten finishes. In the second relay of the night, the 400 Free Relay, the “A” team of Abbey Newman, Gabi Wayne, Manglaviti and Collini grabbed third place with a final time of 3:47.33 for 36 team points.
In the 200 Free Relay the group of Collini, Burke, Wayne and Abbey Newman finished in third with a final time of 1:43.11 Wayne finished the 100 Free in third with a final time 56.39. In the final event of the night, Arnold, Smith, Fortney and Collini took home a fourth-place finish in the 200 Medley Relay, while the team of Setar, Morrisey, Newman and Wayne finished fifth.
The Golden Eagles will be back in action when they head to the PSAC Championships set to start February 20th in York, Pa.
