EDINBORO, Pa. – The Clarion women’s basketball team kept it close with one of the PSAC West’s tougher teams on the road, but the Golden Eagles fell 63-47 to Edinboro at McComb Fieldhouse on Friday night.(Photo by Jared Bakaysa of JB Graphics. See more of Bakaysa’s work here)
Clarion (3-14, 1-10 PSAC) will return to action on Wednesday when they host Bloomsburg at Tippin Gym.
The Golden Eagles kept it close with the Fighting Scots deep into the second half, putting maximum pressure by cutting the lead to two possessions with 5:07 remaining. Jada Smith scored off an offensive rebound to make it 52-45, and Emily Hegedus added a transition bucket less than a minute later to reduce Edinboro’s advantage to five points. The Fighting Scots countered by locking Clarion down defensively the rest of the way, finishing on an 11-0 run to seal the win.
Ke’Airah Massiah was the only Golden Eagle to score in double figures, adding 13 points on 6-of-14 shooting, while Yasmin Lewis was just one rebound off the game high with 12 boards. Smith finished with seven points and seven boards. Clarion shot very well in the first quarter, going 7-of-16 from the field, but were unable to keep that offensive efficiency going through the rest of regulation.
The Golden Eagles took a 7-6 lead in the first quarter on a fast break layup by Massiah, and Yndiah Bobo added a midrange jumper with 5:44 to play in the period to put her team ahead 9-7. The Fighting Scots rebounded and built up a three-possession lead late in the period, but Celeste Ryman cut it to five points before the stoppage with a three-pointer. Things stayed within arms’ reach through the end of the second quarter, with Massiah scoring on a fast break layup with 59 seconds left to cut it to five points.
Edinboro led by as many as 16 points in the third quarter before the Golden Eagles shored things up, starting with an and-one by Emily Hegedus early in the fourth to make it a nine-point game. Neely Whitehead did the same with 8:06 left, scoring to make it 49-43, and things remained in striking distance until the final five minutes of play.
