NORTH CANTON, Ohio – The Clarion women’s basketball team took a lead into the halftime break but ultimately fell on the road on Wednesday, dropping a 72-61 decision to Walsh at Alumni Arena.
(Photo courtesy of Clarion University Athletics)
The Golden Eagles (2-4, 1-1 PSAC) will be back in action at home next week when they host PSU-Greater Allegheny on Wednesday, Nov. 30.
Tyra Polite scored a season-high 26 points on 9-of-22 shooting, coming in just one point shy of her career-high of 27 set against IUP last season. She further filled the stat sheet with seven rebounds, four assists and a steal against the Cavaliers.
Amesha Harden-Pulliam continued her hot start to the year with her fourth double-digit scoring performance in the last five games, notching 14 points and five rebounds in 30 minutes of action. Delrika Jones-Carey posted a game-high 14 rebounds.
Clarion controlled the first 20 minutes of action, taking a 20-16 lead at the end of the first quarter and holding a 35-34 advantage at the conclusion of the first half. The Golden Eagles shot 41.2 percent from the floor in the first half and held the Cavaliers to a 35.3 percent mark in that same span, but a cold spell to start the third quarter put Clarion behind the eight ball.
Walsh opened the game on a 9-0 run but Clarion pushed back, with Taylor Moltz opening the scoring with a three-pointer. Jordan Bekelja capped a 7-0 run with a layup to make it 9-7 with 4:09 left in the first quarter and Harden-Pulliam pushed the team ahead 12-11 with a trey at the 3:03 mark. The Cavaliers’ five-minute field goal drought ended with a make by Alex Hochstedler, but Polite tied it at 14 with a jumper and then finished off an and-one on the next possession to make it 17-14. Polite drilled a three-pointer with 19 seconds remaining in the quarter and Clarion led 20-16 at the end of the period.
The Golden Eagles held off a charge from the Cavaliers late in the second quarter to hold the lead at the half, as well, with Harden-Pulliam knocking down a three-pointer with 3:23 left in the half to make it 30-28. Hochstedler made it 31-30 with a three-pointer, but Jones-Carey gave Clarion the lead with a putback at the 1:55 mark of the second half to make it 32-31. Harden-Pulliam closed out the half with one last longball to make it 35-34 at the break.
The Cavaliers outscored Clarion 22-4 in the third quarter to take a double-digit lead, but the Golden Eagles rallied and pulled to within seven points in the fourth quarter. Polite sparked a 7-0 run with a three-pointer and Quorea Pearyer capped it at the 3:26 mark, hauling in an offensive rebound and laying it in to make it 63-56. The Golden Eagles got no closer, though, as Walsh pulled ahead 69-59 on a pair of free throws by Jalynn Graham.
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