ERIE, Pa. – The Clarion women’s basketball team from virtually start to finish on Wednesday night, with the Golden Eagles defeating Mercyhurst 73-65 on the road in a PSAC West clash.
(Photo courtesy of Clarion University Athletics)
The road win is the first for the Golden Eagles (8-14, 2-13 PSAC) since their victory over Felician on Dec. 15, and their first road PSAC win since Dec. 3, 2017, against Shippensburg.
Kadijah Dickson had her seventh double-double of the season with 21 points and 10 rebounds, while senior Jordan Bekelja went off for 22 points on 8-of-16 shooting and 6-of-12 from the three-point line. The duo powered a Golden Eagle offense that shot 27-of-60 (.450) from the field and 7-of-17 (.412) from long range. Rounding out the double-digit scorers for Clarion was Yndiah Bobo, who added 13 points and shot 40.0 percent from the floor.
Clarion built an early lead and held on to it for the remainder of the contest, leading by 18 points after three quarters and upping the lead to 20 points early in the fourth quarter. The Lakers pushed back in the fourth quarter but the Golden Eagles held them off, taking the eight-point win.
Bobo scored the first two baskets of the game for Clarion, but the Golden Eagles did not take control of the game until closing the first quarter on a 13-4 run. Bekelja put Clarion up 9-8 with a three-pointer and added another trey to put her team ahead 12-10, and Emily Hegedus put Clarion ahead for good with two free throws at the 2:02 mark of the period. Bekelja nailed another three to make it a 17-12 advantage, and Taylor Moltz added two free throws in the last minute to make it 19-12.
The Lakers pulled to within four points early in the second quarter, but Imani Dockery and Hegedus scored to make it 26-17 with 6:48 to go. Dickson added a bucket as time expired in the second quarter to push the lead into double figures at the halftime break, taking a feed from Bobo and laying it in to make it 38-27 heading into the locker room. That quickly became 15 points early in the third quarter when Dickson made a midrange jumper to push the lead to 42-27.
Clarion gained their biggest lead of the night with 1:27 left in the third when Dickson dished to Bekelja for a layup that made it 58-36. The advantage hovered around 20 points into the fourth quarter, with Dickson making it 64-44 with 7:50 remaining. The Lakers cut it to single digits, but the Golden Eagles never allowed the outcome to come into question.
MEN CRUSHED BY LAKERS
ERIE, Pa. – Mercyhurst’s Trystan Pratapas dropped a team-high 16 points as the Lakers rolled to a home victory over the Clarion Golden Eagles on Wednesday night, 88-42 ending a three-game road stint.
Clarion drops to 4-15, 2-13 in the PSAC on the season while Mercyhurst improves to 16-4 and 11-4 in the PSAC.
The hot shooting Lakers were in control from the start, building a 46-22 halftime lead behind 68% shooting in the first half.
Mercyhurst out-rebounded Clarion 41-20 on the night while shooting 57% from the floor in the second half and Clarion just could not slow Laker attack. Mercyhurst shot a staggering 62% (36 of 58) from the field on the day, including 17 of 30 in the second half.
The Golden Eagles were led by steady junior forward Stevan Rodriguez, who had a game-high 17 points and three rebounds in 28 minutes of work. Sophomore guard Khari Williams added eight points and two rebounds, while Jonathan Williams added six points and a team-high four rebounds.
Clarion will be back in action Saturday, Feb. 9, with a 3 p.m. tilt against PSAC foe Pitt-Johnstown.
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