CLARION, Pa. – The Clarion women’s basketball team held tight all throughout the night, but couldn’t quite find the big move they needed in falling 61-51 to Mercyhurst at Tippin Gymnasium.
(Photo of Jordan Bekelja. Photo courtesy of Clarion University Athletics)
The Golden Eagles (7-15, 2-14 PSAC) will head back on the road this weekend when they face Pitt-Johnstown on Saturday.
Jordan Bekelja and Tynita White tied for the team-high with 10 points each, while Tracy Wiehe added nine points and Amesha Harden-Pullium seven. Yasmin Lewis came up just one rebound shy of a double-double with seven points and nine boards.
Neither team was able to get things going on offense early in the game, with Harden-Pullium finally breaking through with a make at the 7:24 mark of the quarter. Tynita White added two buckets in the paint in the first five minutes, the latter of which put the Golden Eagles ahead 6-5, and she added another at the 4:10 mark to go ahead 8-7. The Lakers responded with an 11-0 run to end the quarter, taking an 18-10 lead after 10 minutes of action.
Clarion opened the second quarter with four straight points as Tracy Wiehe and Harden-Pullium added jumpers to start. White added a lay-up to cut the lead to 21-16 and Taylor Moltz drilled a three-pointer from the right corner out of the media timeout to cut the deficit to four points. The Golden Eagles got no closer in the half, but they ultimately cut the lead at half to 31-26 after a last-second layup from Yasmin Lewis.
Moltz struck again to start the third quarter, knocking down a jumper just a few inches inside the three-point line to cut it to 31-28. The Lakers pulled ahead by several possessions but Wiehe inched Clarion closer, scoring on two straight possessions to make it 36-32. White scored just before the halfway point of the third quarter, pulling her team to within two points with a layup, but the lead stuck around two possessions for much of the period. Mercyhurst caught fire to start the fourth quarter with a 6-0 run, upping their lead to 14 points just 1:27 into the period.
The Golden Eagles rallied, though, and cut the lead to just seven points in the final minute of action on a three-pointer and a layup from Jordan Bekelja. Emily Shopene hit a three-pointer in the waning moments, though, securing the win for the Lakers.
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