Dec. 11, 2009
Box Score
WEST CHESTER - Down two with 28 seconds to play on the road in a gym that has hardly been kind to it over the years, the Clarion University women's basketball team found a way to force overtime and then beat West Chester 83-80 Friday night at West Chester's Hollinger Field House.
Rachel Graeff forced a 70-all tie with a scoop layup with eight seconds to play in regulation, and then the Golden Eagles (4-2) started overtime on a 9-2 run before holding off a late West Chester to hand the Golden Rams (7-1) their first loss of the season while picking up only their second win at Hollinger Field House in seven tries in Gie Parson's 21 years as head coach.
Clarion hit three consecutive three pointers, one each from Lizzie Suwala, Graeff and Bethany Koch, in the first 2:03 of the extra session to take a 79-72 lead and then survived some less-than-ideal foul shooting to get its second win in a row. The Golden Eagles were just 4 of 10 in overtime from the line including missing two front ends of one-and-one's allowing West Chester to get back within two, 82-80, on an Allison Hostetter layup with six seconds left. But Lizzie Suwala hit the back end of a two-shot foul with five seconds left, and West Chester wasn't able to get a final shot off as the horn sounded.
West Chester led 36-34 at halftime after a wild first half that saw the Golden Rams lead by as many as nine, 22-13, before Clarion went on a 21-5 run to take a 7-point lead, 34-27, with just over 2:30 to play only to watch West Chester end the half on a 9-0 run.
The second half was then tightly contested with neither team taking a lead of more than three points.
Clarion led 68-66 with 4:32 left following a Suwala 3-pointer, but West Chester scored the next four points to go up 70-68 on a jumper by Renata Neal with 28 seconds left before Clarion tied the game on Graeff's layup. The Golden Rams had one last chance to win the game in regulation, but Hostetter's shot with two seconds left was no good with Clarion's Sara Pratt securing the rebound.
Then in overtime, Suwala gave Clarion the lead for good on a 3-point off the opening tip before Graeff put the Golden Eagles up six with her second trey of the game.
Suwala led Clarion with a game-high 22 points, her fourth game of 18 or more points in her last five. She shot 8 of 14 from the field including 5 of 9 from 3-point range and added six rebounds. Koch added 16 points and seven rebounds, while Pratt recorded her first double-double of the season and the 14th of her career with 14 points and 10 rebounds to go with three assists, three steals and a block. Graeff added 15 points, five rebounds, six assists and two steals off the bench.
Hostetter led West Chester with 16 points and six rebounds, Neal had a double-double with 13 points and 11 boards, Jillian Keefer added 15 points and Janelle Garber contributed 13 points and seven rebounds.
After a slow start that saw it shoot 36.1 percent (13 of 36) in the first half, Clarion ended the game shooting 45.1 percent including 54.3 percent (19 of 35) in the second half and overtime including 3 of 5 in overtime. West Chester hit just 3 of 13 shots in overtime and 16 of 41 in the second half and overtime after shooting 14 of 26 (53.8 percent) in the first half.
NOTES - Clarion's other win over West Chester at Hollinger Field House under Parsons came Jan. 8, 2006, 91-75 ... Parsons is 8-6 all-time vs. the Golden Rams as Clarion's head coach including 5-1 at Tippin Gym and 1-0 on a neutral court ... Graeff's game-tying shot marked the first time the Golden Eagles had tied or won a game in the final 10 seconds of regulation or overtime since Feb. 16, 2008, when Katrina Greer hit two free throws with two seconds left at Shippensburg to force overtime in a game Clarion eventually won 88-81. That game was Clarion's last overtime contest, a span of 37 games ... The Golden Eagles are now 4-5 in overtime since 1999 including having won two in a row ... It marked the first time Clarion and West Chester had played an overtime game since the Golden Eagles secured a 112-108 double-overtime win over the Golden Rams Jan. 7, 2001, at Tippin Gym. That game was tied at 90 at the end of regulation and at 98 after one overtime.
