Feb. 7, 2009

Box Score

INDIANA - The Clarion University women's basketball team played a spirited first-half against one of the top teams in the country before falling at 13th ranked IUP 88-63 Saturday night.

Clarion (9-12 overall, 3-5 PSAC-West) trailed by just a point, 40-39, at halftime thanks in a large part to superb 3-point shooting. The Golden Eagles hit on 7 of 14 treys in the opening 20 minutes tying a season-high for 3-pointers in a half.

But IUP (18-3, 7-1) started the second half on a 15-2 run, and Clarion was never able to get its offense going in the half being outscored 48-24 in the second 20 minutes. The Golden Eagles shot 21.4 percent (6 of 28) in the half including 1 of 10 from 3-point range.

IUP, meanwhile, got hot from outside in the second half nailing six 3-pointers in the half after connecting on just one in the first half.

Lizzie Suwala led Clarion with 14 points and seven rebounds, while Bethany Koch had 11 points and eight rebounds. Katrina Greer chipped in nine points, while Rachel Graeff had eight tallies off the bench.

Jahzinga Tracey led all scorers with 29 points while adding 13 rebounds for IUP, while Lacey Clarr had 16 points and six rebounds off the bench. Eryn Withers and Kylie Miller each added 12 points for the Crimson Hawks.

Clarion returns to action at 6 p.m. Wednesday at California.

NOTES - Despite the loss, Clarion remains in a tie for the fourth and final PSAC Playoff berth awarded to the PSAC-West. The Golden Eagles are tied with Edinboro, Mercyhurst and Slippery Rock with all three teams still remaining on Clarion's schedule including Mercyhurst and Slippery Rock at home.