Jan. 10, 2010

Box Score

CLARION - Bethany Koch recorded her fifth double-double of the season, including tying a career-high with 25 points, to lead the Clarion University women's basketball team to a 71-52 win over visiting Bloomsburg Sunday afternoon at Tippin Gym.

Koch added 10 rebounds to complete the double-double, the 10th of her career, and Clarion's defense once again was outstanding.

The Golden Eagles (9-4), who held Mansfield to a shot-clock era opponent's low 24 points Saturday, limited Bloomsburg (8-4) to 29.5 percent shooting (18 of 61) for the game while forcing 24 Husky turnovers. Clarion used the 24 turnovers to score 23 points, outscoring Bloomsburg 23-14 off giveaways while also outpacing the Huskies 14-5 on second-chance points thanks to a 47-37 rebounding edge.

Lizzie Suwala added 17 points and seven rebounds while tying a season high with five 3-pointers, and Rachel Graeff had 11 points, five rebounds and five assists. Sara Pratt contributed 11 rebounds, six points, three assists and four steals off the bench.

Kelsey Gallagher led Bloomsburg with 18 points, the only Huskies player in double digits, while Christine Sereta added 10 rebounds.

Clarion, which held Bloomsburg to two points in the first seven-plus minutes of the game, started the contest on a 25-8 run before Bloomsburg started to right itself some and closed the gap to nine, 27-18, at halftime.

Bloomsburg then got within six, 29-23, in the early minutes of the second half before Clarion went on a 19-5 run to put the game away. Koch had nine points during the decisive run, while Suwala had a pair of three's for six points and Pratt added four tallies.

Clarion returns to action Wednesday when it starts PSAC-West play at IUP. That game can be heard locally on WCUC, 91.7 FM and on the internet at www.redzonemedia.com, which can also be accessed through www.clariongoldeneagles.com.

NOTES - Clarion have now has 10 double-doubles on the season ... The last time Clarion held back-to-back opponents under 55 points was in December 2006 when the Golden Eagles beat Pitt-Johnstown 64-47 (Dec. 6) and Cheyney 65-40 (Dec. 19) ... Clarion is 9-4 after 13 games for the second time in three seasons. The Golden Eagles also started 9-4 in 2008 on its way to an 18-9 record ... Graeff has had five or more assists in three straight games and in four of the six games since she took over the point guard role for the injured Shaina Smith.