Basketball (Women's) | 2/27/2017 7:08:00 PM

Box Score

Box Score

ERIE, Pa. – The Clarion women's basketball team saw its best season in nearly a decade come to an end on Monday night, as the Golden Eagles fell by a score of 74-46 to the Mercyhurst Lakers in the opening round of the PSAC Tournament in Erie.  The Golden Eagles (15-14, 12-10 PSAC) finished the campaign with their first overall winning record since the 2009-10 season and their first winning conference record since the 2007-08 season.
 
Playing in the program's first conference tournament game since the 2012-13 season and the first of their own careers, seniors Delrika Jones-Carey and Jen Straw relished the opportunity.  Jones-Carey made her first five shots of the game and finished with 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field, while Straw added 10 points and five rebounds.
 
The first half of the game played out much closer than the score indicated, with Clarion leading at times in the first quarter and generally hanging tough with the team ranked seventh in the most recent Atlantic Region poll.  The difference came on the glass, with a 42-25 edge going the way of the Lakers. 
 
The Golden Eagles drew first blood against the Lakers, with Delrika Jones-Carey making a hook shot in the paint to open proceedings.  Polite put Clarion ahead 6-5 with a make in the paint, shaking her way through the defense less than two minutes into the proceedings.  The Golden Eagles scored on their first possession out of the media timeout, with Jones-Carey sinking a midrange jumper to cut the lead to 13-10, but the hot-shooting Lakers upped the lead to eight points with a three from Maria LaPertosa.  The senior forward finished with eight of Clarion's 14 points in the first quarter as the Golden Eagles trailed 20-14 at the break.
 
The Jones-Carey attack did not let up in the second quarter, as she broke double-digits for the game less than three minutes into the period.  Maniah Robinson banked in a three from the left wing to cut it to 22-17, and Jones-Carey followed with a make from the head of the key.  The Lakers took control from that point, though, and built a 38-20 lead with less than four minutes to play in the half.  Amesha Harden-Pullium sunk a free throw down the stretch for Clarion's last bucket of the half, and they entered the locker room trailing by a 44-26 score. 
 
Jen Straw cut the Lakers' lead to 46-31 with an 18-footer from the left wing early in the third quarter, but foul trouble bit the Golden Eagles and limited them throughout the rest of the second half.  Straw made it 54-35 on Amesha Harden-Pullium's fifth assist of the night but it got no closer down the stretch in the third.  Straw broke double-digits in scoring with a jumper from at the 5:59 mark of the fourth quarter, making it 65-40.  The Lakers closed on an 11-6 run to finish off the win.