CLARION, Pa. – The Clarion women's basketball team faced off against its third straight nationally-ranked opponent, falling by a 71-39 score to #14/22 California (Pa.) at Tippin Gymnasium on Wednesday.  The Golden Eagles (7-13, 2-12 PSAC) will continue its three-game homestand on Saturday when they host Seton Hill at 1 p.m.
 
Tynita White and Tracy Wiehe both came off the bench for 11 points apiece, with Wiehe pulling down eight rebounds and White grabbing three boards and an assist.  White, in fact, scored Clarion's first eight points of the game, and finished with a 5-of-10 night from the field.  Yasmin Lewis finished with nine points and seven rebounds.
 
Clarion improved offensively in the second half, shooting 11-of-18 from the field for a 61.1 field goal percentage, and finished the game with a 42.5 percent performance.  Turnovers proved to be the key in this one, though, as California forced 30 turnovers and turned them into 36 points.
 
After trailing 21-2 to open the game, the Golden Eagles tried to chip away at the Vulcan lead in the second quarter.  White took a feed from Amesha Harden-Pullium and laid it in to cut it to 25-8, and Harden-Pullium followed that up with a three-pointer with 6:16 left in the quarter to make it 25-11.  Lewis finished off an old-fashioned three-point play with 3:02 left in the half, scoring on a drive and drawing contact from Mia Cushon to cut the deficit to just 13 points.  The Vulcans outscored them 9-0 the rest of the way, though, and took a 36-14 lead at half.
 
California began to expand that lead in the third quarter, though the Golden Eagles kept it under 20 points for a time.  Lewis scored in the paint to make it 39-21, and White added a free throw at the halfway point of the third quarter to make it a 17-point game.  The lead went over 20 points for good with 3:55 left, though, when Cushon scored on a fast break sparked by a steal from Shatara Parsons.  The trend continued the rest of the way as the Vulcans took the 71-39 win.