LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – The Clarion women's basketball team lost a back-and-forth clash to open PSAC play on Saturday afternoon, falling 74-72 to Lock Haven on the road.  The Golden Eagles (5-2, 0-1 PSAC) will look for a weekend split tomorrow when they play at Kutztown.
 
The lead changed eight times and the score was tied another seven as both teams played it close throughout the 40 minutes.  The Bald Eagles led by as many as seven points in the third quarter but the Golden Eagles erased that deficit in the final minutes of the period, tying the score at 50 on an and-one by Kadijah Dickson with 31 seconds remaining. 
 
The teams traded the lead a few more times before Lock Haven pulled ahead with two free throws with just 30 seconds remaining, but the Golden Eagles had an opportunity to score the winner late.  After Rileigh Devine missed one of two free throws with six seconds left, making it a 74-72 Lock Haven lead, Clarion advance the ball beyond half court, but Taylor Moltz's shot rattled off the rim with two seconds remaining.
 
Dickson led all players with 26 points on 11-of-19 shooting and also pulled down seven rebounds, while Moltz went 5-of-10 from the field for 15 points.  Jordan Bekelja added 10 points, and Emily Hegedus came off the bench for seven. 
 
Clarion used an 8-1 run in the first quarter to open up a 10-6 lead on the Bald Eagles, holding them without a field goal for more than four minutes.  Bekelja drained a midrange jumper at the 2:33 mark to make it a 12-11 lead, and her two free throws down the stretch put Clarion up 14-13 at the end of 10 minutes. 
 
The Golden Eagles' lead went as high as nine points in the second quarter, with Moltz making a three-pointer at the 5:01 mark to put the team ahead 28-19.  Haille Hart scored a bucket in the paint to keep the lead at six points, making it 30-24, and Hegedus finished off an old-fashioned three-point play with a layup and a free throw to set the halftime score at 35-29.