JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – The Clarion women's basketball team nearly erased a 20-point deficit over the span of the second half, but the Golden Eagles ultimately fell 65-55 to Pitt-Johnstown on Saturday afternoon.  Clarion (7-16, 2-15 PSAC) will be back in action a week from today when they travel to Slippery Rock.
 
The Golden Eagles trailed by as many as 20 points in the second quarter but outscored the Mountain Cats 45-37 in the second half of action, pulling as close as four points in the fourth quarter.  It was still just a five-point game with 39 seconds to go, but Pitt-Johnstown scored the final five points of the game en route to the 10-point victory.
 
Yasmin Lewis went off for a double-double with a career-high 18 points and 10 rebounds, the former of which representing the first double-digit scoring performance of her career.  Jordan Bekelja played all 40 minutes and contributed 10 points, six assists and five rebounds, while Tracy Wiehe came off the bench for 17 points and five boards. 
 
Clarion bounced back from an anemic shooting performance in the first half with a much better second, shooting 43.8 percent from the field while holding the Mountain Cats to 26.1 percent.  Pitt-Johnstown won the rebounding battle with a 47-34 margin. 
 
UPJ outscored the Golden Eagles 28-10 in the first half, but Clarion flipped the script in the third quarter to start the comeback attempt.  Lewis made a jumper at the 4:05 mark to cut it to 32-19, and Wiehe made it just an 11-point deficit less than a minute later with a pair of free throws.  Amesha Harden-Pullium hit Wiehe in the post for a buzzer-beating layup to end the third quarter, cutting the deficit to 43-29.
 
The Golden Eagles cut the lead to single digits early in the fourth quarter, opening the period on an 11-4 run that made it just 47-40.  Bekelja made a three-pointer at the 7:28 mark to make the score 49-43, and she then dished a pass off to Wiehe for a bucket to make it 49-45.  Harden-Pullium added another three-pointer at the 3:43 mark to keep the deficit within five points, and Lewis did the same with a free throw at the 39-second mark.  The Mountain Cats took control the rest of the way, though, getting the necessary stops to hold on for the win.