CLARION, Pa. – The Clarion women's basketball team stood toe-to-toe with the top-ranked team in the nation for stretches on Saturday afternoon, but ultimately fell 73-51 to #1 IUP at the Student Recreation Center.  The Golden Eagles (7-12, 1-11 PSAC) will now embark on a three-game road swing.
 
The depleted Golden Eagle roster – featuring just seven players on Saturday due to a rash of injuries – did its best to hang with the Crimson Hawks, playing them even on the scoreboard in the second and fourth quarters.  They nearly erased a large deficit and pulled within four points midway through the third quarter, but IUP went on an extended run to take the lead.
 
Yndiah Bobo had a team-high 15 points to go with two assists, two steals and two rebounds, while Emily Hegedus had 11 points and five rebounds in 37 minutes of action.  Jordan Bekelja pulled ever closer to 1,000 career points with 10 in the book, giving her 978 points in her career.
 
After the Crimson Hawks opened up a double-digit lead in the first quarter, Clarion cut the deficit to just seven points with a trey by Bekelja at the 8:26 mark of the second.  It stayed in single digits after a midrange jumper by Kadijah Dickson made it 23-15, but the Crimson Hawks controlled the tempo for the remainder of the quarter and led 33-23 at the break.
 
The real scare from the Golden Eagles came in the third quarter, thanks to a 6-0 run that made it a two-possession ballgame.  Bobo finished off an old-fashioned three-point play after she scored through contact from Carolyn Appleby, making it 39-31, and Bekelja followed with a jumper just inside the three-point line to cut the lead to six points.  Bobo finished off the run when she swiped the ball from Lexi Griggs and raced the opposite way for a transition layup, making the score 39-35 with 5:36 left to go in the third quarter.
 
That was as close as Clarion got, however, as the Crimson Hawks went on a prolonged run that gave them a 31-point lead midway through the third quarter.  The Golden Eagles tightened it up near the end with a 13-4 run, with Bekelja adding another three-pointer and Hegedus making two free throws near the end of regulation.