CLARION, Pa. – The Golden Eagle women's basketball earned its first win of the season on Wednesday, defeating Davis & Elkins 90-65 in the 2019-20 home opener.  Clarion (1-3) will open conference action at home this weekend when they welcome Kutztown and West Chester to Tippin Gym.
 
Playing in front of hundreds of local elementary school students as part of the team's annual Kids Day Game, Clarion forced a slew of Senators turnovers and took appropriate advantage of them.  The Golden Eagles coerced Davis & Elkins into 35 total turnovers and scored 40 points off them, compared to just 11 points off turnovers scored by the Senators. 
 
Rebounds went the way of Davis & Elkins, 46-31, but that was in large part because the Golden Eagles did such a good job shooting the ball.  Clarion finished 49.4 percent from the field.  Celeste Ryman led the way with a career-high 19 points on 6-of-15 shooting including a 4-of-11 mark from three-point range.  Four other Golden Eagles reached double-figures in scoring, with Yndiah Bobo, Emily Hegedus and Ke'Airah Massiah all scoring 13 points.  Jada Smith had 12 points and a game-high six assists.
 
The Senators opened the game on a 6-2 run and it looked like the game would be more evenly-matched, but a 10-2 run by the Golden Eagles put Davis & Elkins back on their heels.  Hegedus finished off the run with an and-one make, stealing the ball from Jess Eadsforth-Yates and taking it to the hoop for the layup while drawing a foul from Sydney Nestor.  Davis & Elkins pulled as close as 18-14 with a three-pointer from Rachel Bolyard, but Clarion outscored them 12-2 the rest of the way to open up a 30-16 lead after one quarter.  The teams mostly traded baskets in the second quarter, with the Golden Eagles outscoring the Senators 20-17 to set up a 50-33 lead at the halftime break.
 
The Golden Eagles' lead was cut to as low as 11 points in the third quarter, but Massiah responded with a trey at the 5:36 mark to retake control.  Smith and Hegedus scored back-to-back transition layups to make it 66-48, and Bobo scored off a dish from Smith to make it a 20-point game.  Hegedus made it a 28-point edge with a layup at the 3:31 mark of the third quarter, the largest margin of the game, and Olivia Boocks set the final score of 90-65 with a jumper with 12 seconds to play in regulation.