CLARION, Pa. – The Clarion women's basketball team lost a defensive battle at home on Saturday, as the Golden Eagles fell 57-39 to Kutztown at Tippin Gym in their 2019-20 PSAC opener.  The Golden Eagles (1-4, 0-1 PSAC) will play their second game in as many days tomorrow afternoon when they host West Chester.
 
Neither team was willing to give an inch on defense, as Clarion held the preseason PSAC East favorites to just 36.1 percent shooting from the field.  Meanwhile, the Golden Bears also held strong in their own end, holding the Golden Eagles to under 30 percent for the game.  It did not appear that would be the case after the first 10 minutes of action as Kutztown took an 18-15 lead and both teams shot the ball well.  Both sides knuckled down after that, with neither side shooting better than 32 percent for the rest of the game.
 
Yndiah Bobo led Clarion in scoring with 10 points, while Jada Smith finished with eight points and a team-high 10 rebounds.  Yasmin Lewis fought through foul trouble to record seven points and six rebounds.
 
Kutztown opened the game on a 12-4 run, with Casey Remolde capping off the rally with a pair of free throw makes at the 5:20 mark of the first quarter.  Ke'Airah Massiah responded with the Golden Eagles' first three-pointer of the contest, cashing in from the wing to make it 12-7.  Bobo cut the lead to 12-9 on an offensive rebound and putback, and Smith made it a one-point contest on the next possession with a transition bucket.  Bobo scored again with 49 seconds remaining in the first quarter to pull the Golden Eagles to within 16-15, but Annie Whalen scored on Kutztown's next trip down the floor to make it a three-point game.
 
Clarion kept things close early in the second quarter, with Lewis scoring on a putback to make it 20-19, and Emily Hegedus sank a free throw at the 6:21 mark to tie the game at 20.  The Golden Bears responded with 13 straight points, though, and took a 33-21 lead into the halftime break.  Their lead got as high as 16 points in the third quarter, thanks to a three-pointer by Rylee Derr, and Kutztown led by as many as 22 in the fourth.