MANSFIELD, Pa. – The Clarion women's basketball team rallied late with a major fourth quarter push, but the Golden Eagles came up just one possession short in falling 62-59 to Mansfield on Saturday.  Clarion (2-9, 0-5 PSAC) will enjoy a lengthy holiday break before returning to action on January 3 against Slippery Rock.
 
The Golden Eagles trailed by 11 points at the halftime break but came out firing in the second half, playing the Mounties to a draw in the third quarter and outscoring them by eight points in the fourth.  The game was tied with 30 seconds remaining until Sydney Reed's three-pointer broke the deadlock.  Olivia Boocks fired off the potential game-tying shot at the last second but could not convert.
 
Clarion controlled the battle of the boards, outrebounding Mansfield 46-32, with Jada Smith pulling down a game-high 15 caroms.  Yasmin Lewis also finished with double-digit rebounds, recording 10.  Yndiah Bobo had a team-high 13 points. 
 
The game was tight in much of the early going, with Smith tying the game at 12-12 with a make at the 2:21 mark of the first quarter.  The Mounties responded with six straight points to close out the period, and took total control of the action in the second as they built a double-digit advantage to close out the first half.
 
The Mounties led by as many as 16 points in the third quarter, but the Golden Eagles put them through their paces in the fourth to nearly take the improbable victory.  Haille Hart cut the lead to 10 points with a free throw make to start the period, and Bobo drove the deficit back into the single digits with a layup.  Boocks drilled a three-pointer at the 7:12 mark to make it a four-point game, but Mansfield pushed their lead to nine points with 5:40 to play. 
 
Clarion responded with a furious 11-0 run, with Bobo scoring to make it 55-50 and Celeste Ryman making a trey to cut the lead to 57-54. Ryman added another with 1:12 left, tying the score at 57.  The teams traded buckets to tie it again at 59 before the Mounties finished off the win.