CLARION, Pa. – The Clarion women's basketball team kept close through the first half but were unable to overcome Pitt-Johnstown, as the Mountain Cats defeated the Golden Eagles 75-64 in Tippin Gym on Saturday.  Clarion (3-12, 1-8 PSAC) will close out a three-game homestand on Wednesday when they host Gannon.
 
The first half was strictly a back-and-forth affair, with the Golden Eagles getting the best of the Mountain Cats in the first quarter and UPJ flipping the script in the second.  The only period where Pitt-Johnstown had the clear advantage was the third, when they outscored Clarion 21-13 and increased their lead to nine points.  The teams were virtually even in the fourth quarter as the Golden Eagles were unable to chip away at the lead any further.
 
Ke'Airah Massiah finished 6-of-9 from the field for 14 points, four rebounds and three steals.  Celeste Ryman posted 13 points, including a trio of three-pointers, and Yndiah Bobo added 10 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals.  The Golden Eagles shot 58.3 percent from the field in the first half but went cold in the second, going just 9-of-32 in the final 20 minutes.
 
UPJ started the game on a 7-3 run, but Massiah and Ryman erased that deficit quickly and tied the score at the 5:36 mark of the first quarter.  Yasmin Lewis added an equalizer at the 2:03 mark to make it 14-14, and Massiah drained a fast break three-pointer from the corner to put the Golden Eagles ahead 17-16 with under a minute to go.  Bobo added to the lead with a drive and a make early in the second quarter, and Clarion led as late as the final minute of the second half after Emily Brown made a three-pointer with 38 seconds left.  Gabrielle Smith countered with a bucket of her own, putting UPJ up 36-35 heading into halftime.
 
Clarion cut the lead to one point early in the third quarter on a layup from Lewis, and eventually tied the score at 48 after Massiah swiped the ball from Alli McGrath and took it the other way for a fast break layup.  UPJ countered with nine straight points to end the quarter, and the Mountain Cats never let the lead get below two possessions for the rest of the game.