CLARION, Pa. – The Golden Eagle women's basketball team concluded their 2019-20 season against nationally-ranked IUP, with Clarion falling 77-46 to the #8/9 Crimson Hawks at Tippin Gymnasium on Wednesday.  Clarion finishes their season with a 4-24 overall record, 2-20 in PSAC competition.
 
The Golden Eagles came flying out of the gate, taking an 18-10 lead on the Crimson Hawks at the end of the first quarter.  Clarion shot 46.7 percent from the field in the first quarter and shut down the IUP offense, holding them to just a 28.6 field goal percentage in the first 10 minutes of action.  From there the Crimson Hawks responded, building a huge advantage over the course of the final three quarters.
 
Emily Hegedus was a threat from the field as well as the free throw line, scoring her team-high 17 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field and 7-of-9 from the charity stripe.  Yasmin Lewis gritted out a 10-point, five-rebound performance through 33 minutes and also blocked a pair of shots. 
 
The Crimson Hawks were proficient shooting from the field, going 33-of-62 for a 53.2 field goal percentage.  In turn, they held the Golden Eagles to just a 30.9 field goal percentage and outscored them at a proficient clip in the second half.  IUP also won the rebounding battle by a 40-32 margin.
 
The teams traded the first four buckets of the evening, with Ke'Airah Massiah breaking the rhythm with a transition layup at the 6:01 mark.  She ripped the ball from Lexi Griggs and took it the other way for a basket to make it 6-4, and Neely Whitehead drained a midrange jumper at the 4:58 mark to up the lead to 8-4.  A modest 6-0 run by the Golden Eagles late in the period gave them a 16-8 advantage, with Hegedus and Massiah doing the majority of the damage in the run.  Hegedus sank a pair of free throws with 10 seconds remaining in the quarter to give the Golden Eagles an 18-10 lead.
 
The rest of the game belonged to the Crimson Hawks, though, as IUP did a good job hampering the Golden Eagle offense.  They quickly erased the eight-point deficit and took a 21-20 lead with 6:42 remaining in the second quarter, but Clarion briefly re-took the lead on Celeste Ryman's jumper at the 3:14 mark.  IUP took the lead for good with 1:11 left in the half on a three-pointer by Natalie Myers, and Justina Mascaro scored on IUP's final possession to give the Crimson Hawks a 34-29 lead at the half.  They continued to extend that lead in the second half, leading by 22 at the end of the third quarter before going ahead by as many as 31 in the fourth.