CLARION, Pa. – The Golden Eagle women's basketball team kept it tight through three of four quarters on Sunday afternoon but were unable to overcome an early deficit in falling 72-64 to D'Youville at Tippin Gymnasium. The Saints earned a road split with Clarion after falling by 20 points on Saturday afternoon. Clarion (1-2) will be back in action this week when they travel to take on PSAC rival Mercyhurst in Erie.
 
In Saturday's 75-55 win over D'Youville, the Golden Eagles controlled the glass with a 40-28 edge in rebounds, and got off to an early lead by holding the Saints to just a 20.0 field goal percentage in the first half. This time the Saints turned the tables, shooting much better in the first half and winning the rebounding battle by a 40-38 margin.
 
Emily Brown tied a career-high with 12 points on 5-of-11 shooting, doing so in just 14 minutes of action off the bench. Newcomers Abby Gatesman and Devon Adams added 10 points and eight rebounds apiece.
 
The teams were neck-and-neck in the first quarter, tied at 17-all despite the fact that Clarion shot the ball much more efficiently than D'Youville, at 58.3 percent from the field. The Saints made up ground in the second quarter with an effective defense, forcing seven Golden Eagle turnovers and turning them into points. That allowed them to build a 20-11 edge in scoring in the period and a 37-28 edge at the halftime break.
 
The Golden Eagles clawed their way back into the game in the third quarter, cutting the lead to five points on an old-fashioned three-point play by Abby Gatesman. She fought through a foul by Riley Riedel at the 9:07 mark of the period for a make in the paint, and then followed with a free throw to make it 39-34. Olivia Boocks made a three-pointer at the 4:21 mark to cut it to 46-42, and Adams scored off a feed from Emily Hegedus on the next trip down to keep it a two-possession game. D'Youville countered with a 16-3 run to put their lead into double-digits, but Brown pulled it back to within three possessions with a pair of three-pointers. Despite a series of turnovers by the Saints down the stretch, the Golden Eagles were unable to complete the comeback.