CLARION, Pa. – The Golden Eagle women's basketball team went punch for punch and toe to toe with one of the best teams in the nation on Thursday night, but ultimately could not pull off the upset in falling 65-53 to #17/22 Gannon at Tippin Gymnasium. Clarion will have the opportunity to extract revenge from the Golden Knights on Saturday when they face them in a rematch in Erie.
 
The score was tight through the first three quarters of action, with Gannon holding just a 28-27 lead at the halftime break. Clarion actually pulled ahead of the Golden Knights in the third quarter, with Abby Gatesman scoring a transition bucket at the 4:24 mark to put her team ahead 36-34. The Golden Eagles' team defense was on full display for most of the game as they stymied the Golden Knights, ultimately forcing 15 turnovers and turning them into 21 points. Gannon pulled away at the tail end of the third quarter and kept the pressure on in the fourth, eventually building a double-digit lead that was not indicative of how close the earlier portions of the game were.
 
Emily Hegedus set a new career-high with 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field, including a 6-of-8 mark from the free throw line. Ke'Airah Massiah chipped in 12 points of her own, while Gatesman added seven points and six rebounds. Gannon built a 34-22 edge on the boards, though, with Delaney Dogan recording a 13-point, 10-rebound double-double.
 
Gatesman gave some of the first indication that the Golden Eagles were going to give the Golden Knights everything they could handle, scoring on an and-one to make it 9-8 with 4:52 in the first. Massiah kept the momentum going with a buzzer-beating three-pointer at the end of the first period, draining the trey as time expired to cut Gannon's lead to 14-13 after 10 minutes. Olivia Boocks followed with a triple to start the second quarter, taking a pass from Neel Whitehead and draining it to make it 16-14. The Golden Knights led by as many as six points late in the first half, but Massiah and Heather Ansell scored on back-to-back possessions to cut the deficit to 28-27 at the break.
 
The third quarter played out much the same way, with Hegedus tying the score at 34 with 5:47 left on a fast break layup. Gatesman put Clarion ahead by a bucket with transition bucket, but the Golden Knights scored six straight to end the quarter build a 40-36 lead. They stretched the lead to eight points in the first three minutes of the fourth quarter, and eventually led by as many as 16 points.