CLARION, Pa. – The Golden Eagle women's basketball team rebounded from a slow start to cruise to a huge win on Thursday night, rallying from a first quarter deficit to defeat Carlow 76-55 at Tippin Gymnasium. Clarion (2-5) trailed by four points at the end of the first quarter but outscored the Celtics by 25 the rest of the way for the rout.
 
One of the biggest advantages for the Golden Eagles came on the boards, where they dominated the Celtics by a 50-35 rebounding margin. Two Clarion players finished the game in double-figure rebounding, with Allyson Kirby coming off the bench for 12 boards and Devon Adams pulling in 11 caroms. Adams also finished with a season-high 18 points for her first double-double as a member of the Blue & Gold.
 
Clarion's offense was at its best in the second quarter, when they shot 11-of-15 (.733) from the field to take a 39-30 lead over Carlow. The Golden Eagles finished with a 44.6 field goal percentage for the game while holding the Celtics to just a 28.1 field goal percentage for the game, including just a 5-of-29 (.172) mark in the second half. Emily Brown was just behind Adams with 14 points while Ke'Airah Massiah and Emily Hegedus each contributed 10 points.
 
The Celtics certainly started the game with some fire as they took the lead midway through the first quarter on a three-pointer by Angelina Orozco. She fired off another three-pointer to put her team ahead 11-6 and Keagan Brownlee made it a 17-14 lead for Carlow at the end of the first quarter. That woke up the Golden Eagles, though, who dominated the second frame to take the lead for good. Adams struck the first blow, cutting the lead to two points on Clarion's opening possession of the second quarter, and Kirby swished a three-pointer just a minute in to put the Golden Eagles up 18-17. Clarion never trailed again.
 
Slowly but surely the Golden Eagles stretched the lead, with Adams working down low scoring seemingly at will. She scored three straight baskets at one point to put Clarion up 29-20, and Massiah expanded the lead to double-digits with a layup at the 0:27 mark of the second quarter. Hegedus made a corner three to open the third quarter and make it a 12-point game, and added a fast break bucket to make it a 52-35 lead halfway through. With the outcome well in hand in the fourth quarter, Brown contributed a couple of three-pointers while Kirby scored one of her own.